Buddha Jayanti--- Buddha's day, Buddhism and some Debates I Find Interesting

So what is this Buddha Jayanti I mentioned in my earlier post?

Buddha Jayanti, which many Westerners know as Buddha's Birthday, is also known as Buddha Purnima, Baisakh Purnima or Vesak among different followers of Buddhism. This is the day that Buddhists not only celebrate the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautam who later became the Gautam Buddha we know of and hear of today, but this is also the day that he attained Enlightenment and the day he passed away into Nirvana.

Prince Siddhartha was born on the full moon day in May in 642 BC* in Nepal's southern district of Kapilbastu in Lumbini. Now, most of us know the story of how Prince Siddhartha became Lord Buddha; his leaving behind his wife and newly born son and the luxuries of palace life in search of a way out of old age, sickness and death. How through 7 years of meditation he learned of the middle path and how he passed away peacefully after attaining Enlightenment at the age of 80.

And as a child growing up in a Buddhist household, I always listened to these stories in fascination and awe thinking how cool was I to have such an inspirational religious teacher (as I had been taught, Lord Buddha is not a God but a teacher and leader). And now, as I have read more about Buddhism and am more exposed to issues regarding the religion and the characters from the stories I had so much cherished as a young girl, I've begun to see Buddhism in a new light.

First of all, I've begun to feel that Buddhism is not really just a religion. It is more a way of life and is about the "middle way". Possibly it's the way that I've been brought up, but to me being a Buddhist means not killing/harming other living beings, not stealing, not lying, not getting addicted to addictive substances and remaining faithful to one's partner (this last one never really meant much to me personally until just recently though); it means understanding moderation and understanding impermanence; but most importantly, it means helping those who are less fortunate by doing what we can, even if it means just helping them pick up some books they have dropped.

Having always thought Buddha to be a messenger of peace and tolerance I was shocked when I first heard of women's groups challenging Prince Siddhartha's choice to leave behind his wife and child. I had always seen this as a sacrifice for the greater good, the Mahayanist approach where you try and help as many people as you can through your actions.

Another debate which has been prevalent for years is the birth place of Buddha. Many history books confirm Prince Siddhartha was born in Lumbini, Nepal and attained Englightenment in Kushinagar in India. However, I have come across numerous sources stating, nay, claiming his birth was in India; some even going to the point of claiming Lumbini is in India. In this debate, I would say, yes his Enlightenment was in India, but how does that make him born in India? I was born in Nepal and spent a great deal of my childhood in the States, no one, not even myself would consider me as an American!

And another popular debate is as a Buddhist must you be vegetarian? All Nepali monks and nuns whom I have asked this question to ask in return, can you point to any text saying you must be a vegetarian? Did you know Buddha himself ate meat if that is what was provided to him in his bowl. But then how about the first precept, paanatipaata wayramani sikkhapadam samadiyami or I shall not kill/harm other living beings. According to what I was told, as long as it is not you choosing which animal to kill or actually killing the animal, you are not breaking this precept. Many people, however, prefer to take this precept to mean you will not be a part in any way of the killing of animals. Which is a fair point of view; but then it seems to me to be taking it to the extreme.

I guess everything really comes down to your own interpretation of the texts and the religion, but I think that one of the reasons why Buddhism has been the peaceful religion that it is is namely because of its belief in the middle way and remembering the importance of not taking anything to the extremes.

References:

*Lumbini- Birthplace of the Buddha. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/lumbini.htm

Ven. Mahinda. "Significance of Vesak- Buddha Day". http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/lumbini.htm

Lumbini Image. http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/548000