Introduction
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| Buddha Altar US Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, Colorado |
For 2022, Vesak comes as early May 8 and as late as June 14 depending on tradition. In Mahayana (and some traditions, Vesak is generally celebrated a week earlier (this year May than in Theravada Buddhist tradition (as explained below). This is complicated by different locational differences. The earliest date officially celebrating Vesak is in Macau and Taiwan, where May 8 it is observed as an official state holiday. The latest date officially celebrating Vesak comes in Bhutan and Mongolia, where for 2022, June 14, is observed as a national holiday.
Below you will see listed the place and 2022 date that the birthday of the Buddha is an official public holiday
- May 8 South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan (set as second Sunday in May); in Macau and Hong Kong May 9 is an official holiday making this a long weekend. Although not officially recognized, this is the date Vesak is celebrated in much of the rest of the PRC (see note below) as well as the overseas Chinese communities in the Philippines, the United States and Canada.
- May 14 Myanmar (recognizing the official state holiday as the Full Moon of Kasong Day)
- May 15 Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand and (unofficially) Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam
- May 16 (the Monday following in lieu of Vesak falling on a weekend) is an official state holiday in Bangladesh, India (15 of 36 of India's states/union territories (explained below), Indonesia, 12 of 16 of Malaysia's states/territories (explained below), Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
- June 14 Bhutan, Mongolia, Sikkim (in India) and (unofficially) Tibet
Bhutan, Mongolia and Tibet celebrate on one day the birth, the paranirvana (enlightenment) and attainment of nirvana. This national holiday, called in Bhutanese does not combine the three events but marks the day Buddhists in this tradition believe that all three events occurred (the 15th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan/Bhutanese calendar). In Bhutanese, the holiday is called Duechen Nga Zom (nga meaning "five" and zom meaning "coincide") marking the coinciding of five events: Buddha's conception, birth, victory over evil, enlightenment and attainment of nirvana.
Although Vesak is not an officially recognized state holiday outside of Hong Kong and Macau, it is widely celebrated in the PRC with the date varying by which Buddhist tradition is followed (May 8 for most Chinese Buddhists; May 15 for the Dai-lue of Yunan Province, June 14 for Tibetan Buddhists)
In India and Malaysia, each individual state or territory has local jurisdiction as to whether to provide the following Monday off when Vesak falls on a Sunday. In India, 15 of the nation's states and territories provide Monday, May 16 off in lieu of Vesak falling on a Sunday. These are: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. In the Indian state of Sikkim, Buddhists follow the Tibetan tradition and observe the holiday on June 14. In Malaysia, all 4 of nation's 16 states and territories will not give Monday May 16 off in lieu of Sunday. The only four Malaysian states that do not allow the following Monday off are Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Putrajaya.
The holiday is most widely known as Vesak or Wesak, or in religious writings as Vesākha, the original word in Pali (the language of the Buddha). Other names for the Birthday of Lord Buddha include
- Fó Dàn in several Chinese dialects
- Saga Dawa in Tibetan and Sikkimese (and thus in many Vajrayan traditions)
- Visakha Bucha or Wisakhabucha in Thai
- Vixakha Bouxa in Lao
- Visak Bochea in Khmer (Cambodian)
- Phật Đản in Vietnamese
- Hanamatsuri in Japanese
- Seokka Tanshin-il in Korean
- Waisak in Balinese, Javanese, Sundanese, Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia
- Visakah Puja or Buddha Purnima in Nepalese
Dating Vesak
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| Tian Tan Big Buddha, Hong Kong |
The date assigned to Vesak depends on which of the different Buddhist lunar calendars each specific Buddhist tradition uses. Additionally, because none of these calendars parallel the Gregorian calendar, the date of Vesak appears on different days of the secular calendar; however, generally, Vesak comes in April or May.
Mahayana. Vesak is on May 8 in 2022 for most Mahayana Buddhist traditions. This is the date used in South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and (most of) China and Taiwan, Hong Kong.
In Mahayana tradition, Vesak falls on the eighth lunar day of the fourth month in the East Asian lunar calendar. Thus in 2022, Vesakh falls on May 8 in those traditions. In both Hong Kong and Macau, the day after Buddha's birthday is also a public holiday.
Theravada. Vesak is on May 15 in 2022 in (most) Theravada Buddhist traditions -- in other words, Vesakh begins a week later. In their calendar traditions, Vesak begins on the first full moon Uposatha (mind-clearing day) of the second month of their calendar.
