What is Vesak Day?
Vesak Day is a day where buddhists worldwide commemorate the day when the historical Buddha attained his enlightenment and started his lifetime work to spread the message of love and compassion more than 2500 years ago.
To commemorate the significance of Vesak Day, it takes more than just visiting temples for prayers and offerings. We need to reflect upon the wisdom of the Buddha and his teachings, teachings that will lead us to live our every living day with more wisdom, joy and love.
What is the core aspect of his teachings we can reflect on this day?
Nature of impermanence of all phenomena. What is in the nature to rise, is in the nature to fall. There is nothing or anyone that is born of this world that is not subjected to growth and decay. If we can constantly reflect upon this, we will learn to make the best of our lives and constantly make an effort to better it for people around us and ourselves.
Quoting Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, "If we really understood and remembered that life was impermanent, we would do everything we could to make the other person happy right here and right now. If we spend twenty-four hours being angry at our beloved, it is because we are ignorant of impermanence"
Reflecting further, we will also understand the phenomena of the mind rise and fall too. And since suffering is a state of mind, we should remind ourselves constantly that it is impermanent and no suffering is too great that it will not pass with time. This will strengthen our faith, faith in the Four Noble Truths.
1) There is suffering in life
2) There is a cause of suffering
3) There is the cessation of suffering
4) There is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering
Contemplate on the Four Noble Truths and we will gain a better insight to how life works and in time to come, a wiser and more loving approach to life itself.
Happy Vesak Day! =)
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