563 BCE, Lumbini, Nepal Rani Mayadevi gave birth to a son But the surprising thing is that as soon as he was born, the child stood up and started walking. That infant took seven steps This child who performed such a unique miracle was none other Lord Buddha, who later established Buddhism Every year on the full moon day of Vaisakha month the Mahabodhi temple of Bihar, shines with light and diya A festival is celebrated here where Buddhists from all over the world come and participate And it is said that by participating in this you can move towards enlightenment and moksha We are talking about Buddha Purnima which is one of the biggest festivals of the Hindu and Buddhist calendar But do you know what is the real story of Buddha Purnima? And why is it celebrated every year? Vaisakha is a month of the Hindu calendar in which many festivals are celebrated. One of them is Buddha Purnima. A day when a spiritual sync is formed between the Hindu and Buddhist calendars Which means that in the calendars of both these religions the position of the moon is the same And on this date, three important events took place in thelife of Gautam Buddha His birth, enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana After which he left his body and went away from this world The story of Buddha Purnima is the story of this journey of Gautam Buddha The journey from a prince to become a Buddha 00:01:46.831 Gautam Buddha was born in a royal family in Nepal where his name was Siddharth Gautam After his birth, when this miracle happened, Siddharth's father took him to a knowledgeable astrologer And that astrologer said as soon as he looked at him that this child will either become a great king or a great religious saint After listening to this prediction, Siddharth's father decided that he will keep him away from all the sorrows of the world So that he could not face any such incident and he would not be inspired by spirituality Gautam Buddha's childhood was spent in the palace of Kapilvastu where he was raised as a prince And he was kept away from the outside truth and sorrows But since childhood, he had a desire to go out of the palace Then one day at the age of 29, he decided to go out of the palace He sat on his chariot and went around the kingdom And every time he faced the truth of life He saw an old man, a sick man and a dead man Suddenly, he felt confused He lost his mind And then he saw a sage He stopped and talked to the sage After which he came to know that there is only one way to get rid of all the sorrows of life That is to free yourself from the illusion and walk on the path of spirituality He then decided that he will leave the palace and all the comforts He knew that his father would never agree to this. That's why one night, he left all his jewels and ornaments. He left them in his room and wore a simple dress Gautam Buddha was now in search of enlightenment For 6 years, Gautam Buddha lived as a sage Understanding the truth of life, gaining knowledge and controlling his desires. He kept moving forward While wandering like this, one day he reached Bodh Gaya There, he sat under the Bodhi tree and started meditating 00:03:55.039 According to the Buddhist text Sutapitaka, when Gautam Buddha was meditating, he met a demon named Mar He was a symbol of illusion, desire and ego He started trying to divert Gautam Buddha from his path First of all, he took the form of a storm He ruined the weather with strong winds, lightning and heavy rain No one could sit there without shivering But this did not affect Gautam Buddha Seeing this, the demon went mad He started raining fireballs and stones from the sky But even after this, Gautam Buddha did not get scared nor did he open his eyes He kept meditating After trying for a long time, the demon went to Gautam Buddha in a fit of rage and started challenging him You know that the place where you are sitting is my seat You will have to get up from there He was thinking that Gautam Buddha will get angry and his years of meditation will be in vain But even after this, Gautam Buddha just smiled and he touched the earth Oh mother, now you tell this gentleman who got this seat first The demon, who was in a fit of rage, was looking at Gautam Buddha with a smile But then a terrible roar occurred The earth mother said This place belongs to Siddhartha Gautam and he will sit here Hearing this, the demon went mad He realized that the path he had come to divert Gautam Buddha from, he had completed it Siddhartha Gautam, now the enlightened Gautam Buddha had separated himself from all the pain, anger and work God Gautam Buddha spent his remaining life in the propagation of Dharma In which he showed the way to get rid of the pain His teachings changed the lives of many people Even in the last days of his life, he went to different parts of India and taught Dharma His last journey ended in Kushinagar where at the age of 80, he attained the Mahaparinirvana and freed himself from his body and left this world That day was also the same day when Gautam Buddha was born and when he became Gautam Buddha from Siddhartha On the day of Buddha Purnima, we remember this wonderful journey of Gautam Buddha and try to follow the path he told us. This story teaches us how a person dedicated his life to the search for truth In 2024, on 23rd May, Buddha Purnima will be celebrated. On this day, many Buddhists around the world follow the Vrat and celebrate this holy day Early in the morning, the devotees gather in the temples and bathe in the holy water which is a symbol of their purification and divine powers This ritual is known as Bathing of the Buddha. After this, the monks read and recite Buddha's teachings like Dhammapada. This book is a compilation of Buddha's teachings which helps a person to show the right path in life This book is an inspiration for people to find peace and solace in their life On Buddha Purnima, Buddhists donate a lot Food, clothes and other necessities are distributed among the poor This is an important part of Buddha's teachings After reciting and donating, lamps are lit in the temples and people meditate This is the time to calm down and bring peace in their life At many places, Buddhists organize community meals where people sit together and eat This strengthens the feeling of unity and love Buddha Purnima teaches us how to build a better society by embracing love, compassion and social responsibility To awaken this feeling in everyone, it is very important to understand Buddha's teachings and bring them into our daily life Buddha Purnima is not just a memory of historical events but also a chance to bring Buddha's teachings into our lives These teachings may be ancient but they provide eternal knowledge to solve today's challenges So let's try to understand them In today's busy life, we are often bothered by office responsibilities and household chores If we have a fight with someone or if someone says something bad to us, we get angry or sad But Gautam Buddha says that all these feelings are just distractions for a while and that's why we should keep moving forward According to the Buddhist text Anathalakhan Sutra, this is the first learning of Gautam Buddha to understand the instability of life Be it sadness, happiness, anger or stress, these things don't last for long These are the ups and downs of life And by dealing with these ups and downs, Gautam Buddha's teachings help us to improve our personal and professional relationships The practical use of Gautam Buddha's eightfold path helps us to make better decisions in our daily life Like right action and right speech When, where, what to say, how to say, how to keep our ego aside All these things can make us a better person in our social and personal life On the other hand, Gautam Buddha's teachings of compassion and non-violence reminds us to be kind to everyone.
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