As it turned out, overtaking the palace- and King ThibawMin- was even easier than predicted. The British demanded unconditional surrender and that’s what they got.The King and Queen were put on a bullock cart and taken down to the river to be sent into exile in India.

The story goes that when the British soldiers pulled out their guns, the King dropped down to his knees and begged for his life to be spared. His queen, however, walked on her own defiantly towards the steamer on the mighty Irrawaddy.

After the British invasion, the palace was used by the colonialists as a base for troops in Mandalay and many of the royal treasures were looted and sent back to London ( many are still on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum).
Every global aggress or eventually must face a rising challenger. And so it was that during the Second World War, Japanese forces captured he Mandalay Palace and used it as a supply depot for their expansions in the region. In retaliation, the Allies bombed the compound and most of it was burnt to the ground.

Only one major wooden building survived-the Shwenandaw Monastery, which is built completely of teak and is decorated throughout with detailed and ornate carvings. The watch tower and royal mint were also undamaged. The rest of the Royal Palace has been rebuilt from scratch.

So, almost everything you walk through from the entrance hall all the way past the throne room and to the residences was constructed in the early 1990’s. Although it is faithful to the original design and some traditional construction techniques were used, modern materials like concrete and corrugated iron were incorporated into the reconstructions.
Visiting the palace is one of the best things to do in Mandalay. It doesn’t take too long to walk through the palace but it can take a long time to get into it. The palace grounds are massive and dominate the cityscape. They are huge square of about two kilometers on each side, surrounded by a 64 meter-wide moat. Only one entrance can be used by tourists-the eastern- and it can take a long time to get to it if you happen to be on the other side (where most of the hotels are).

There are some great tours in Mandalay, many of which include the Royal Palace. Have a look at these ones that I would recommend:
The reason for the inconvenience is because the actual restored palace takes up only a small space in the centre of the grounds. The rest of the area is used now as a military base and big signs (and guards) remind you that it’s a restricted zone.

At least it is back in the hands of the local people again, whatever the international view of the Myanmar military is.
After the British control and then the Japanese it seems there is now plenty of protection for this important symbol of Mandalay and Myanmar. Nobody will march unopposed through these gates again.

” The last Palace built by Burmese Royals”

When King Mindon Min founded Mandalay in 1857 he ordered construction of a new Royal Palace called the “Mya Nan San Kyaw”. The old Royal Palace in the former capital Amarapura was dismantled, transported to Mandalay and rebuilt there.

The Mandalay Royal Palace is the last Palace built by Burmese Royals. On the large complex are dozens of buildings including audience halls, throne halls, a monastery, a watch tower, a court building, a tooth relic building and a library where the Buddhist scriptures were kept.

“The citadel with the teak wood Palace”

The Palace that was completely made from teak wood was built in the center of a large citadel or fort. The square citadel was surrounded by four walls each 2 kilometers long with a total of 48 turrets. In the walls were 12 gates, one for each sign of the Zodiac. Around the walls was a 60 meter wide moat, crossed by a number of bridges.

“Watch Tower”

The watch tower is a very solid reddish brown cylindrical tower measuring 24 meters high. It is topped by a golden seven tiered Pyatthat roof. The stairway winding around the tower can be climbed, which gives a good overview of the Palace and great views of Mandalay.
The watch tower is one of only two original buildings left, the other one being the Royal Mint.

” Tooth relic Tower”

Close to the main entrance is the Burmese style tooth relic tower. The all white square structure has a small square relic chamber on top and a steep stairway leading to it. In spite of its name the building never contained a relic from the Buddha, it houses a Buddha statue instead.

“Supreme Court Building”

A number of Royal Mausoleums was erected for the remains of several members of the Burmese Royal Family. One if for the founder of Mandalay and the Royal Palace, King Mindon Min.

“Great Audience Hall”

The Great Audience Hall is another very attractive, intricately decorated building. The hall is about 75 meters long and topped with a seven tiered Pyatthat roof. In front of it are a few old canons. The wooden bargeboards and eaves boards on the roof are all carved in flower patterns. In the original building there were also gilded.

“Lion Throne Room”

The Lion Throne room contained the Lion Throne, an extremely richly decorated and ornamented wooden throne. In total there were eight thrones in the Palace, of which the Lion Throne was the most important.
On top of the Lion Throne room is a seven tiered Pyatthat roof, richly decorated and gold plated. This Pyatthat marks the center of the Palace.

“Glass Palace”

The Glass Palace is one of the largest and most beautiful structures of the Palace. This building was used as Kin Mindon’s personal living quarters. It contains two large rooms, one of which contained the Bee Throne, the other one was separated into a number of smaller rooms, which were the King’s living room and bed room , as well as a number of rooms for his Queens.

