The Buddha Day: Visakh Puja

It is today on the full moon of the month of Visakh, that fall on May 17th, the new year 2555 of the Buddhist Era. It is also known as Visakh Puja Day or the Buddha Day to the Western World, that celebrates the Birth, the Enlightenment and the pass away of Lord Buddha.

Some hightlights on:

The Birth: The Buddha was born Siddharta from a royal family in Northestern India around 534 BC. Her mother passed away seven days later. He was married and had a child and at at age 29 he left to live a life of mandicity in the jungle searching for the truth on the human suffering. He practiced self mortification nearing death for no avail and finally found out that the 2 extremes of indulgence and mortification will not produce anything. He launch his doctrine of middle way.

The Enlightenment: After 6 years of study and a long meditation in the night of the day before the full moon of the month of Visak at age 35 he fullfill his enlightenment after finding the root causes of the human suffering.
First the law of Middle Way or Majjhimapaddipata, second the Four Noble Truths, and third the Noble Eightfold Path. That followed by the law of causality found in the theory of Padica Samupadda or the Dependent Origination.
   The Four Noble Truths are: 1) the Truth of Dukkha (Suffering), 2) the Truth of the origin of Dukkha, 3) the Truth of the Cessation of Dukkh, and 4) the Truth of the Noble Eightfold Path to the Cessation of Dukkha.
    The The Noble Eightfold Path are: 1) Right Understanding, 2) Right Thought, 3) Right Action, 4) Right Action, 5) Right Speech, 6) Right Livelihood, 7) Right Effort, 8) Right Mindfulness and 8) Right Concentration.

The Parinippana: The pass away of the Buddha to a world of no rebirth at the age of 80. He spent 45 years providing teaching to the monks and lay people on the doctrines or Dhamma that he discovered. The Dhamma was strancribed later in the Tripitaka composed of 3 big parts: The Vinaya Pitaka (Code of discipline for the monks of Sangha), the Sutra Pitaka (the Buddha Discourses and Sermons), and the Abhidhamma (the Ultimate Teaching).

The Buddha three events fall in same day and month but at different year, and that is the Visakha Puja Day or Buddha Day and is recognized as World Heritage Day by the UNESCO.