Buddha Purnima 2020: Significance Of The Buddhist Festival And How Is It Celebrated This Year

Buddha Purnima marks the birth anniversary of the founder of Gautam Buddha. This year the coronavirus pandemic is taking prayer ceremonies online.

Patna: Devotees perform rituals on the occasion of Buddha Purnima at Ganga River, during the ongoing COVID-19 complete lockdown, in Patna, Thursday, May 07 2020. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Buddha Purnima, also called Buddha Jayanti marks the birth anniversary of the founder of Buddhism, Gautam Buddha. Buddha Purnima celebrations are being held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event is being organised in the honour of the victims and the frontline warriors of COVID-19 according to PTI. Gautam Buddha’s Life Gautam Buddha was born into an aristocratic family in modern-day Nepal. On the night he was conceived his mother Maya dreamt of a white elephant with 6 tusks, a white elephant is considered auspicious. Buddha was shielded from human suffering and religious teaching because we were meant to be a great ruler but when Gautam left his palace for the first time, he encountered human suffering. To understand human suffering further, he would leave his palace, eventually, he renounced his throne and decided to sneak out in the middle of the night in search of truth and enlightenment. Celebration on this day Buddha Purnima celebrates his birth, enlightenment, and his death. Buddhists go to common Viharas to observe a rather longer-than-usual, full-length Buddhist sutra, akin to a service. The dress code is pure white. Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided. Kheer, sweet rice porridge is commonly served to recall the story of Sujata, who offered the Buddha a bowl of milk porridge. Dr. B.R Ambedkar was a critic of Hinduism he later in life became a follower of Buddhism as it was free from the varna system which created the caste-based divide. This conversion led to the biggest religious conversion ever seen in history when all the Dalit converted to Buddhism. Buddhism has inspired people all over the world. PM Modi’s Virtual Address On a virtual address nation, PM Modi extended his greetings to everyone. In his address to the nation, PM Modi said that Buddha is the symbol of both realization and self-realization of India. The Prime Minister further said that with this self-realization, India is working in the interest of humanity and the world, and will continue to do so. PM Modi also spoke about how essential Buddha’s teachings have become during the current times, he said that his Buddha taught us that we must continuously strive to overcome difficult situations to wriggle out of them. To stop because we’re tired is not an alternative. Virtual Prayers Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the necessity to maintain social distancing, the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), a global Buddhist umbrella organization, is holding a virtual prayer event with the participation of all the supreme heads of the Buddhist Sanghas from around the world, the statement said. Prayer ceremonies on the occasion will be streamed live from the Sacred Garden Lumbini (Nepal), Mahabodhi Temple (Bodhgaya, India); Mulgandha Kuti Vihara, Sarnath; Parinirvana Stupa, Kushinagar; Pirith Chanting from Ruwanweli Maha Seya in the sacred and historic Anuradhapura stupa premises, Sri Lanka; Boudhanath, Swayambhu, Namo Stupa, Nepal, apart from other popular Buddhist sites.