“Golden Palace Monastery”

The Shwenandaw Kyaung or Golden Palace Monastery is a very ornate teak building that was originally contained in the Palace compound. It was later moved to its current location just outside the Palace grounds and converted into a Buddhist monastery. The Golden Palace Monastery is the only major all teak building that remains of the original Royal Palace.

It has been a century since the last King of Burmese staying in the Royal Mandalay Palace. To date, it has been restored several times and become one of the most popular attractions to visit in Myanmar tours. Once witnessing the charm of the fabulous architecture and learn more about its history, it ensures to deliver you an interesting experience in the Golden Land of Myanmar.

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The monastery was originally part of the Royal Palace in Amarapura, before it was moved to Mandalay, where it formed the northern section of the Hmannan (Glass Palace) and part of the king’s royal apartments. The building was heavily gilt with gold and adorned with glass mosaic work.

When the capital city was moved to Mandalay, the building was dismantled, transported to Mandalay and rebuild there as part of the new all teak Royal Palace in 1857.

Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)

Shwenandaw Monastery was built in 1878 by King Thibaw Min, who dismantled and relocated the apartment formerly occupied by his father, King Mindon Min, just before Mindon Min’s death, at a cost of 120,000 rupees.

Thibaw removed the building in 10 October 1878, believing it to be haunted by his father’s spirit. The building reconstruction was finished in 31 Oct 1878, dedicated in memory of his father, on a plot adjoining Atumashi Monastery. It is said that King Thibaw used it for meditation, and the meditation couch he sat on can still be seen.

The monastery is also called the Golden Palace Monastery, because it used to be part of the Mandalay Royal Palace and was completely gilded. Both exterior and interior of the monastery are decorated with intricate wood carvings. Some of the carved wooden panels ravaged by time and weather have been replaced with new panels, especially on the outside.

Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)

Well known for it’s teak carvings of Buddhist myths, which adorn its walls and roofs. The monastery is built in the traditional Burmese architectural style. The roof lines are decorated with very detailed intricate wood carvings. The roofs bargeboards contain carved depictions of mythical creatures, animals, dancers and flowers.

Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)

Some of the best preserved panels are inside the building, sheltered from weather and sunlight. Among them is a number of carved panels depicting scenes from the Jataka tales, the tales about the previous lives of the Buddha.
Inside the main room in the center of the building is the main Buddha image, with Nat spirits worshipping it. Only men can go inside to worship the Buddha image.

Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)

The Shwenandaw Monastery is located a few hundred meters from the North East section of the Royal Palace grounds, next to the Atumashi pagoda. From downtown Mandalay you can get there by rickshaw which should cost around US$2 or by private taxi at around US$ 4.

Tourist can buy a Mandalay archeological zone ticket at US$ 10, that is valid for a week. This ticket is also valid for the Atumashi Pagoda located right next to it and for a number of sites around Mandalay in the towns of Sagaing, Innwa and Amarapura.

Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)

This is a great place to get an impression of what the Royal Palace once must have looked like. As the Palace was destroyed by fire during the second World War, the Shwenandaw Monastery is the only major original teak wooden building left of the original Mandalay Royal Palace.

Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)

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Visitors may observe life-styles of six Naga ethnics such as Tangkhul, Makury, Para, Koka, Laungphury and Khiamniungan residing in Leshi Township and will have the opportunities to interview those people of Naga ethnics directly.

“The traditional houses of Naga ethnics were built with the aim of enabling the people to know their life-styles. After showing them as showrooms at the festival, the houses will be maintained by local tribes” said U Aung Htut.

Naga ethnic people will live at the traditional houses after the festival as part of maintenance. The local and foreign guests to Leshi Township ma stay at these traditional houses together with Naga ethnics.

Source: Yadanabon Newspaper

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Our flight was with “Oriental Ballooning”, an awesome hot air ballooning company in Myanmar that does flights over the Mandalay, Bagan, Inle and Ngapali. The night before our flight I didn’t sleep much as I was a bit anxious for some reason. Hot air ballooning is something that has ALWAYS been at the top of my bucket list and “Hotel by the Red Canal” arranged for that.

I was picked up from our hotel on-time at 5.45am and transferred to the balloon site where we were met personally by the all pilots and given a breakfast of the best pastries we had in Myanmar and coffee and tea. Following a short safety briefing by our pilot (Allie Dunnington with many years balloon piloting experience in many countries), we watched the balloons inflate and then climbed aboard.

We’re going how high today? I said to the pilot of our hot air balloon told us we’d be reaching an altitude of 3000 feet. That’s 1 km in the air!

