Vesak or Buddha Day, also known as Buddha Purnima, commemorates three significant events for Buddhism on a single date: the birth, enlightenment, and death of the historical Buddha, Prince Siddhartha Gautama.
This is one of the most important events in the Buddhist calendar, celebrated in countries across South, Southeast, and East Asia.
Even the United Nations declared the date an international holiday in 1999. At the organization's headquarters and in some UN offices worldwide, commemorating the date is a way to reference the humanity teachings spread by Buddha.
When is Vesak in 2024?
.jpeg)
Vesaka or Vesak derives from the Sanskrit word Vaiśākha, originating from the ancient Vedic Lunar Calendar, representing the name of a Zodiacal Constellation (similar to the constellations we have in the current solar calendar).
As it's based on a lunar calendar, there's no fixed date in the Western (Gregorian) calendar. The milestone is the full moon near the beginning of May or the end of April. However, it's most commonly celebrated on the full moon of May (when the Sun is in Taurus).
The exact date of Vesak varies depending on the country’s calendar. In 2024, the full moon date will fall under the sign of Scorpio on May 22 or 23:
*May 22 (in countries like Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and others)
*May 23 (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Japan, Laos, Tibet, EUA, Brazil, United Kingdom and others)
How is the Vesak Festival Celebrated?
The celebrations vary within Buddhist communities worldwide. But, as a general rule, this date should inspire the renewal of Budhi energy in another year of our lives.
Intentions should invoke the brotherhood and union of human hearts towards light, beyond races or religions. The date should also inspire virtues such as Unconditional Love, Compassion, Kindness, Peace, and Equanimity.
Many Buddhists perform pujas, which are adorations with mantras and chants. The date can also be celebrated with meditations, reflections on Buddhism with the sangha (community), with teachings from Buddhist monks.
.jpeg)
People wear white clothes, decorate their homes with lanterns, and perform acts of generosity for the less fortunate. Offerings such as flowers, incense, and candles are commonly seen at temple altars.
There are some traditions that often involve pouring water or sweet tea over the shoulders of Buddha to indicate that people need to cleanse their karma and minds from attachment, anger, and fear.
Buddhists are also encouraged to maintain a vegetarian diet on this day.
Where is Buddhism practiced in the world?
According to Pew Research data, approximately 7% of the world's total population in 2010 identifies as Buddhist.
Most practitioners (98.7%) are in the Asia-Pacific region, according to data from the same center in 2020. See in the map below.
.jpeg)
The countries where Buddhism is the majority religion are in the Asia-Pacific region, including: Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Laos.
.jpeg)
Although the majority of Buddhists live in Asia and the Pacific, only about one-in-eight people (12%) in that region are Buddhists. About 1% of North Americans are Buddhists. In each of the other four regions, Buddhists make up less than 1% of the population.
These practitioners may follow one of the three major branches of Buddhism in the modern world: Mahayana Buddhism, which has the largest population of practitioners, Theravada Buddhism, the oldest of the traditions, and Vajrayana (sometimes described as Tibetan) Buddhism.
Who was the Buddha?
.jpeg)
In ancient Nepal, in a province called Lumbini, a prince named Siddhartha Gautama was born around 563-483 BC. Son of Queen Maya Devi and King Śuddhodana.
He was born while his mother was on a journey to her homeland. He spent the early part of his life covered with the palace privileges but questioning power, oppression, wealth, and the inequalities of his people.
Dissatisfied and with many questions in his mind, young Siddhartha decided to seek justifications for human suffering. He renounced the privileges of his inheritance and set out on foot across his country, becoming a nomad. Observing, meditating, and investigating the nature of the human mind was his method.
At the age of 35, he attained what we call Nirvana, enlightenment, under the Bodhi Tree. He then became the "Buddha," which in Sanskrit, the Indian language, means "the enlightened one." That is, one who has achieved spiritual realization.
Siddhartha's physical death, with passage to Parinibbānna, occurred at the age of 80.
Throughout this long journey of Buddhist practice, he learned and shared his teachings orally with those who followed him.
A few followers recorded these teachings, which provided the basis for the religion to spread, initially in the East, and later to other countries and transform according to the culture of the region.
What are the main teachings of Buddhism?
.jpeg)
Although there are different schools, the foundation of Buddhism is understanding the basic nature of things and phenomena.
Buddhism believes that every individual has a Buddha nature, an inherent goodness. And each being, without exception, has the potential to experience total sanity. This sanity means understanding and contemplating the impermanence of experiences without illusions or attachments.
And why should we rid ourselves of attachments? Because they are the source of human suffering.
The teaching seems simple, but the practice is laborious. It requires a deep change in perspective on the world.
The 4 noble truths of Buddhism are:
- truth of suffering: human suffering exists;
- truth of the origin of suffering: the causes for this suffering are in the mind, they are greed, anger, and ignorance;
- truth of the cessation of suffering: despite this, it is possible to cease this suffering.
- truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering: to cease suffering, one must follow the Noble Eightfold Path*.
The *Noble Eightfold Path, referred to in the last noble truth, consists of eight elements that must be pursued to have correct and ethical moral conduct. Ideally, all these aspects should be practiced simultaneously. They are:
- Right Understanding (Samyag-drsti);
- Right Thought (Samyak-samkalpa);
- Right Speech (Samyag-vac);
- Right Action (Samyak-karmanta);
- Right Livelihood (Samyag-ajiva);
- Right Effort (Samyak-vyayama);
- Right Mindfulness (Samyak-smrti);
- Right Concentration (Samyak-samadhi).
Buddhist practice is based on principles that can be improved throughout life because it concerns the character and humanity of the individual. Even for those who practice other religions, as long as there is coherence and ethics among beliefs.
The benefits gained from practices should be beneficial for the practitioner and for all those around them. So much so that a prayer often used in Buddhist gatherings is: "May the merits of our practice extend to all beings, and may we all become the Enlightened Path."
Why are religions important to the translator’s cultural baggage?
Anyone providing serious translation services knows that it's necessary to understand the culture in which the target audience is embedded to produce a coherent translation. We've talked many times here about the importance of Localization.
Religion is a relevant aspect of each culture. So knowing a little about them and how they influence the dynamics of each person is important for the translator's cultural baggage. It sharpens their sensitivity. Nobody wants to make a mistake and translate a text in a prejudiced way or that offends the beliefs of a group, right?
Oh, and within the Buddhist context, on this special day, wishing a celebrant a "Happy Vesak Day" is a welcome greeting!
Unlock the power of glocalization with our Translation Management System.
Unlock the power of
with our Translation Management System.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
