VESAK FESTIVAL

 Vesak is one of the most important festivals of Buddhism. The 15th day of the month of Vesak is the day on which many Buddhists celebrate this festival. Vesak Day covers all three aspects of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and Pirinivan.

In the Mahayana Buddhist traditions of India, the day is called Vaisakhi, a Sanskrit word similar to Vesak. The word Vesak is also the Sinhala form of the Pali word Visakha itself. The second month of the Hindu lunar calendar is called Vaishakh. There are many other names known as Vesak. They are known as Visakha Pooja, Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanthi in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, Visakha Bucha in Thailand and Phat Dan in Vietnam. Vaishakh in Indonesia, Vesak in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Fo dan in Chinese-speaking countries, also known as "Saga Dawa" in Tibet. A similar festival is held in Laos called Vixakha bouxa. In Myanmar it is called Ka-sone-la-pyae (Ka - sone - la - pyae means kasone fifteen). Kazan is also the second month of the Myanmar calendar. Vesak is a public holiday in many Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

On the day of Vesak, all devout Buddhists should come to their temples in the early hours of the morning, hoist Buddhist flags and chant stanzas chanting the praises of the Buddha and the Dhamma. Devotees should bring flowers, incense sticks, candles etc. to the shrine. The beautiful flowers that are offered in this way soon wither away. Candles, incense burners are finished. These sacrifices are also performed to symbolize the end of life's decay. Devotees are instructed to abstain from killing and to eat vegetarian food on that day. In some countries, especially in Sri Lanka, two days have been set aside for Vesak celebrations. All its liquor stores, slaughterhouses and butcher shops will be closed by government order within those two days. Trapped in cages, the birds release thousands of other animals and insects to symbolize freedom. Some Buddhists, dressed in white, observe the Atasil and spend the whole day in temples guarding it.

According to Buddhist teachings, some devotees observe the Atasil and dedicate themselves daily to religious observance. However, they are disciplined to preserve humility, modesty, and morality by observing additional disciplines on special days such as the fifteenth and lunar days.