We’d be going way up, I started to feel my knees go weak.

There were four of us plus our pilot in our balloon, squished in snuggly with just enough room. Our flight took off from a random field up-wind from the monastry call ” Mahar Wi Thode Dar Yone” located in the area of “Nan Shae” near Nan Shae Market. It was early morning with a heavy fog just lifting which gave us some spectacularly epic scenes to capture and the royal moat was as still as could be. It was almost fairy tale like.

The experience was magical as we floated low over near “Kuthodaw Pagoda” and “Mandalay Hill” in every direction, the early morning sun just beginning to bathe them in colour. The peace and tranquillity, the unbelievable sights just below, the strangeness of the situation. This was the highlight of our trip to Myanmar.

It was so calm and smooth, it was as if we were hardly moving. Aside from the off and on loud roar of the propane cylinders firing to keep us in the air and the beep of the altimeter it was a very peaceful experience. That was until I remembered that we still had to land the darn thing… however this also turned out to be quite smooth and easy.

After about an hour or so of soaring and up and down over the clouds and fog our pilot began searching for a nice place to land. This is when I then realized that since hot air balloons can’t really steer in any particular direction and they just float along with the air streams that they also don’t always have a designated landing spot. Or at all. Ever. They just find a piece of land that looks clear, hope for the best and hope the land owners don’t mind.

Our hot air ballooning experience in Lithuania wasn’t over yet though. We were then told about a hot air ballooning tradition after ones first flight. Apparently over 200 years ago in France the first hot air balloon was successfully piloted and upon landing one of the men fell out and got dirt on his face and the other accidentally singed his hair on the ignition in the balloon and to celebrate their successful flight they toasted with champagne. Because of this there is a tradition that is almost like a knighting ceremony in a way. Each of us were asked to get down on one knee and the pilots then proceed to singe some of our hair, put some dirt on our faces and then pour champagne on our heads! This was definitely a new tradition for me.

This was my first ever hot air ballooning trip, and it was absolutely magic! Oriental Ballooning are great operators, being extremely safety conscious and with the most experienced British pilots -ours had been flying over Bagan, Myanmar since 2000! Drifting for an hour or so over the hundreds of Pagodas of the Irrawaddy River plains during sunrise was an experience not to be missed and can book via “Hotel by the Red Canal” tour desk. They can organize for you very well.

Other people that were with me who had hot air ballooned in other parts of the world had never experienced this before, who knows. However it was all in good fun and we all got to celebrate afterwards with a nice glass of champagne.
Now I can’t wait to do it again somewhere else in Myanmar! Have you ever flown in a hot air balloon? Where did you do it?

May Malar Win

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MANDALAY,MYANMAR – YEAR 2018– HOTEL BY THE RED CANAL, the Beauty of Mandalay today extends congratulations to SPICE GARDEN RESTAURANT AND PRANA SPA local businesses that have earned the 2018 TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence. Now in its 12th year, the achievement celebrates businesses that have consistently earned great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. Recipients of the Certificate of Excellence include accommodations, restaurants and attractions of all sizes that have continually delivered quality customer experience.

“We are delighted that so many local businesses in MANDALAY earned the 2018 Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence,” said Mr. Kumar, General Manager of Hotel by the Red Canal “The recognition helps to set the benchmark on hospitality operational and service excellence in Mandalay and ensures that the industry is continuously striving to achieve customer service that is best-in-class for our visitors and the community.

“TripAdvisor is excited to announce the recipients of the 2018 Certificate of Excellence, which celebrates businesses that have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travelers,” said Heather Leisman, Vice President of Industry Marketing, TripAdvisor. “This recognition allows us to publicly honor businesses that are actively engaging with customers and using feedback to help travelers identify and confidently book the perfect trip.”

The Certificate of Excellence takes into account the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

Hotel by the Red Canal, Mandalay
the Beauty of Mandalay

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Knowing from one of the baskets makers said that this is a home-based job opportunity for them. They buy raw materials from the plastic factory in Industrial Zone 1 in the region, paying Ks 1,200 per Kilo.

They woven baskets for their survival and this is a family business in the region. Most married women working from home. There is a regular demand for the handmade woven plastic baskets, which are available in different sizes, designs and colors.

A woman makes handmade plastic woven baskets for selling in Amarapura Township, Mandalay. Photo: Tain Ta Man

They have mostly been sent to Shwebo, Myitkyina and Mandalay markets. The wholesale price for a basket is Ks 1,500. In the retail market, the price rose to Ks 2,000 from Ks 3,000. A local basket maker receive wages of Ks 500-Ks 600 per basket based on size.

