More than 2600 years ago, on the full-moon day of the third month according to lunar calendar, four marvelous events occurred:
- It was the full-moon day.
- That evening 1250 disciples came to see the Lord Buddha without being summoned.
- All the disciples were ordained by the Lord Buddha himself.
- All of them were the arahants, the enlightened ones having attained nirvana.
This special day is known as Makha Bucha Day. On this day the Buddha gave those arahants the heart of the Buddha’s teaching, which were 3 principles:
- to cease from all evil
- to cultivate good
- to purify one’s mind
To view full picture in PDF please click the link Makha Bucha Day
This year in Thailand Makha Bucha Day is Saturday, February 11. It is also the national public holiday of Thailand.
On the evening of this full-moon day, Thai Buddhists will gather at the temples all over Thailand to take part in a Buddhist Ceremony of Candlelight Procession known as Wian Tian. They will carry the flowers, a lighted candle and incense sticks, then walk clockwise three times around the temple hall.
The three-round circumambulation of the temple hall represents the three essential parts of Buddhism or the Three Jewels of Buddhism, which are:
- the Lord Buddha
- the Dharma (the teachings)
- the Sangha (the Lord Buddha’s followers)
To live a happy and peaceful life in this world can happen by just only applying the Lord Buddha’s teaching to daily life.