Vesak Day Buddha Shakyamuni celebrations take place across Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, India, and many other countries every year, honoring his birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana. Yet despite this universal importance, many Buddhists understand very little about who he truly is.
The importance of Vesak Day cannot be overstated. Rinpoche is direct and clear: “If you are a Buddhist, it is very good to understand Buddha Shakyamuni. Those who don’t understand Buddha Shakyamuni, then it is very difficult to understand anything.”
Vesak Day Celebration of Buddha Shakyamuni: The God of All Gods
Some Buddhist practitioners hesitate to call Buddha a god. However, this hesitation reveals a fundamental misunderstanding. Buddha is not merely a god — he is the god of all gods.
When Buddha Shakyamuni was born into this world, he took seven steps upon the earth and declared, “I am supremeness.” At that very moment, all scholars, humans, gods, and wise ones prostrated to him. Those with omniscient wisdom, psychic power, and deep insight immediately recognized his incomparable greatness.
Moreover, he descended from Tushita heaven, entered the womb of Queen Mayadevi in Kapilavastu, and was born in the Lumbini garden. For this reason, we prostrate to the Bhagawan — the god of all gods.
From Palace to Enlightenment: The Life of Buddha Shakyamuni
On Vesak Day, Buddha Shakyamuni’s life story — from palace prince to fully awakened one — is essential to understand.
As a youth, eight queens attended to Buddha Shakyamuni. By his teenage years, he had fully mastered all arts, medicine, science, poetry, and every branch of knowledge known in India at the time. Around his twenties, he took Yasodhara as his consort. Even in this early period, his incomparable qualities were already evident.
The great turning point, however, came when he left his palace through the four city gates. There, he witnessed the four sufferings that define all sentient existence:
The suffering of birth
The suffering of sickness
The suffering of old age
The suffering of death
These are not simply philosophical concepts. They are the living reality of every being. Furthermore, Buddha taught that when we truly know suffering, we become capable of liberating ourselves from it. Recognizing suffering, therefore, is the very beginning of the path to freedom.
Six Years of Asceticism and the Attainment of Full Awakening
After leaving palace life, Buddha Shakyamuni became a natural bhikshu near the Naranjana River. There, he practiced asceticism for six years. Through this intense practice, he clearly demonstrated his freedom from all obscurations — specifically the affliction obscurations and the ignorance obscurations.
Ultimately, in Bodhgaya in the region of Magadha, Buddha Shakyamuni attained full, Awakened Omniscience. This is precisely why we prostrate to the blazing wisdom of omniscience. His wisdom, like space itself, extends beyond the four extremes. As a result, he became the lord of the Dharma system — its founder and its living source.
How Buddha Shakyamuni Subdued the Difficult
What makes Vesak Day so rich is the breadth of what we celebrate. Buddha Shakyamuni did not merely teach — he actively transformed the world through miraculous power and compassionate wisdom. In fact, even the most resistant beings were not beyond his reach.
In Varanasi, he turned the first Dharma wheel, teaching the Four Noble Truths. He subsequently taught further cycles of the Dharma, offering progressively deeper wisdom for all levels of beings.
In Rajagriha, he subdued a raging elephant. Additionally, he subdued something far more difficult: a king who had murdered his own father, King Bimbisara. Even the most hardened and harmful people could not resist the power of Buddha’s presence.
In Vaishali, monkeys offered honey to Buddha and his monks. Notably, Vaishali was a prosperous merchant city — a place dominated by greed. Monkeys, too, are not known for sharing. Nevertheless, through Buddha’s presence, even greedy beings opened their hands and gave. This is the transformative power of Buddha Shakyamuni.
In Shravasti, he performed the great miracle displays that astonished the world.
In Kushinagara, finally, Buddha displayed parinirvana — his ultimate and final teaching.
Why Understanding Buddha Shakyamuni Matters
Rinpoche is direct and clear on this point: “If you are a Buddhist, it is very good to understand Buddha Shakyamuni. Those who don’t understand Buddha Shakyamuni, then it is very difficult to understand anything.”
Without understanding Buddha, the entire Dharma remains opaque. This is why Vesak Day is not simply a cultural event — it is an invitation to deepen our relationship with the source of all teachings.
Additionally, Buddha Shakyamuni carries a quality of immeasurable blessing for all who hear his name with faith. Rinpoche teaches that whoever hears the name of Buddha Shakyamuni with genuine faith will never fall to the lower realms. Faithfully hearing Buddha’s name, therefore, carries immeasurable power and protection.
Vesak Day Celebration: Three Essential Practices
On Vesak Day, meaningful celebration goes beyond ceremony. Specifically, Rinpoche recommends these three practices for every Buddhist:
1. Learn about Buddha Shakyamuni — study his life, qualities, and teachings in depth
2. Contemplate Buddha — sit with what you have learned and allow it to penetrate your mind
3. Meditate on Buddha — visualize his presence, because, as Rinpoche teaches, Buddha is actually here, though we may not always feel that
Furthermore, Rinpoche encourages the daily practice of remembering Buddha Shakyamuni. Reciting Buddha’s names and mantras — including the Muni Muni mantra — is a powerful way to connect with his blessings each day.
Om Muni Muni Maha Munaye Swoha
Awalokishwara, whose name means “supreme lord of all worlds,” attained that title through the power of this very mantra practice. What Awalokishwara achieved through mantra, we too can approach — one recitation at a time.
As a way to meditate on Buddha, make sure you visit thebuddhapath.org to see the Great Seeing Liberation Image of Buddha Shakyamuni.
Celebrating Vesak Day Together as International Sangha
Today, we join fellow practitioners across Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, India, and every corner of the world in celebrating this sacred day together. Vesak Day transcends any single Buddhist tradition. It belongs to all who hold Buddha Shakyamuni in their hearts.
May this Vesak Day celebration deepen your understanding of who he truly is. May it kindle faith where there is doubt, and illuminate the path where it has seemed unclear.
Tashi Delek.
