VESAK Flashcards
Buddha - Practice
Bathing of Buddha’s statue → Adherents embrace the symbolism of purification as they reflect on Buddha’s example
Buddha - Elaboration
Such reflections “cleanses” negative karma from “a man’s heart,” as the “heart is the source of all actions to find peace (Dhammapada 185),” thereby reinforcing that true enlightenment requires external observation and internal introspection
Buddha - Example 1
Han China → Mahayanists perform the ritual among lotus-adorned temples publicly
Even while renouncing cravings in pursuit of purification, spiritual beauty blooms, symbolically affirming Buddha’s teaching how “just as the lotus blooms in the mud, so too does enlightenment when cravings are renounced”
Buddha - Example 2
Myanmar → Theravadists retreat to secluded monastaries in forests, where they “take refuge in the Buddha (threefold refuge)” through embracing austerity. This allows individuals to be “freed from ego through mindful renunciation (Ajahn Chah)”
Buddha - Contrast
This juxtaposition highlights that despite cultural differences, both rituals aim for the purification and aid in the opportunity to renounce cravings that bathing the Buddha’s statue provides
Buddha - Sutras
By intoning sutras with the ritual, adherents further emulate in the transformative reality that the Buddha provides. Through his example, individuals effectively cultivate tranquillity, which is identified as “the cradle of power” (Thich Nhat Hanh)
This calmness is believed to purify the mind and empower individuals on their path to enlightenment
Dharma - Practice
Freeing caged birds and animals → Successfully aids adherents in cultivating karuna, sila, and prajna necessary for enlightenemnt
This is because “virtue appears from good deeds and wisdom from a pure and peaceful mind” (Dhammapada 229)
Dharma - Example 1
In Theravada Thailand, the longstanding tradition of “life release”— devotees purchase the freedom of caged animals
By doing this, adherents “dwell in peace” (Dhammapada 13) as they are called to accept the impermanence (anicca) of their life by refraining to kill animals, and simultaneously refraining from tanha to attain Nirvana.
Dharma - Example 2
Japan offers a more intimate practice: at certain Zen temples, practitioners individually release captive koi fish into peaceful garden ponds.
This private, reflective act of liberation cultivates karuna, sila, and prajna. “The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear (Jack Kornfield)” This reveals that our inner cultivation through virtue shapes our emotional landscape
“compassion… is essential to human survival (Dalai Lama XIV)”
Sangha - Practice
Sermons + Almsgiving → Buddhists as a community further acknowledge the wisdom of the Sangha on the Dharma to align themselves with the “middle path, by which the one who has thus come has gained enlightenment” (Samyutta Nikaya 56).
Sangha - Example 1
During Vesak, adherents gather at temples to recite sutras, mantras, and hymns, collectively cultivating prajna and “taking refuge in the Sangha” (threefold refuge).
In Bhutan, public sermons during Vesak are broadcast nationwide, underscoring the Sangha’s vital role in guiding society to “the light of wisdom to achieve enlightenment” (the Buddha).
Vesak celebrations in Bhutan are recognised even by secular leaders, who emphasise their role in fostering community resilience and compassion, illustrating the Sangha’s role in guiding society toward enlightened harmony
Sangha - Example 2
In Malaysia, adherents chant the Dhamma Vandana, a Theravada chant. This practice cultivates karuṇā and prajna while encouraging Malaysian Buddhists to appreciate the Sangha in their spiritual life through acts of almsgiving to the needy and monks, embodying the message of “spreading love everywhere” (the Buddha).
