Visakha Bucha Day

VISAKHA BUCHA

Birth – Enlightenment- Passing away

Visakha Bucha Day is one of the most important days in Buddhism because of three important incidents in the life of The Buddha on the same day, the Vesak full moon day. So each year, Buddhists throughout the world gather together to perform the worship to recollect the wisdom, purity and compassion of the Buddha. The three significant separate events are The Buddha's birth at Lumbini Park  1.    The Buddha’s Birth ::   The Buddha was a king by birth, in Sakya Kingdom, eighty years before the Buddhist Era, at Lumbini Park (in an area of Nothern India know today as Nepal), on Friday, the Vesak full moon day. He was named Siddhattha five days after his birth. The Buddha's first teaching to The Panjavakkiya (The Group of Five Monks) after he attained the enlightenment.   2.    The Enlightenment of Buddha :: At the age of 35, he attained enlightenment while sitting under the Bodhi Uruvelasenanigama subdistrict (nowadays, located in the area of Buddha Kaya, Bihar State, India), on Wednesday, the Vesak Full moon day, forty five years before the Buddhist Era.             The Dharma discovered by the Buddha was Ariyasacca or the Four Noble Truths, namely: 1.    The Noble Truth of Suffering 2.    The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering 3.    The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering 4.    The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Extinction of Suffering Nibbana = The Buddha passed away, under Sala trees 3.    The Nibbana :: The Buddha passed away on Tuesday, the Vesak full moon day, under the two Sala trees in the Sala Grove of the Mallas in Kusinara, capital of the Malla State, (nowadays located in Kusinagara of Uttrarapradesa, India) at the age of eighty. The Buddist throughout the world gather togeter             The performance of the rituals on Visakha Bucha day had been continuously observed in Jambudvipa or India, the motherland of Buddhism, for a long time before Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka and Thailand. There, the Visakha worship has been continually observed to the present day.              In Thailand, Visakha Bucha observance began during the Sukhothai period (around 700 years ago), because of the close religious relations between Thailand and Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan monks came to propagate Buddhism in Thailand and were highly respected. Thai monks also went to study in Sri Lanka. It's believed that, those monks introduced this ceremony to the King and people at that time. Wat Jet Yod in Chiang Mai, Thailand Vocabulary Visakha Bucha – วิสาขบูชา Buddhism (n) ศาสนาพุทธ Buddha (n) พระพุทธเจ้า Buddhist (n) ชาวพุทธ incident (n) เหตุการณ์ throughout (prep) โดยตลอด gather (v) รวมกัน perform (v) แสดง,ปฏิบัติ worship (n) การบูชา recollect (v) ระลึกถึง wisdom (n) พระปัญญาคุณ purity (n) พระวิสุทธิคุณ compassion (n) พระมหากรุณาธิคุณ Sakya Kingdom – ราชวงศ์ศากยะ Lumbini Park – สวนลุมพินี Siddhattha – สิทธัตถะ enlightenment (n) ความรู้แจ้ง/ attain (v) บรรลุ attained enlightenment - ตรัสรู้ Bodhi tree - ต้นโพธิ์ Uruvelasenanigame - (ตำบล)อุรุเวลาเสนานิคม Buddha Kaya – พุทธคยา Buddhist Era (n) พุทธศักราช/พ.ศ. Dharma (n) ธรรมะ discover (v) ค้นพบ Ariyasacca – อริยสัจสี่ noble (adj) ประเสริฐ Nibbana – นิพพาน pass away (v) ปรินิพพาน Sala (n) ต้นสาละ Mallas – แคว้นมัลละ Kusinara – กรุงกุสินารา ritual (adj) ที่เป็นพิธีกรรม observe (v) ปฏิบัติตาม Jambudvipa – ชมพูทวิป spread (v) แผ่ขยาย Sukhuthai – สุโขทัย period (n) ยุค close (adv) ใกล้ชิด religious (adj) ทางศาสนา propagate (v) เผยแพร่ respect (v) เคารพ introduce (v) นำเสนอ ceremony (n) พิธีการ References Royal Thai Consulate General Vancouver, Visakha Bucha : http://www.thaicongenvancouver.org/visakhabucha.htm, 2004 Tourism Authority of Thailand : About Visakha Puja Day : http://www2.tat.or.th/visakhapuja/eng/about.html, 2004