What is Buddha Purnima?
Buddha Purnima is the festival which is celebrated on the birth of Lord Buddha which falls on the full moon day in the month of Vaisakh, in the month of April. This festival is also known as Vesak day as it always falls in the month of April and May. On this great day Buddha received Enlightenment and salvation on this great day. This day is also celebrated the death day or death anniversary of Lord Buddha. Not only in India but this day is also celebrated in other parts of the country as there are many followers of Lord Buddha.
History of Buddha Purnima
Read about Buddha Purnima
The history of Buddha Purnima is related to legend as on this great day Buddha received enlightenment and reached Nirvana when he died. This day is celebrated as the Buddha birthday which was decided in the conference in 1950. Followers used to celebrate main three events on this day including birth, enlightenment and death. Different people have different cultures so they celebrate this day according to their own cultures and rituals.
How Buddha Purnima is celebrated
This day is celebrated as the birth, enlightenment and death of the Lord Buddha on the same day. This day is celebrated in many countries but with different way. On this special day all the Buddhists gather in the temples for worship along with giving alms to monks, apart from Buddhist followers who may spend their whole day in temples in order to listen Buddha teachings with his life stories. On this day monks are also invited to give their teachings at home.
In Singapore this day is celebrated with monks chanting Sutras. In China this day is called Guanfo and its celebrations begins before sunrise and all the devotees went to temples to meditate, as half day passes all the Buddhist devotees went to Orphanages, charitable institutions along to the homes of the aged. In India this day is known as Buddha purnima and on this day all the people are encouraged to do the act of kindness like putting free stalls for food with water.