Prayers to the Buddha Sakyamuni
	en he entered successive stages of deeper and deeper medita- tion from which he passed into parinirvana. us ended the life of Buddha who is known to the world as Sakyamuni Buddha, the Sage of the Sakya Clan, the Historic Buddha who founded Buddhism that gave mankind the way to supreme Deliverance. It was the ful -moon day of the month of Vesakha. His body was then cremated and the relics divided into eight portions and sent to the various kingdoms where they were en- shrined in Stupas. rayers to the uddha akyamuni Daily every Buddhist should pay homage to the Buddha by re- citing any of these prayers: "NA MO BEN SHR SHIR JYA MO NI FWO" which means `Hail Our Original Teacher Sakyamuni Buddha'. "NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMASAM-BUDDHASA" which means `Homage to the Great Compassionate Completely Enlightened One'. As the Buddha is endowed with numerous qualities, various epithets have been bestowed upon Him. He is therefore also ad- dressed as: JINA -- Conqueror TATHAGATA -- One gone to `suchness' SUGATA -- Wel -gone One BHAGAWAN -- Blessed One ARHAT -- Capable One ATULYA -- Matchless One SAMYAKSAMBUDDHA -- Perfect Buddha Buddhists are also required to Take Refuge in the ree Jewels each day as a commit ment to practising the Buddha's teaching for the benefit of all sentient beings. e ree Jewels consist of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha and the Buddha's way of life requires one to live wholesomely by adhering to the Noble Eightfold Path. ose who do so will successful y avoid these ten non-virtuous actions: Kil ing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, slandering, malicious speech, idle speech, covetousness, malevolence and erroneous views. e most holy day for all Buddhists is the celebration of WESAK or Buddha Day which general y fal s in the month of May. is is a thrice blessed day which celebrates the three major events: the Birth, Enlightenment and the Passing-away of Gautama the Buddha. On this day Chinese Buddhists make their way to the temples to pay homage to the Buddha and to reaffirm their faith in the Buddha Dharma. It is truly a religious day and many people will spend it in meditation or prayer-recitation for the wel - being of others. Precepts are adhered to very strictly and only vegetarian food will be eaten. On this day too loving-kindness is practised in various manners as many people will set free birds and animals as a symbolic act of liberation, of giving freedom to those who are in captivity, while others choose to give alms to the poor, make donations to temples and institutions or visit the unfortunate ones who are at the Old Folks Homes, Orphan- ages or similar Centres, bringing with them gifts of every kind. Wesak brings to mind, the Great Compassion of the Buddha which should move us to be more determined to lead noble lives, to develop our minds, to practise loving-kindness and compas- sion so as to bring peace and harmony to all mankind. ¡ûBACK¡û |INDEX| ¡úNEXT¡ú