Vesak Day- Buddha Shakyamuni.

Dear Haoqi

Hmm... Vesak Day is juz next month.. I have been hearing from devotees that Vesak Day commemorate the Birth, Enlightenment and Nirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni. Does it mean that these 3 events occurred on the same date but different year?

May Haoqi pls. help to enlighten me?

Thanks
Jessie Tan

Haoqi: Ah Gong, is Vesak Day really a 3-in-1 celebration? Why didn’t Buddha choose 3 different dates so that we can have 3 days for public holidays?

Ah Gong: Only people like you will think of it as holiday…It will be too long a story to explain this, so I will try to summarise it here. Generally, Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions have different dates to commemorate the Birth, Enlightenment and the Parinirvāṇa of the Buddha.

Haoqi: Huh? Different dates? How and Why?

Ah Gong: Basically it has to do with the dating of the Historical Buddha, Buddha Sakyamuni. Scholars have no consensus over the date as there are a few issues with the dating. We can talk about this next time if you are interested. Anyway, more importantly, Buddha had never spoken of his life as a whole, and as such, there is no sūtra solely dedicated to his biography per se. Instead, bits and pieces were gathered from the early texts, drawing scattered accounts from the existing Sūtras and Vinayas. The writing of Buddha’s biography only started to appear several hundred years after His death. Few examples of these earlier texts on the life of Buddha can be traced back to Lalitavistara (《普曜經》written in 1st century CE) and Abhiniskramana-sūtra《佛本行集經》. However, both ended in his early life. Buddhacarita 《佛所行讚》which was written by Aśvaghoṣa during the 2nd century CE, encompasses Buddha’s life from birth to the time the relics were divided.

Haoqi: And? How is this related to the dates?

Ah Gong: Although the age Buddha left the palace, gained enlightenment and entered Parinirvāṇa are agreed as 29, 35 and 80 respectively, there was no consensus on the dates. Mahāyānists, drawing references from different sūtras such as Dīrghāgama (《長阿含經》Pali: Dīgha-nikāya) and Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra 《般泥洹經》 etc, believe that the birth is on the 8th day of 2nd Lunar month, or 8th day of 4th Lunar month, Enlightenment is on 8th day of 12th Lunar Month (although some historical records suggested 8th day of 2nd Lunar month, 8th day of 3rd Lunar Month and 15th day of 3rd Lunar month), and the Parinirvāṇa is commemorated on 15th day of the 2nd Lunar month.

Haoqi: This is so confusing Ah Gong. There are so many dates and records! What about the 3-in-1 date?

Ah Gong: In the Theravāda tradition, although Vesak is celebrated according to the 3-in-1 arrangement for centuries, the decision to formalise it was made at the Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (W.F.B.) in 1950.

Haoqi: And this is why we only have one public holiday for the celebration of His birth, enlightenment and nirvāṇa? hmm…they should have agreed on 3 dates instead!

Ah Gong: Jessie, I hope the answer is satisfactory, and I did not confuse you.

Haoqi: Wait Ah Gong, there are so many dates, and frankly speaking, if there are different versions of biography etc, how do we know which are the real dates and commemorate them accordingly?

Ah Gong: Well, are the dates really that important to you, my boy? Do you need a specific date to do good, avoid evil and purify your mind?

Haoqi: err……