Wesak and Parinirvana Day

Question 2

Buddhist festivals

Answer 2

• day or period of celebration for religious reasons
• an opportunity to remember and celebrate the Buddha’s life and teachings
• an opporturnity to meet and practise together
• some are concerned with other Buddhists figures (such as bodhisattvas)
• some are specific to certain traditions or countries
• most major festivals celebrate events in the Buddha’s life

Question 3

Buddhist retreats

Answer 3

• period of time spent away from regular life to focus on buddhist teachings
• held in monastries or buddhist centres
• aim to help people deepen their understanding of Buddhist practice
• may involve meditation, talks and study groups, workshops, and rituals
• one example is Vassa: an annual retreat where Theravada monks dedicate more time to meditation and study

Question 4

Wesak significance

Answer 4

• most important Buddhist festival
• celebrated on full moon during may
• commemorates 3 major events in Buddhas life: his birth, his enlightenment and his passing into parinirvana
• honours and reminds buddhists to adhere to buddhists teachings and the way he lived
• As Buddhists think about the Buddha and his enlightenment, they are reminded of the knowledge and insight they believe he gained on the night of his enlightenment. They will consider his teaching with
  reverence such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and the Five Precepts.

Question 5

Wesak celebrations

Answer 5

• light up house with candles, lamps or lanterns
• make offerings to Buddha to respect his teachings and give gifts to local monastry
• bathings Buddha - symbolises inner purification, believed that the bathing of Buddha alloes Buddhists to purify their own minds from greed, hatred and stupidity.
• In singapore - take part in ceremonies where caged animals are released as a symbol of liberation

Question 6

Parinirvana day significance

Answer 6

• celebrated during february to remember the Buddha’s passing into parinirvana
• solemn occasion where Buddhists relfect on the their own future death, and remember friends or relatives who have recently passed away
• idea of impermenance is a focus of the day

Question 7

Parinirvana day celebrations

Answer 7

• read and study the Mahaparinirvana Sutra (a Buddhist scripture that describes the Buddha’s last days)
• meditate and worship at home or with others in a temple or monastry
• go on retreat to reflect and medicate, or go on pilgrimage: many Buddhists visit Kushinagar in India which is where the Buddha is believed tp have passed away