Buddhist festival of Vesak: Precept of love and its symbol in Buddhism
Dr. Lalit Kishore 18 May, 2016 Merinews
The most important day in the Buddhist calendar, Vesak, is around the corner to be observed on coming full moon i.e. May 21. The Buddhists around the world are going to celebrate Vesak with devotion and gaiety. Vesak, in India is also known as "Buddha Jayanti" or "Buddha Poornima" to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha.
Love is an important precept of Buddhism, which is regarded as the absence of superficial egoist needs and living one's presence with full awareness or living one's present moment.
In Focus
In Buddhism, striving for that which is outside of one's true nature is seen futile and seeking fulfillment in another as a common worldly notion of love is seen as an attachment based on a craving or sensual desire as a cause of suffering.
The Buddha had once said, "If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another." In other words, love in Buddhism is seen as an experience of being whole or realization of one's true nature perceived as love. Thus, in Buddhism, one's true nature is love itself and seeking it outside is strife. We need to realize within that we are already blessed with love.
Though the Buddha had urged his followers for being their own lamps but they invented some auspicious symbols for love and love to draw those on religious festivals. The auspicious symbol of love is endless knot in Tibetan Buddhism and overlapping diamonds in Mongolian Buddhism.
Lets learn to draw Mongolian Buddhist symbol of love in the following steps.
1. Draw two overlapping diamond shapes.
2. Extend the adjoining sides on each corner equally.
3. Convert these extended lines into small diamond shapes.
The Buddha had urged people to realize their true selves as love personified and radiate this boundless love towards the entire world - above, below, and across - unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.
On Vesak, the followers bring offerings of flowers, joss-sticks and lamps to remind them the impermanence of life. Also, the 'Bathing the Buddha' ceremony on this day is seen as reminder to purify the mind from greed, lust and desires and lead a noble life full of kindness, compassion and love.
Here is a quote by the Buddha on love: "Love is a gift of one's inner most soul to another so both can be whole" to mull over this Vesak.