Handmade baskets are one of the popular accessories of people for shopping groceries, flowers and meats at local markets and are boost income in Mandalay.

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This game is usually played barefoot or using chinlone shoes that will let the players feel the ball and the ground. The players can make contact with the ball through the top of their toes, the inner and outer sides of the foot, the heel, the sole, and the knee. The sport requires extreme flexibility, agility and fitness as well as exceptional coordination.

Chinlone has played a prominent role in Myanmar for about 1,500 years. It’s style is so performance based because it was first created as a means of entertaining Burmese royalty. Chinlone is heavily influenced by traditional Burmese martial art and dance, another reason as to why so much importance is placed upon technique. As it is such an old game, many variations have been made to it, including hundreds of different ways or moves to use when maneuvering the ball.

In addition to the original form of chinlone, there is a single performance style as well. This form of chinlone is called “tapandaing.” While chinlone had been widely considered by Europeans to more of a game than a sport, international interest in chinlone grew rapidly. By 1911, chinlone teams were performing in parts of Europe and Asia. As spectators of chinlone, Europeans deemed it to be merely a game of indigenous people, too effeminate to be considered a sport.

After Myanmar’s independence from British colonial rule in 1948, many British influences and cultural practices lingered, including British sports such as polo. Past British colonialism still weighed heavily upon Burmese life. From the 1960’s and onward, there was a big governmental push for traditional and historical preservation. The premise was for cultural pride to be renewed.

Myanmar needed traditions that were unique to Burmese culture, free from any colonial influence. Chinlone fit this role perfectly, playing a key part in establishing Myanmar nationalism. Myanmar began implementing physical education in schools, teaching children from a young age about traditional sports like chinlone, as a way to educate and pride them on their culture. This was a small yet effective way in reestablishing Burmese life after colonial rule. With this new found nationalism, chinlone was finally considered a real sport.

Nowadays, chinlone is played by men and women, young and old alike. It is a very common scene in both urban and rural areas to witness a circle of men barefoot with their longyis hiked up and wrapped around their legs and waists spending the final hours of daylight in intense concentration passing the ball around, honing their skills and getting some exercise with friends.

This casual form of the sport hops right up to a formal and more competitive form at the annual Waso Chinlone Festival held in a small stadium in the grounds of the famous Mahamuni Pagoda in Mandalay. The festival takes place for a month around the full moon of Waso. Teams from all over the country travel to Mandalay to perform to live, loud and rhythmic traditional Burmese music at this festival.

A commentator provides lively narration on what the players are doing while panel of judges rates them on their style and form. They perform as a team but not against any other team. For the first time, chinlone was an official sport at the SEA Games hosted by Myanmar in 2013 when Myanmar won gold medals in six out of eight categories.

Thank you for Reading!

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The term Zartar is derived from the pali word Zati which means birth. It is a method of recording the salient facts about a person at the time of their birth. Included in the calculations are the date and time of delivery, the astrological features at that time, such as the location of the stars, sun and moon. Both of the parents names are recorded on the leaf, as is the name given to that person by an astrologer. Once the inscriptions have been added onto the palm leaf, it is rubbed lightly with oil, which acts to provide protection from hungry insects and imbues it with a lovely golden colour. Zartar can also be made using other materials such as ivory, marble, or bamboo depending on individual choice and budget. A particularly fine example is on show at the National Museum in Yangon- and was made for King Thibaw.

Many people still put a lot of faith in Zartar and they continue to play an important role in the society becuase people believe that the timing, day, date and astrological signs associated with a person at birth have great influence on the life of that person. The choice of a person’s name is tremendously important to parents as well. The name may represent the virtues of longevity, wealth, health, great love, dedication and/or many other things. It is also widely believed that a person’s name-and their date and time of birth-can affect their behaviour. For example, each day of the week is designated a symbolic animal, and a person born on that particular day is believed to possess certain characheristics: Those born on Sundays are considered to be vain, Monday-born are short tempered.

Finally, seven birth signs included in the Zartar depending on the day and year of birth, which are believed to have influence on one’s fate. They are Adphipadhi, sign of fame; Ahtun, brilliance; Thike, wealth; Raza, glory; Marana, weakness; Bingha, unrest; and Puti, failure.I was born on Thursday and my father went to a monk right away to choose a name for me. After that, he went to astrologer and asked him to make a Zatar and inscribed my name. I’ll keep that small piece of “Palm Leaf” for my whole life.

Palm leaves were used as writing materials in South Asia and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century, and possibly much earlier. Their use began in South Asia, and spread elsewhere, as texts on dried and smoke treated palm leaves of Borassus species (Palmyra palm) or the Ola leaf (leaf of Corypha umbraculifera or the talipot palm).

