IBC Vesak Celebration 2021

The full moon day in May is the day of the Birth, Enlightenment, and Passing of Lord Buddha. It is called Vesak Full Moon Day. Through over 2500 years, from the beginning of Buddhism until now, many things have changed from time to time according to different situations, but the truth, the Dhamma of the Buddha remains. Kindness, compassion, empathy, wisdom is still necessary for human beings at the present day. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful teachings. To remember the virtues of the Buddha and his contribution to the world, Buddhists all over the world gather and celebrate this day every year.

IBC as an International Buddhist Studies Institution always recognizes the importance of this meaningful day. Every year, we all work together to organize the Vesak celebration in a harmonious way. For this year, we held the celebration on 26/05/2021 from 9:30 am to 10:30 am in the IBC Lobby. Members of the honorable Sangha, Professors, Lecturers, Staff, and all students participated in this auspicious event. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, we all followed the recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health such as social distancing, arranging for everybody to wear a mask, and trying not to spend a long time together in the same place. Therefore, the program of this day was quite simple, we mainly focused on Pali Chanting, Chinese Chanting, then we have a beautiful Dhamma sharing session by Ven. Anandajoti.

The few important points Bhante had shared were that although traditionally there are three events celebrated on this day, there is a fourth, and very important event, which was when the ascetic Sumdeha met Ven Dīpaṅkara Buddha and made his aspiration to Buddhahood, which was fulfilled many aeons later when he became the Buddha Gotama.
The three main events of his birth, Awakening and passing were then described, and Bhante reminded everyone how much effort had been put into the Bodhisatta becoming the Buddha, the effort made by the Buddha to give the teachings, and establish a Sangha so that the teachings could put be passed down through the generations, and we could receive them today.

After the Dhamma talk there followed the bathing to the Bodhisatta Statue a symbol of purifying by washing away the defilement from our wrong view. The ceremony was concluded with transferring merits to all beings. The program appears to be short and simple, but in all, it was a pleasant gathering.

In various countries Buddhist have their own cultures for celebrating Vesak day. I would like to give a brief overview of this ceremony at our temple, Laos. Before the day of Vesak, the monk will announce via the loud speakers to the village people. In the early morning, people will arrive at the temple with food, flowers, and other offerings. They begin the ceremony by worshipping the Triple Gem, asking for five precepts, chanting, making offerings, Dhamma sharing and transferring merits.

In the evening, around 7:00 pm, the monk will sound the drum as a signal. People will come to the temple again with their family and friends. The monks will lead a short chanting. After that, they will walk around the Sīma three rounds with flowers, incense sticks, and candles in their hands. During the procession the monks will perform chanting and one monk will hit the drum slowly. The flowers, incense sticks, and candles will be offered to the Buddha statues after the procession. Some temples have floating lantern activities. People are always excited about joining this Wesak Dhamma assembly.
What has been said above is to share the experiences of the Vesak festival within IBC and different parts of a Buddhist country. This celebration provides us with benefits in many ways. Through this activity, we have the opportunity to recall the teaching of the Buddha, listen to the Dhamma of the senior monks, and pass on the merits to all sentient beings. Wishing all beings happiness, good health, freedom from suffering, and seeing the truth of the Buddha Dhamma.

Reported By: Ven. Saksith Sounthone