What is Bodhi day?
It stands for awakening
or enlightenment and celebrating the Buddha's awakening or enlightenment, on December
8th and it lasts for 30 days.
Prince Siddhartha Gautama family
provided him with a warm and safe environment. Still, Siddhartha was an
inquisitive person who travelled and observed the sadness of old age, disease,
and death, all of which deeply touched him. So much that, at the age of
29, he decided to leave his affluent surroundings in search of meaning in life.
He was still dissatisfied after six years of rigorous life and working under
six masters. He experimented with a variety of disciplines, even going so far
as to try to sustain by eating only one grain of rice every day. But he quickly
recognized it was not the solution. He swore that he would remain seated beneath the
Bodhi tree until he obtained the answers to his queries after being unable to
find answers. He ultimately attained enlightenment after 49 days and he became
Buddha.
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| Dharma Chakra. |
The enlightenment of the Buddha is yearly celebrated in many Buddhist countries.
Bodhi Day
Bodhi Day is
observed in many mainstream Mahayana traditions including the
traditional Zen and Pure Land schools of China, Korea,
Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Services and
traditions vary amongst Buddhist sects, but all such services commemorate the
Buddha's achievement of Nirvana, and what this means for Buddhism today.
Individuals may choose to commemorate the event through additional meditation, study
of the Dharma, chanting of Buddhist texts (sutras), or performing kind
acts towards other beings. Some Buddhists celebrate with a traditional meal of
tea, cake and readings.
Rōhatsu
In Japanese Zen,
it is known as, pronounced Rōhatsu or Rōhachi. In Japanese,
the word literally means 8th day of the 12th month. It is typical for Zen monks
and layperson followers to stay up the entire night before Rōhatsu practicing
meditation, and the holiday is often preceded by an intensive sesshin. It
is observed on the Gregorian date of December 8 as a result of the
Westernization of Japan during the Meiji Restoration (1862–1869). In Tendai and
other Japanese sects, it is called either Shaka-Jōdō-e or
simply Jōdō-e
Laba
The Chinese
version of this festival is called Laba which means the Eighth Day of
the La (or the Twelfth) Month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is most
often observed in the first half of January, but it may happen on a date
between the Winter Solstice (December 22) and the Chinese New
Year (between January 22 and February 21)
Vesak Day
Bodhi Day is not
as popularly celebrated as Vesak Day, on which the birth, enlightenment (Nirvāna),
and passing away (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha are celebrated.
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