One of the oldest surviving palm leaf manuscript is a Sanskrit Shaivism text from the 9th-century, discovered in Nepal, now preserved at the Cambridge University Library. The individual sheets of palm leaves were called Patra or Parna in Sanskrit (Pali/Prakrit: Panna), and the medium when ready to write was called Tada-patra (or Tala-patra, Tali, Tadi). The famous 5th-century Indian manuscript called the Bower Manuscript discovered in Chinese Turkestan, was written on birch-bark sheets shaped in the form of treated palm leaves. Palm leaf manuscripts were written in ink on rectangular cut and cured palm leaf sheet.

Each sheet typically had a hole through which a string could pass through, and with these the sheets were tied together with a string to bind like a book. A palm leaf text thus created would typically last between a few decades and about 600 years before it decayed due to dampness, insect activity, mold and fragility. Thus the document had to be copied onto new sets of dried palm leaves. Hindu temples often served as centers where ancient manuscripts were routinely used for learning and where the texts were copied when they wore out.

In South India, temples and associated mutts served custodial functions, and a large number of manuscripts on Hindu philosophy, poetry, grammar and other subjects were written, multiplied and preserved inside the temples. Palm leaf manuscripts were also preserved inside Jain temples and in Buddhist monasteries. With the spread of Indian culture to Southeast Asian countries like as Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines, these nations also became home to large collections. Palm-leaf manuscripts called Lontar in dedicated stone libraries have been discovered by archaeologists at Hindu temples in Bali Indonesia and in 10th century Cambodian temples such as Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei.

One of the oldest surviving Sanskrit manuscripts on palm leaves is of the Parameshvaratantra, a Shaiva Siddhanta text of Hinduism. It is from the 9th-century, and dated to about 828 CE. The rounded or diagonal shapes of the letters of many of the scripts of South India and Southeast Asia, such as Devanagari, Nandinagari, Telugu script, Lontara, the Javanese script, the Balinese alphabet, the Odia alphabet, the Burmese alphabet, the Tamil script and others may have developed as an adaptation to writing on palm leaves, as angular letters tend to split the leaf.

Even though people in Myanmar are developing rapidly, their belief in Zartar has not changed, although the calculations are now printed on a sheet of paper or CD.

Thank you for Reading!

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Mandalay has a tropical wet and dry climate. The Mandalay streets are laid out in a grid system, and are numbered east to west (up to 49th) and North to South (over 50th).Among the various types of traditional food on offer in Mandalay, are the famous Mont T, Htoe Mote and La Phat. Highlights of the city, it’s seven structures include Mya Nan San Kyaw Shwe Nan Daw (Golden Palace), Moat, Pitakas Taik, Thu Damar Congregation Hall, Atu Mashi Monastery, Ku Tho Taw Pagoda and Thein Taw Gyi.

Mya Nan San Kyaw Shwe Nan Daw (Golden Palace)

It is one of the seven royal buildings in Mandalay which was built by King Mindon. It was the first palace where King Mindon lived when he transferred from Amarapura Nay Pyi Taw to Mandalay Yadanabon Nay Pyi Taw. It was bombed during World War II and was rebuilt.

Moat

During the time of the ancient kings, a moat was built outside of the city walls to prevent the enemies from entering the city. There are three types of moat; moat with water, mud and plain ground (in which iron sticks and piles of wooden pieces are embedded). At the city walls, there is an entrance which was guarded by soldiers. The Mandalay moat is 225 feet wide and 11 feet deep. The water in the moat comes from Yay Ni Myaung @ Yadana Nadi Creek.

Pitakas Taik

(Repository of the Buddhist scriptures)
It was located at the foot of Mandalay Hill. It was a library which stored all the sermons of Buddha. But during World War II it was bombed and everything was destroyed.

Thu Damar Congregation Halls

They are located near the foot of Mandalay Hill. King Mindon donated these halls on May 22 in 1859. The halls are gilded and have many Pabu arts. In Yadanarpon era, monks’ examinations were held in these rest houses. There were 33 Thu Damar congregation halls, but there are only 18 left.

Atu Mashi Monastery

At this monastery there are many examples of the Pantaut arts (the art of making floral designs out of stucco). There are 146 pillars in the monastery. Yaw Ahtwin Wun U Pho Hlaing supervised the construction of the monastery. In 1890, it sadly burnt down, but was rebuilt between 1995 and 1997. Tampawaddy U Win Maung supervised the reconstruction.

