Buddha Jayanthi

BuddhaCelebrating the birthday of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. According to legend, Buddha was born on this day in 623 BC, on the same day he reached enlightenment and in 543 BC on the same day he died, reaching full nirvana. Thus, all three major events in the life of the Buddha are simultaneously celebrated.

Shakyamuni Buddha is also known as Siddhartha (his own name) and as Gautama (family name). He was the son of Shuddhodan from the Gautam family, the Shakyyas (hence Shakyamuni – “hermit from the Shakyya tribe”). He was born in the village of Lumbini (now Nepal). After the birth of his son, at the age of 29, Prince Siddhartha left the secular life and set out in search of the Truth. Asceticism and asceticism did not lead him to his goal. Then he chooses the "Middle Way."

At the age of 35, sitting on a mat of kush grass under a sacred banyan on the banks of the Ganges in the place where the city of Bodh Gaya is now located, he suddenly attains enlightenment (bodhi) and becomes a Buddha, i.e., “enlightened.” He appeals to self-contemplation, self-knowledge and self-improvement of the soul, for this is the only way to be saved from suffering in the world of vain passions, since everything is perishable in it, and, ultimately, to achieve the goal of life – liberation from rebirth. Self-denial should not turn into cruelty. Hence the Buddhist preaching of peace, the denial of sacrifice. The Buddha rejects the Vedas and does not believe in one God, but accepts karma and transmigration of souls. He is not directly opposed to castes, but the door is open to all mendicant Buddhist monks, including women. His sermons formed the basis of the teachings called Buddhism. He died at the age of 80 in Kushinagara, reaching full nirvana.

Three centuries after the death of Buddha during the reign of Emperor Ashoka, Buddhism became the dominant religion of India. Ashoka, having established Buddhism in his vast empire, sends missionaries to neighboring countries. Gradually Buddhism spread in Ceylon, Burma, Central and Central Asia. Then in the 1st century AD it penetrates into China, in the 4th century AD – into Korea and Japan, in the 5th century AD – into Indonesia and, finally, in the 8th century AD – into Tibet, turning into a world religion. In India itself, however, Buddhism, after initial successes in rivalry with Jainism and Hinduism (up to the 4th century AD), was forced to gradually give way to the main religion - Hinduism.

Pilgrims from all over the world come to Bodh Gaya to take part in the festival. They chant prayers, preach and conduct religious discussions, recite Buddhist scriptures, meditate and worship the Buddha statue.