A Change is Refreshing and Nourishing

There is an annual Buddhist Holy Day that remembers Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. All three supposedly happened on the same day of the year, just different years, or that is what I am told.  This day is Vesacha Bucha Day and coincides with the first full moon in May which was 10th May for this year.  As I do every year on Buddhist Holy Days, I go to the temple and join in the ritual with Om, my Buddhist mentor.


On these days, crowds flock to the temples to make merit.  Each day has its own ritual to be followed.  On this particular day, the simple ritual begins with buying a lotus, three incense sticks and a candle.  You then light the incense sticks and proceed to walk around the temple three times in a clockwise direction.  When finished this short journey, you place your incense sticks and  the now lit candle into a sand box at the front of the temple.  You then place the lotus before the temple and finish with paying homage to the Buddha image in the temple.  It is all an impressive and simple ritual, done with fervor, or that is my outside observation.


This year Om and I did it a little differently as we decided to go to the local temple in my area.  You see we usually go to a major temple in a central area which is so full of people and as a result difficult to access on the day.  All a bit much and so we decided on a change and see how that went.  In doing so, we found a temple easily accessible and also refreshingly quiet with a tranquil and conducive environment for the sacred.  The experience was not one of dealing with crowds while trying to deal with the physical tasks of a ritual in their midst.  This meant that lighting the incense sticks and candle and keeping them alight was not a major challenge which can be the case when surrounded by so many people.  It also meant that you could more easily focus on a task, instead of the crowds, this simple task that gave meaning to the ritual.

What I experienced this year in going to my local temple was a pleasant surprise as it allowed for me a special experience of a Buddhist feast and ritual which is the way it is meant to be. What I also discovered is that I live near a lovely temple within a quiet and nourishing space.  It only took me 10 years to discover it.  Just goes to show that exploring is the way to discovering good change .