Theravada is the dominant tradition practiced in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, southern India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Vajrayana. Vesak is on June 14 in 2022 in most (but not all) Vajrayana traditions. Vesak for Vajrayana Buddhists is a combined commemoration of the coinciding events of Buddha's birth, paranirvana and attainment of nirvana. Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism is the dominant tradition practiced in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia and the Buddhist Tuva and Kalmykia Republics in Russia. This is also the tradition practiced in much of northern India and is in the dominant religion of the state (and until 1975 independent monarchy) of Sikkim. Vajrayana Buddhism is also an important religious minority in Arunachal Pradesh and the Lakh district of Kashmir. It is also the tradition worldwide of the Tibetan diaspora community centered around the Dalai Lama at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.
The Newa people in Nepal (and from whom the country gets its name) follow their own Newar Buddhist tradition called Buddhamarga. The Newa people primarily live in the Katmandu Valley including Lalitpur (historically called Patan), the Buddha's place of birth, where they constitute the majority of the population. Buddhamaraga Buddism can be viewed either as a form of Vajrayana tradition or as very closely tied to Vajrayana Buddhism.
A separate announcement on Paranirvana or Nirvana Day will go out when this holiday occurs, as other traditions celebrate this separately from the birth of Buddha.
UN Vesak Day. The Theravada traditional Vesak day (May 16 in 2022) is also the date celebrated by the United Nations for the holiday.
Finally, in Japan, Vesak (or Hanamatsuri) is not determined by the East Asian lunar calendar but instead has been officially tied to April 8 in the Gregorian calendar since the Meiji Restoration.
As multiple interpretations of when the date fell existed based on Chinese, Hindu and other calendars, the Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists met in Sri Lanka in 1998 and agreed to the first full moon of May date (with a leap year built into the cycle on a complicated formula that occasionally places the date in June).
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| Monks celebrating Vesak at United Nations, 2006 |
This resolution was the basis for the United Nations General Assembly's resolution regarding the dating of Vesak. Since 2000, the United Nations officially observes Vesakh as the first full moon of May. The official UN Resolution for Vesak observance reads:
The General Assembly,Acknowledging the hope expressed by the International Buddhist Conference, held in Sri Lanka inNovember 1998, that the Day of Vesak, the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May each year, be recognized internationally and, in particular, at United Nations Headquarters and other United Nations offices,Recognizing that the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May each year is the day most sacred toBuddhists, who commemorate on that day the birth of the Buddha, his attainment of enlightenment and his passing away,Considering that international recognition at United Nations Headquarters and other United Nations offices would constitute acknowledgement of the contribution that Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world, has made for over two and a half millennia and continues to make to the spirituality of humanity,Resolves that, without cost to the United Nations, appropriate arrangements shall be made forinternational observances of the Day of Vesak at United Nations Headquarters and other United Nations offices, in consultation with the relevant United Nations offices and with permanent missions that also wish to be consulted.
http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNGARsn/1999/192.pdf
The Birth of the Buddha
The Gautama Buddha was born in 563 BCE in the town of Lumbini in northern India to the King Sudhodana and Queen Maya, the rulers of the kingdom of Sakya. His parents named him Siddhartha. He is also called Sakyamuni or the Sage of Sakya.
His mother the queen had a dream of a white elephant and a white lotus entering her womb. This was interpreted as an omen that the child she would bear would be either a great warrior or a great religious leader. It was for this reason that the young Siddhartha was shielded from the outside world by his father who wanted him to be a great warrior king and feared that exposure to the sufferings of the world would turn his son into a spiritual leader instead.
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| Birth of the Buddha Panel painting, Jogyesa Temple Seoul, South Korea |
Legend has it that Queen Maya gave birth to him with no pain of childbirth and that immediately after being born, the baby Siddhartha took seven steps to represent the seven Buddhist directions (east, south, west, north, up, down and here). It is for this reason that when the Buddha is depicted as an infant, he is often shown standing while pointing with one hand up and the other down to signify the seven directions.
In the Mahayana tradition, the infant is also supposed to have immediately spoken, saying, "I alone am the World-Honored One." It is important to note that this last point is highly debated. Some Buddhists do not accept that he said these words while others interpret these words only as meaning that he was aware at birth of the Buddha nature that is present in all living beings, not simply referring to himself.
