Buddha Purnima

Today is the festival of Buddha Purnima.

Buddha Purnima is the most sacred festivals of Buddhist. Buddha Purnima. It is celebrated in remembrance Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha is the founder of Buddhism. This day is the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. This day commemorates three important events of Buddha's life which are:

- His birth in 623 BC.
- His enlightment i.e. attainment of supreme wisdom, in 588 BC.
- His attainment of Nirvana i.e. the complete extinction of his self at the age of 80.

Lord Buddha is considered the ninth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu (Preserver in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator-Preserver-Destroyer). Buddha means "enlightened one" - someone who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions.

The teachings of the Buddha are solely to liberate human beings from the misery and sufferings of life. According to the Buddhism, sorrow and desire are the main cause of all the evil and suffering of this world. Lord Buddha advocated the Eightfold Path consisting of precepts like right conduct, right motive, right speech, right effort, right resolve, right livelihood, right attention and right meditation to gain mastery over suffering. It is only after following this path one can reach the ultimate aim of Nirvana. Nirvana is the transcendental state of complete liberation. Gautama Buddha lived and taught in northern Inda in the 6th Century B.C.

Buddha travelled far and wide teaching hundreds of followers. Even after death his disciples continued to spread his teachings.

Rich and poor alike were attracted by the simplicity of Buddha’s teaching and his emphasis on complete equality of all. Sarnath and Bodhgaya are two of the most important pilgrimage centres for the Buddhists.

Though Buddhism originated in India and the religion has gained tremendous popularity throughout the Far East in Asia, there are very few practicing Buddhists in the country.