Buddha Poornima special

According to Buddhist legends, the baby Buddha was born into a royal family, in a garden, in the present day Nepal over 2,500 years ago. To honour Buddha’s birthday, a small statue of the Buddha or baby Buddha is placed in a special altar at many temples, and this altar is decorated with beautiful flowers to represent the garden in which he was born. Visitors offer more flowers, and take part in “bathing the baby Buddha” – using a type of ladle to pour water or a sweet hydrangea tea over the statue. Incense is also offered, along with chanting sutras and prayer as Buddhists recognize the birth of the creator of Buddhism and the gifts he left for all. The date changes depending on sect. The majority of Asian Buddhists celebrate the Buddha’s birth or Vesak according to the lunar calendar.

Gautama Buddha lived a life of privilege and luxury until one day he left the royal enclosure and encountered for the first time, an old sick man, and a corpse. Disturbed by this, he became a monk before adopting the harsh poverty of Indian asceticism. Neither path satisfied him and he decided to pursue the ‘Middle Way’ - a life without luxury but also without poverty. Buddhists believe that one day, seated beneath the Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening), Siddhartha became deeply absorbed in meditation and reflected on his experience of life until he felt enlightened. By finding the path to enlightenment, Siddhartha was led from the pain of suffering and rebirth towards the path of enlightenment and became known as the Buddha or 'awakened one'.

From the time he attained enlightment, at the age of 35, Buddha set in motion the wheel of teaching: rather than worshipping one god or gods, Buddhism centers around the timeless importance of the teaching, or the dharma. For the next 45 years of his life the Buddha taught many disciples, who became Arahants or 'noble ones', who had attained Enlightenment for themselves.

Buddha did not write anything down, but left a remarkable legacy in the form of a teaching (the Dharma) that was at first orally transmitted by the religious Order (the Sangha) that he founded and personally guided for forty-five years. This Order has survived the centuries, preserving the wisdom of the Buddha in lifestyle as well as in words.