BUDDHA JAYANTI ALSO KNOWN AS BUDDHA POORNIMA

BUDDHA JAYANTI ALSO KNOWN AS 

BUDDHA PURNIMA

Buddha Jayanti also known as Buddha Poornima  is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Buddha founder of Buddhism. It also commemorates his enlightenment & death. It is the most sacred & holiest Buddhist festival. It falls on the day of full moon of the fourth lunar month (Month of Vaisakh) i.e. April or May.  

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Shanti Buddhist Stupa in Leh
Image (C) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha

 According to Buddhism, sorrow and desire are the main cause of all the evils and sufferings of this world. Lord Buddha advocated the Eightfold Path consisting of precepts like

 Right Conduct,

 Right Motive, 

 Right Speech,

 Right Effort, 

 Right Resolve, 

 Right Livelihood,

 Right Attention and 

 Right Meditation 

to gain mastery over sufferings. It is only after following this path one can reach the ultimate aim of Nirvana. Nirvana is the transcendental state of complete liberation.

Buddha Statue in Hemis Monastery,Hemis Ladakh India
Image (C) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha

For Buddhists  Bodhgaya(Bihar, India) is the most important pilgrimage site related to the life of Gautam Buddha. The other three important pilgrimage sites are Kushinagar (Gorakhpur Uttar Pradesh, India), Lumbini (Nepal), and Sarnath(Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India). It is believed that Gautam Buddha obtained Enlightenment at Bodhgaya and he first taught the Dharma at Sarnath. He was born in Lumbini near Kapillvastu in Nepal and got Parinirvan in Kushinagar.

Image (C) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha

In North India Buddha is considered as the 9th incarnation and Lord Krishna as 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. However Buddha is never considered as an incarnation of Vishnu in South India belief. In South India Balram is considered as the 8th incarnation & Krishna as the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Balram is counted as an incarnation of Vishnu by the majority of Vaishnava movements.

Buddhists pay special attention to Buddha's teachings on Buddha Jayanti. They give money, food, or goods to organizations that help the poor, elderly and those who are sick. Caged animals are bought and set free to show care for all living creatures as preached by Buddha. The usual dress is pure white. Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided. Kheer, a sweet rice porridge is also comonly served to recall the story of Sujata, a maiden who offered Buddha a bowl of milk porridge.

For the first time in 2015  an International Buddha Poornima Diwas Celebration  with the help of Ministry of Culture, Government of India is being held in Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi.