The Buddha's Birthday: VESAK 2016 (video)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; AnnoyboyPictures (video) annoyboy.lk; BuddhaNet.net

2015 Vesak celebrations in Theravada Buddhist Sri Lanka's "Festival of Lights," Colombo.*

Birth, Awakening, Rest: Happy Vesak Day!

The Buddha's Birthday (Vesak) is the ancient name of the month the Buddha-to-be (Bodhisatta) Prince Siddhartha was born, attained enlightenment (bodhi) thus becoming the Buddha, and passed into final nirvana (parinirvana). All of these happened on the full moon night of the same month, in different years, of course.

• It is celebrated by Buddhist communities around the world, including SoCal. The Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in Pasadena and the Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in L.A.'s Crenshaw district (both Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist temple complexes and monasteries) will celebrate Vesak all day on Saturday, May 21, 2016. Other temples are celebrating on various dates, including the Thai Dhammakaya International Meditation Center in Azusa, which usually holds the largest and most multicultural celebration. Check local temples for details.
• The Significance of Vesak or Buddha Day (BuddhaNet)

Dressed in white for Vesak (Dhammakaya)

When Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakiyan (Scythian) clan was born is not known exactly. But it is generally agreed that he reached enlightenment and began teaching the path to awakening 2,600 years ago when he was 35. He had renounced the throne and left home at 29 to undertake a spiritual quest.

Happy Vesak Day (BodhiPunx)

When he reached the final goal -- to find the cause of suffering and the way to bring it to a complete end -- he was able to claim to be the Enlightened One (Buddha), set rolling the Dharma (Teaching), and establish the Sangha (the community of enlightened individuals, which is known as the Noble or Arya Sangha, and the community of fully ordained monastics, the Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni Sangha, comprised of monks and nuns).

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Young monastic novices set oil lamps around the Buddha in Sri Lanka (newsinsidelanka).

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*VIDEO: The 2015 annual Vesak Theravada Buddhism Festival of Lights held at Gangaramaya Temple on Beira Lake in Colombo, Sri Lanka -- celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha. Music: "Breathe the Horizon" and "Buddha's Dream." DoP: Lipton Jayawickrama, 2nd Camera: Tharanga Srinath and Saminda Rajapaksa, production manager: Ayesha Dissanayake, directed and edited by: Devinda Fernando. Video production by Annoyboy Pictures (Pvt) Ltd., 36/1 Sujatha Mawatha, Kalubowila, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka (annoyboy.lk)