Queen Maya died one week after the birth of her son but not before the visit of the ascetic Asita who pronounced that he saw in the child the 80 signs that he would become the Enlightened One. After his mother's death, the young Siddhartha was raised by his older sister.
Traditions Where the Buddha's Death Is Celebrated With His Birth
In Theravada Buddhism, Vesak is seen as both the day of the Buddha's birth and that of his death. This remains a very happy celebration even in Theravada tradition where the Buddha's death is intermingled with his birth. This is because at the Buddha's death, the Buddha counseled the disciple Ananda not to cry or feel sad but rather to honor the Dhamma, for the teachings that the Buddha shared are -- it was taught -- the only thing that is eternal. Buddhists interpret this, then, as celebrating Vesak by reaffirming their belief in the Eight Noble Truths, to seek enlightenment, to practice acts of love, and to try to bring peace and harmony to the world.
Mahayana Buddhism, by contrast, celebrates the day of Buddha's death as a separate holiday. Please see my blog on Paranirvana (or Nirvana Day) for more on that holiday:
Observances and Celebrations
The celebration of Vesak -- regardless of tradition -- usually centers around ceremonies at the Buddhist
temple. Buddhists in most traditions sing prayers about the Buddha, the Buddha's teachings (called the Dhamma) and the followers of the Buddha (called the Sangha).
It is customary to bring beautiful offerings that by intention do not last long, showing the impermanence of all things. Thus, some people bring cut flowers or flower petals (that wither soon), decorated candles (that soon burn out) or incense sticks (that rapidly turn to ash).
In almost all Buddhist traditions, people celebrate with items that fly, as representative of the freedom of the spirit brought by the Buddha's teachings. Among the most common of these practices comes with flying kites and with hanging paper lanterns that move in the wind. Many traditions fly special flags. Releasing birds is also practiced in many traditions.
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| Bathing the infant Buddha |
Another common practice shared across many different traditions is the washing of an image of the Buddha as a baby standing with one hand pointing up and one hand pointing down. Worshippers place the baby Buddha statue on an raised altar inside of a basin or large bowl. They then pour water or tea from a ladle symbolically washing the baby Buddha.
Because this is a point of common misunderstanding, it should be emphasized here that images of the Buddha, though treated with great reverence, are not idols but simply representations of the Buddha. These statues and images are not seen as deities themselves.
Many Buddhists traditionally wear white as a part of the holiday as well. It is also customary to eat only vegetarian meals on Vesak for those who otherwise are not vegetarian.
An important aspect of Vesak is to express happiness and especially to bring happiness to those who may be unhappy. This involves giving donations or doing special things for the sick and the elderly. It is also traditional to decorate the temples with things of beauty and with scenes of the life of the Buddha, which are supposed to bring happiness to all who see them.
As always, this is my own summary of a religious tradition. I welcome your input.
Happy Vesak!
Want to Learn More?
"The Birth of the Buddha: Legend and Myth," About.com Buddhism: http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddha/a/birthofbuddha.htm
"Buddha's Birthday," About.com Buddhism: http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhistholidays/a/buddhabirthday.htm
“The Life of the Buddha,” Souled Out.org., http://souledout.org/wesak/storybuddha.html
"The Significance of Vesak: Buddha Day," (The Venerable) Mahinda, Buddhanet: http://www.buddhanet.net/vesak.htm
"Lord Buddha's Parinirvana in Bhutan in 2022," Office_Holidays, https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/bhutan/buddha-parinirvana
"What Is Vesak?" Belief.net: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Buddhism/2000/05/What-Is-Vesak.aspx
"Vesak or Visakah Puja," Buddhist-tourism.com, http://www.buddhist-tourism.com/buddhist-festivals/vesak.html
"Vesak Day Celebrations Around the World," Funzug,com: http://www.funzug.com/index.php/funzug-mails/vesak-day-celebrations-around-the-world.html
"What is Vesak Day and Why Celebrate It?" James Ure, The Buddhist Blog: http://thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/what-is-vesak-day.html
Photo and Clip Art Credits
Tian Tan Big Buddha, Hong Kong: My own photo
Monks celebrating Vesak at United Nations, 2006: http://www.worldzen.org/vesak.php
Birth of the Buddha panel painting, Jogyesa Temple, Seoul: My own photo
Bathing the infant Buddha: http://www.palyulph.org/teachings.htm
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