Hopeful Notes: Visaka Bucha (Vesak)

May 12th 2006, Day 52

Chiang Mai

Vesak, Visaka Bucha or ‘Buddha Day’ commemorating Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, falls today this year. This is because it was on the same day - the full moon night of the sixth lunar month - when Lord Buddha was born, attained enlightenment 35 years later, and died when he was 80.

Chiang Mai, with its wealth of fantastic 'Wats', or buddhist temples is a fine place to be on such a day. All true Wats have resident training monks, and they've been out in force today! It's a great thrill to be privy to such an occasion and I made sure I saw some of it by getting up early to go and look at the buddhists assembling to worship in the temples, sing and raise buddhist flags.

You can see such activity in the photos on the left I took this morning at Wat Pan Tao.

Despite their diversity, all Buddhists venerate the triple gems of Buddhist philosophy: The Buddha, his teaching (The Dharma) and the brotherhood of Buddhist monks (The Sangha). It's a particularly appealing day to me because it's an exclusively vegetarian day and many birds and animals in captivity are released in the spirit of freedom. Sadly some of the domesticated or caged animals simply cannot survive in the wild and die. During the day, among other rituals, the monks will give speeches based on those made by Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha.

After these sermons, the final part of this day of pilgrimage is the circuambulation (!) of the main chapel in the temple (the Bhote). If you're a proper pilgrim you must walk around the main chapel clockwise three times with incense, candles and lotus buds. Many Thai buddhists believe that they can create positive karma by doing good deeds and achieve a favourable rebirth; this is the best annual opportunity to do so.

What else would I do in this situation but join in? James was not tempted to grab a lotus flower and incense sticks, but he accompanied me on the triple skirting of the Chedi, whilst avoiding the stray dogs which are everywhere in Chiang Mai. You can even donate money for their welfare, which James was not tempted to do. Tight fisted bugger.

The smell of incense and the pleasant atmosphere of people gathered outside together in the summer were very relaxing, although I can't say I could really feel the significance of the event in the air. Despite being outside the faith I was allowed to join in the ceremony, as one of the central tenets of Buddhism is respecting others' beliefs and values.