June 4, 2020 – Manila | Tomorrow, June 5, Friday is Vesak day, Buddha’s Enlightenment and Parinirvana Day.
Traditionally, Buddhists conduct a Buddha bathing ceremony to commemorate the Buddha’s birth. The ceremony, which involves pouring holy water on the statue of baby Buddha, is profound with several layers of meanings. It is a way to purify one’s negative Karma and earn merit.
A meaning of bathing the baby Buddha statue is “Through the merit of bathing the Buddha, we should aspire to purify our bodily, verbal, and mental actions by eliminating our greed, hatred, and delusion.”
When Prince Siddhartha (later Buddha Shakyamuni) was born in Lumbini, he miraculously came out from his mother’s right waist. The infant then walked seven steps, exclaiming, “I am the supreme one”, while pointing his right hand into the sky. It is said that seven lotuses bloomed on the first seven steps that he stepped on.
Queen Mayadevi died seven days after his birth and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty three gods. Decades later, when the Prince attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya, he miraculously travelled there to visit his mother and teach her the Dharma.
Tomorrow, we will commemorate Vesak Day.
pouring water to bathe the baby Buddha Shakyamuni
Queen Mayadevi and the newly-born infant Prince Siddhartha
Buddha under the Bodhi Tree