[Life in South Korea] Buddha's birthday

May 22, 2018 according to the lunar calendar is the birthday of the Buddha (석가 탄신일). In Korea, this is the official day off.

By this holiday the country starts to prepare in advance - at least a month. Throughout the city, colored lanterns are hanging out, which light up at night. And from 11 to 23 May there is a festival of street lamps. Although the parade ended and concerts too, the lights still stand in the Buddhist temples of Seoul, as well as in a small stream Chongcheon. So, anyone can go and look at the work of talented authors. I told you about this festival here.

Earlier this day was called "Buddha's Birthday" (석가 탄신일), but this year the holiday was slightly renamed and now it is the "Buddha's Parish Day" (부처님 오신 날).

In South Korea, this day became an official holiday in 1975.

Let's make a short digression into the history and foundations of Buddhism.

Buddhism originated in ancient India in the 600's BC. The founder of this religious and philosophical teaching is Gautama Buddha. By the way, initially this teaching was called Dharma, but "Buddhism" began to be called only in the XIX century thanks to Europeans.

Religion is either a philosophical trend - people argue until now the port. Someone calls Buddhism "the science of consciousness." As a religion, Buddhism penetrated many countries, including South Korea. Here it appeared around the 5th century, when the Korean peninsula was susceptible to strong influence from the Chinese neighbors. In those days, the Korean peninsula was divided into 3 states: Koguryo, Baekje and Silla. And according to history, Goguryeo was the first state to introduce Buddhism. At one of the royal receptions came the Chinese ambassador, and with him a monk who brought with him literature about Buddhism, as well as the image of the Buddha himself.

Korea introduced the Mahayanist trend of Buddhism. This development originates in India. Mahayana means "Great chariot". This direction is based on 2 main traditions: intuitive wisdom and compassion. Mahayanists singled out a human being, the so-called Bodhisattva. He decided to become a Buddha to help all beings. It is believed that a Bodhisattva is one who chose to stay and help sentient beings, instead of going to nirvana.

There is a legend - a tale of how Gautama became a Buddha. Father Gautama strongly guarded his son from all bad. Then the boy got married, his son was born. Once on the way the young man met a decrepit old man, and after that he saw a leper, and as a result he also witnessed a funeral procession. These 3 events personified old age, sickness and death and made the young man think about life. But the fateful fourth meeting was a meeting with a pacified beggar who did not want anything from his life. Gautama began to reflect on people and their destinies. He decided in secret from all to leave the palace and go in search of the meaning of life. By the age of 35 he became enlightened, he became a Buddha.

The Buddha had many teachings, but the main of them is the teaching of the Four Noble Truths:

• Dukkha or suffering (anxiety, fear, dissatisfaction, and so on) is present in our world.

• There is a reason for the existence of Dukkha. This desire, thirst. The desire for existence or change, a desire based on one's own self.

Man is able to free himself from Dukkha.

• The eightfold path will help to come to Nirvana and free yourself from Dukkha.

The day of the arrival of the Buddha is an important praznik in South Korea, as there are a lot of Buddhists there. On the occasion of the holiday, despite the rainy weather, in the capital - in the Buddhist temple of Chogesa there was a solemn ceremony attended by MPs. At the ceremony, more than 20 thousand people gathered.

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@irisworld

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