Ku Tho Taw Pagoda

The pagoda is located at the South East of Mandalay Hill and was built in 1862 through donations from King Mindon. It contains the world’s largest book. In the grounds are 729 kyauksagu or stone inscription caves each containing a marble slab inscribed with a page of text from the Tipitaka, the entire Pali Canon of Therevada Buddhism.

Thein Taw Gyi

(Buddhist Ordination Hall)
The hall was situated at the foot of Mandalay Hill, near the entrance of Kyauk Taw Gyi. It was a wooden building and decorated with Pantaut arts. It was destroyed in World War II.

Thank you for reading!

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Vesākha (Pali; Sanskrit: Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists on different days in India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar and in other places all over the world. Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s Birthday”, it commemorates the birth, enlightenment (Buddhahood), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in the Theravada or southern tradition.

The decision to agree to celebrate Vesākha as the Buddha’s birthday was formalized at the first conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in Sri Lanka in 1950, although festivals at this time in the Buddhist world are a centuries-old tradition. The resolution that was adopted at the World Conference reads as follows:
That this Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, while recording its appreciation of the gracious act of His Majesty, the Maharaja of Nepal in making the full-moon day of Vesak a Public Holiday in Nepal, earnestly requests the Heads of Governments of all countries in which large or small number of Buddhists are to be found, to take steps to make the full-moon day in the month of May a Public Holiday in honour of the Buddha, who is universally acclaimed as one of the greatest benefactors of Humanity.

On Vesākha Day, Buddhists all over the world commemorate events of significance to Buddhists of all traditions: The birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha. As Buddhism spread from India it was assimilated into many foreign cultures, and consequently Vesākha is celebrated in many different ways all over the world. In India, Vaishakh Purnima day is also known as Buddha Jayanti day and has been traditionally accepted as Buddha’s birth day.
In 1999, the United Nations resolved to internationally observe the day of Vesak at its headquarters and offices.
The name of the observance is derived from the Pali term vesākha or Sanskrit vaiśākha, which is the name of the lunar month in the Hindu calendar falling in April–May (see Vaisakha).In Mahayana Buddhist traditions, the holiday is known by its Sanskrit name (Vaiśākha) and derived variants of it. Local renditions of the name vary by language, including:

• Assamese: বুদ্ধ পূর্ণিমা Buddho Purnima
• Bengali: বুদ্ধ পূর্ণিমা Buddho Purnima, বুদ্ধ জয়ন্তী Buddho Joyonti, ভেসাক Bhesak
• Dzongkha: སྟོན་པའི་དུས་ཆེན་༥ འཛོམས་ Dhüchen Nga Zom
• Burmese: ကဆုန်လပြည့် ဗုဒ္ဓနေ့ “Full Moon Day”
• Chinese: 佛陀誕辰紀念日; pinyin: Fótuó dànchén jìniàn rì, 佛誕 (Fódàn, Birthday of the Buddha), 浴佛節 (Yùfójié, Occasion of Bathing the Buddha), 衛塞節 (Wèisāi jié)
• Hindi: बुद्ध पूर्णिमा Buddha Pūrṇimā, बुद्ध जयन्ती Buddha Jayantī, वैशाख पूर्णिमा Vaisākh Pūrṇimā
• Indonesian: Hari Raya Waisak
• Japanese: 花祭 Hanamatsuri (Day of Flowers)
• Khmer: វិសាខបូជា Visak Bochea
• Kannada: ಬುದ್ಧ ಪೌರ್ಣಮಿ Buddha Pournami
• Hangul: 석가 탄신일; Hanja: 釋迦誕辰日; RR: Seokka Tanshin-il (Birthday of the Shakyamuni Buddha)
• Lao: ວິສາຂະບູຊາ Vixakha Bouxa
• Malay: Hari Wesak (هاري ويسق)
• Mongolian: Бурхан Багшийн Их Дүйцэн Өдөр (Lord Buddha’s Great Festival Day)
• Newar: स्वांया पुन्हि Swānyā Punhi
• Nepali: बुद्ध पुर्णिमा Buddha Purnima, बुद्ध जयन्ति Buddha Jayanti
• Sinhalese: වෙසක් Vesak
• Tamil: விசாக தினம் Vicāka Tiṉam
• Telugu: బుద్ధ పౌర్ణమి Buddha Pournami or alternatively Telugu: వైశాఖ పౌర్ణమి Vaisakha Pournami
• Thai: วิสาขบูชา Wisakha Bucha
• Tibetan: ས་ག་ཟླ་བ།, THL: Sa Ga Dawa
• Vietnamese: Phật Đản (Birthday of the Buddha)

