Festival of Wesak
Celebrating the Buddha’s Birthday
The Holy Day of Wesak
“Buddha Lord we offer
On thy birthday fair
Garlands of the brightest
Blossoms choice and rare.
Holy day of Wesak
Day of Buddha’s birth
When the sun of wisdom
Shone upon the earth.
Incense too we offer
On this festive day
For the things we cherish
All must pass away.
Through this holy symbol
We shall learn to see
Things of priceless value
Hid in transiency.
And the deep gong sounding
Bids us leave the self
And in Buddha’s teaching
Find the truest wealth.
Lights upon the altar show to use the way
From the realms of darkness
To Nirvana’s day.
”
Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when deeply practicing prajna paramita, clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty and thus relieved all suffering.
Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness, emptiness itself form. Sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness are also like this.
Shariputra, all dharmas are marked by emptiness; they neither arise nor cease are neither defiled nor pure, neither increase nor decrease.
Therefore, given emptiness, there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind; no realm of sight, down to no realm of mind consciousness.
There is neither ignorance nor extinction of ignorance, down to neither old age and death, nor extinction of old age and death; no suffering, no cause, no cessation, no path; no knowledge and no attainment.
With nothing to attain, a bodhisattva relies on prajna paramita and thus the mind is without hindrance; without hindrance, there is no fear. Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes nirvana.
All buddhas of past, present, and future rely on prajna paramita and thereby attain unsurpassed, complete , perfect enlightenment.
Therefore, know the prajna paramita as the great miraculous mantra, the great bright mantra, the supreme mantra, the incomp’rable mantra, which removes all suffering and is true, not false.
Therefore we proclaim the prajna paramita mantra, the mantra that says; “Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha.”
Wesak Offertory
“From Great Compassion comes forth the Pure Dharma Body.
Unborn, Uncreated.
We pray that the darkness of our delusions
May be illuminated by True Compassion.
One this _[4th]__ day of May we are gathered here to offer sweet tea, flowers, candles, water, and cakes to celebrate the birth of our Great Master, Shakyamuni Buddha.
Out of gratitude we wish to offer the merits of the recitation of the Wesak Hymn and The Heart of great Perfect Wisdom Sutra.
The wonderful Udambara flower bloomed upon this day.
And the meaning of this festival is found within its blossom.
Even as its sweet fragrance fills the whole world, so does Buddhism cover the earth.
The birth of Shakyamuni brought the sun of hope to a world of darkness.
And illuminated the whole Universe. He took upon Himself the form of a human being, was born with the 32 marks of a Buddha,
And for immeasurable time pursued works of Great Compassion.
He found and transcended the cause of suffering.
All beings whether saints or laymen praise this magnificent understanding. His 300 sermons are for us as rain is for the trees and grass.
Just as rain causes drooping flowers to flourish so his words touch our heavy hearts.
At this very moment the rain of the Dharma
Pours into the lake of Kindness.
The merit of His life may be likened to the wind which, at is bends the grass and fans the leaves, blows the good seed of the Dharma to take root in the hearts of people all over the world, even after 2,000 years,
And will continue to do so not only in this world but also in the next.
We the followers of our Great Master Shakyamuni
Bow in gratitude to Him for His goodness and compassion
As we celebrate His birthday.
We pray that His halo, which is the light of the Dharma
Will illuminate the darkness of the delusion of those beings of this world who have not heard His name.
We pray that all beings may be saved and thus prosper for all eternity.
We pray that the seed of Buddhahood
Will bud and blossom into the flower of enlightenment
So that its beauty may fill the universe.
”