Buddha Pūrṇimā

When it falls

The full moon of Vaiśākha, in late April or May. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and India keep it on that full moon; Japan keeps the birth alone on 8 April; the UN observes Vesak on the same full moon.

The Phala almanac gives the exact day for your own city; the lunar and solar rules above are what it computes from.

The story

Three events on one date: the birth of prince Siddhārtha at Lumbinī in the Nepal Terai, his awakening under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gayā thirty-five years later, and his passing (parinirvāṇa) at Kuśīnagara at eighty. The Theravāda tradition keeps all three on the Vaiśākha full moon, and the Buddha's birth story tells of his mother Māyā grasping a sāl branch in the grove at Lumbinī and the newborn taking seven steps.

In Sri Lanka the whole country turns into a festival of lanterns and free food. Every road has its paṇḍal of lit scenes from the Buddha's lives (the Jātakas), every junction its dansala giving rice, tea and ice cream to anyone who passes, and the paper lanterns (Vesak kūḍu) hang from every house.

How the day is kept

• A visit to the temple in white clothes, offering flowers, lamps and incense, and the eight precepts kept for the day by the devout.
• The bathing of the infant Buddha image: a small statue of the newborn pointing to the sky stands in a basin, and each person pours scented water over it.
• At Bodh Gayā, Sārnāth and Lumbinī the monks of every nation gather; at Kandy and Colombo the lantern processions and the paṇḍals run for a week.
• Caged birds and fish are bought and released, meat is set aside, and charity is given, since the day is for all living things.

More birthdays of gods, saints and teachers