On Vesākha, devout Buddhists and followers alike assemble in their various temples before dawn for the ceremonial and honorable hoisting of the Buddhist flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the holy triple gem: The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings), and The Sangha (his disciples). Devotees may bring simple offerings of flowers, candles and joss-sticks to lay at the feet of their teacher. These symbolic offerings are to remind followers that just as the beautiful flowers would wither away after a short while and the candles and joss-sticks would soon burn out, so too is life subject to decay and destruction. Devotees are enjoined to make a special effort to refrain from killing of any kind. They are encouraged to partake of vegetarian food for the day. In some countries, notably Sri Lanka, two days are set aside for the celebration of Vesākha and all liquor shops and slaughter houses are closed by government decree during the two days.
Also birds, insects and animals are released by the thousands in what is known as a ‘symbolic act of liberation’ of giving freedom to those who are in captivity, imprisoned, or tortured against their will. (The practice, however, is banned in some countries such as Singapore, as it is believed that the released animals are unable to survive long-term and may adversely impact the local ecosystem if they do.)

Some devout Buddhists will wear a simple white dress and spend the whole day in temples with renewed determination to observe the eight Precepts.
Devout Buddhists undertake to lead a noble life according to the teaching by making daily affirmations to observe the Five Precepts. However, on special days, notably new moon and full moon days, they observe the eight Precepts to train themselves to practice morality, simplicity, and humility.

Some temples also display a small statue of the Buddha in front of the altar in a small basin filled with water and decorated with flowers, allowing devotees to pour water over the statue; it is symbolic of the cleansing of a practitioner’s bad karma, and to reenact the events following the Buddha’s birth, when devas and spirits made heavenly offerings to him.
Devotees are expected to listen to talks given by monks. On this day, monks will recite verses uttered by the Buddha twenty-five centuries ago to invoke peace and happiness for the government and the people. Buddhists are reminded to live in harmony with people of other faiths and to respect the beliefs of other people as the Buddha taught.

Celebrating Vesākha also means making special efforts to bring happiness to the unfortunate like the aged, the handicapped and the sick. To this day, Buddhists will distribute gifts in cash and kind to various charitable homes throughout the country. Vesākha is also a time for great joy and happiness, expressed not by pandering to one’s appetites but by concentrating on useful activities such as decorating and illuminating temples, painting and creating exquisite scenes from the life of the Buddha for public dissemination. Devout Buddhists also vie with one another to provide refreshments and vegetarian food to followers who visit the temple to pay homage to the Enlightened One.

Tradition ascribes to the Buddha himself instruction on how to pay him homage. Just before he died, he saw his faithful attendant Ananda, weeping. The Buddha advised him not to weep, but to understand the universal law that all compounded things (including even his own body) must disintegrate. He advised everyone not to cry over the disintegration of the physical body but to regard his teachings (The Dhamma) as their teacher from then on, because only the Dhamma truth is eternal and not subject to the law of change. He also stressed that the way to pay homage to him was not merely by offering flowers, incense, and lights, but by truly and sincerely striving to follow his teachings. This is how Buddhists are expected to celebrate Vesak: to use the opportunity to reiterate their determination to lead noble lives, to develop their minds, to practise loving-kindness and to bring peace and harmony to humanity.

The exact date of Vesak is based on the Asian lunisolar calendars and is primarily celebrated in Vaisakha month of the Buddhist calendar and the Hindu calendar, and hence the name Vesak. In Nepal, which is considered the birth-country of Buddha, it is celebrated on the full moon day of the Vaisakha month of the Hindu calendar, and is traditionally called Buddha Purnima, Purnima meaning the full moon day in Sanskrit. In Theravada countries following the Buddhist calendar, it falls on a full moon Uposatha day, typically in the 5th or 6th lunar month. Nowadays, in Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Vesak/Buddha Purnima is celebrated on the day of the full moon in May in the Gregorian calendar. In Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Vesak is celebrated on the fourteenth or fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. In China, and Korea, Vietnam, Buddha’s Birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, in Japan the same day but in the Gregorian calendar. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar, but usually falls in April or May. In leap years it may be celebrated in June.

The heart of the Teachings of the Buddha is contained in the teachings of the Four Noble Truths, namely,
The Noble Truth of Dukkha or suffering
The Origin or Cause of suffering
The End or Cessation of suffering
the Path which leads to the cessation of all sufferings

The First Noble Truth is the Truth of Dukkha which has been generally translated as ‘suffering’. But the term Dukkha, which represents the Buddha’s view of life and the world, has a deeper philosophical meaning. Birth, old age, sickness and death are universal. All beings are subject to this unsatisfactoriness. Separation from beloved ones and pleasant conditions, association with unpleasant persons and conditions, and not getting what one desires – these are also sources of suffering and unsatisfactoriness. The Buddha summarises Dukkha in what is known as the Five Grasping Aggregates.

