Buddha Purnima
Bipul K Debnath
Once, there was a woman called Kisagotami, whose first-born son died. She was so grief-stricken that she roamed the streets carrying the dead body and pleading for help to bring her son back to life. A kind and wise man took her to Lord Buddha. Fetch me a handful of mustard seeds and I will bring your child back to life, the Buddha told her, adding, But the seeds must come from a family that has not known death.
Joyfully, Kisagotami went off to fetch the seeds. She went from door to door in the village asking for mustard seeds, but everyone said, Oh, there have been many deaths here. I lost my father, I lost my sister. She could not find a single household that had not been visited by death. Finally, a distraught Kisagotami returned to the Buddha and said, There is death in every family. Everyone dies. Now, I understand your teaching. The Buddha replied, No one can escape death and unhappiness. If people expect only happiness in life, they will be disappointed. This is one of the teachings of Buddha.
Buddha Purnima, which fell on May 10 this year, celebrates the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha which all happened on the same day, on the full moon of Baishakh, the first month of the Bangla calendar. Gautam Buddha was born in 623 BC in Lumbini, Nepal, attained enlightenment at the age of 35 in 588 BC at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India, and died at the age of 80 in 543 BC at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, India.
World Buddhist community celebrates Buddha Purnima as Vesak festival. On this day, we go to a Buddhist temple and we pray for achieving panchshil (five principles of life). Later on, the teachings of Buddha are discussed by a monk. Buddha preached his religion for 35 years for the betterment of the universe. His clarion call is _ let all living beings be happy and free from sufferings, said Bikiran Prosad Barua, joint secretary general, Bangladesh Buddha Kristi Prochar Sangha.
Buddha discovered eight noble principles for mans emancipation from evil forces. If we follow the principles of Buddha, no hatred, malice, killing or war will take place. Man is a part of society. If the man is happy, the society will be happy. If the society is happy, the country will be happy. If the country is happy, the whole world will be happy. In this way, happiness lies in the eight principles of Buddhism, said Pranab Kumar Baruya, secretary general, Bangladesh Buddha Kristi Prochar Sangha.
On this auspicious occasion, 25 lakh (2.5 million) Buddhists assemble at their local monasteries and offer food and other articles to the monks. They embrace and exchange greetings with each other. In this way, they become close. In the evening, there is a religious meeting where the monks highlight the teachings of Buddha. There is also a cultural function. It can be mentioned that Lord Buddha visited Pundranagar in Bogra district of Bangladesh. He stayed for three months to preach Buddhism, and we are happy for that. On this day, we pray through Buddha to save our people from egoism, and hatred. We should love each other. May all living beings be happy, said Baruya.
The Buddha gave importance to human conscience. I will never kill, nor will I be the cause of any killing is his basic teaching, he added.
Photos: Mahmud Zaman
