The festival of Buddha Purnima marks the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Gautama Buddha and is the founder of Buddhism.
The festival is also known as Buddha’s birthday, Buddha Day or Buddha Jayanti. The day is celebrated in most of South, Southeast and East Asia, including Bharat, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Thailand, Tibet, China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and more.
It falls on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Vaisakha, which falls in April or May. Buddhists celebrate the day with great happiness and joy, participate in various religious ceremonies and rituals. This year marks the 2586th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha.
Purnima Tithi starts at 6:47 pm on May 22, 2024 and ends at 7:22 pm on May 23, 2024. Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal, and attained Nirvana at 35.
Buddha Purnima is observed as a day to highlight on the principles of Buddhism: peace, compassion, and enlightenment.
In some parts of South and Southeast Asia, the festival coincides with Vesak, a celebration of Buddha’s enlightenment and his passing into Nirvana.
The festival offers the opportunity to spread the message of peace and harmony. Meanwhile, the full moon holds significance in Buddhism as three significant events in Gautam Buddha’s life took place on this day.
The full moon in May is important as Prince Siddhartha was born at Lumbini Grove. Secondly, Prince Siddhartha Gautam attained enlightenment under the shade of the Bodhi tree and became Gautama Buddha at Bodh Gaya after six years of hardship.
Thirdly, after 45 years of teaching the truth, when he was eighty, at Kusinara, he passed away to Nibbana (Nirvana) – release from the cycle of rebirth.
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