Herein, lies the deeper philosophical meaning of Dukkha for it encompasses the whole state of being or existence.
Our life or the whole process of living is seen as a flux of energy comprising of the Five aggregates, namely the Aggregate of Form or the Physical process, Feeling, Perception, Mental Formation, and Consciousness. These are usually classified as mental and physical processes, which are constantly in a state of flux or change.
When we train our minds to observe the functioning of mental and physical processes we will realise the true nature of our lives. We will see how it is subject to change and unsatisfactoriness. And as such, there is no real substance or entity or Self which we can cling to as ‘I’, ‘my’ or ‘mine’.

When we become aware of the unsatisfactory nature of life, we would naturally want to get out from such a state. It is at this point that we begin to seriously question ourselves about the meaning and purpose of life. This will lead us to seek the Truth with regards to the true nature of existence and the knowledge to overcome unsatisfactoriness.
From the Buddhist point of view, therefore, the purpose of life is to put an end to suffering and all other forms of unsatisfactoriness – to realise peace and real happiness. Such is the significance of the understanding and the realisation of the First Noble Truth.

The Second Noble Truth explains the Origin or Cause of suffering. Tanha or craving is the universal cause of suffering. It includes not only desire for sensual pleasures, wealth and power, but also attachment to ideas’, views, opinions, concepts, and beliefs. It is the lust for flesh, the lust for continued existence (or eternalism) in the sensual realms of existence, as well as the realms of form and the formless realms. And there is also the lust and craving for non-existence (or nihilism). These are all different Forms of selfishness, desiring things for oneself, even at the expense of others.
Not realizing the true nature of one’s Self, one clings to things which are impermanent, changeable and perishable. The failure to satisfy one’s desires through these things; causes disappointment and suffering.
Craving is a powerful mental force present in all of us. It is the root cause of our sufferings. It is this craving which binds us in Samsara – the repeated cycle of birth and` death.

The Third Noble Truth points to the cessation of suffering. Where there is no craving, there is no becoming, no rebirth. Where there is no rebirth, there is no decay. no, old age, no death, hence no suffering. That is how suffering is ended, once and for all.
The Fourth Noble Truth explains the Path or the Way which leads to the cessation of suffering. It is called the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold path avoids the extremes of self-indulgence on one hand and self-torture on the other. It consists of Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
These path factors may be summarised into 3 stages of training, involving morality, mental culture and wisdom.
Morality or good conduct is the avoidance of evil or unwholesome actions — actions which are tainted by greed, hatred and delusion; and the performance of the good or wholesome actions, – actions which are free from greed, hatred and delusion, but motivated by liberality, loving-kindness and wisdom.
The function of good conduct or moral restraint is to free one’s mind from remorse (or guilty conscience). The mind that is free from remorse (or guilt) is naturally calm and tranquil, and ready for concentration with awareness.
The concentrated and cultured mind is a contemplative and analytical mind. It is capable of seeing cause and effect, and the true nature of existence, thus paving the way for wisdom and insight.
Wisdom in the Buddhist context, is the realisation of the fundamental truths of life, basically the Four Noble Truths. The understanding of the Four Noble Truths provide us with a proper sense of purpose and direction in life. They form the basis of problem-solving.
The message of the Buddha stands today as unaffected by time and the expansion of knowledge as when they were first enunciated.
No matter to what lengths increased scientific knowledge can extend man’s mental horizon, there is room for the acceptance and assimilation for further discovery within -the framework of the teachings of the Buddha.
The teaching of the Buddha is open to all to see and judge for themselves. The universality of the teachings of the Buddha has led one of the world’s greatest scientists, Albert Einstein to declare that ‘if there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism’
The teaching of the Buddha became a great civilising force wherever it went. It appeals to reason and freedom of thought, recognising the dignity and potentiality of the human mind. It calls for equality, fraternity and understanding, exhorting its followers to avoid evil, to do good and to purify their minds.
Realising the transient nature of life and all worldly phenomena, the Buddha has advised us to work out our deliverance with heedfulness, as ‘heedfulness is the path to the deathless’.
His clear and profound teachings on the cultivation of heedfulness otherwise known as Satipatthana or the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, is the path for the purification of beings – for the overcoming of sorrows and lamentation, for the destruction of all mental and physical sufferings, for the attainment of insight and knowledge and for the realisation of Nibbana. This has been verified by his disciples. It is therefore a path, a technique which may be verified by all irrespective of caste, colour or creed.

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