Wesak (Vesak) as a significant practice in Buddhism: HSC Studies of Religion

What this dot point is asking

The Buddhism depth study asks you to choose ONE significant practice from Pilgrimage, Temple Puja, Wesak, to describe it, show how it expresses Buddhist beliefs, and analyse its significance for the individual and the Buddhist community. This page covers Wesak (also spelled Vesak), the most important festival for most Buddhists.

Wesak works well in exams because a single festival gathers up the whole of the Buddha's life and teaching, and because it is celebrated differently across the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, which gives you ready-made evidence of diversity.

The answer

What Wesak commemorates

Wesak takes its name from Vesakha, the lunar month in which it falls. In the Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia, the full moon of Vesakha marks three events in the Buddha's life:

1. Birth at Lumbini. The Pali Canon describes the newborn bodhisatta taking "seven strides" and proclaiming, "This is my last rebirth; now there'll be no more future lives" (MN 123).
2. Enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya.
3. Parinibbana, his final passing away, at Kusinara in his eightieth year.

The UN describes the day in the same way and, by General Assembly resolution 54/115 of 1999, recognised the Day of Vesak internationally "to acknowledge the contribution that Buddhism ... has made for over two and a half millennia".

How Wesak is celebrated

• At the temple. Buddhists gather, often before dawn, to chant the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. Many lay people undertake the eight precepts for the day, which add celibacy, not eating after midday, and avoiding entertainment and adornment, so that they live more like monastics.
• Offerings. Flowers, candles, lamps and incense are offered before images of the Buddha.
• Dhamma and meditation. Monks give talks on the Buddha's life and teaching; people meditate and chant.
• Dana. Lay people offer food and requisites to monks and nuns and give to charity.
• Light. Homes and streets are decorated with lanterns and lights. In Sri Lanka, elaborate lanterns and illuminated pandals depicting stories from the Buddha's past lives draw large crowds.
• Dansal. In Sri Lanka, people set up free food and drink stalls (dansal) for anyone passing, as acts of dana.
• Compassion for beings. Many Buddhists eat vegetarian food at Wesak; some release caged birds or animals, a practice some Buddhist teachers now discourage because of the harm it can cause.

Differences between traditions

How Wesak expresses the beliefs of Buddhism

• The Three Jewels. The day begins with taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Commemorating the Buddha's life honours the first Jewel; Dhamma talks and meditation express the second; the gathering of monastics and lay people is the third.
• Enlightenment is possible. Recalling that a human being born at Lumbini became the Buddha at Bodh Gaya expresses the belief that every person can attain awakening (nirvana).
• Practice is the real honour. Shortly before his death, the Buddha said that offerings of flowers are "not the full extent" of honouring him: "Any monk or nun or male or female lay follower who practices in line with the teaching, practicing properly, living in line with the teaching ... honor[s] ... the Realized One with the highest honor" (DN 16). Wesak's emphasis on precepts and meditation expresses this.
• Impermanence (anicca). The Buddha's parinibbana, and the flowers that fade on the shrine, recall that all conditioned things pass away.
• Karma and merit. "Giving, ethical conduct, and meditation are all grounds for making merit" (AN 8.36); Wesak brings all three together.
• Light of wisdom. Lanterns symbolise the Buddha's wisdom dispelling ignorance, the root of suffering.
• Compassion. Dansal, charity and vegetarian meals express karuna and metta towards all beings.

Significance for the individual

• Renewal. Taking the refuges and eight precepts renews commitment to the path, much as an annual retreat would.
• Faith and inspiration. Reflecting on the Buddha's life strengthens confidence (saddha) that the path leads to freedom.
• Merit. Giving, keeping precepts and meditation generate merit for a good rebirth and progress towards nirvana.
• Reflection. Remembering the Buddha's passing prompts reflection on one's own impermanence and on using this life well.

Significance for the Buddhist community

• Unity. Wesak is the principal festival for most Buddhists and gathers the whole community, lay and monastic, young and old.
• Support of the Sangha. Dana on Wesak sustains monasteries and teachers.
• Generosity to all. Dansal and charity extend the celebration to non-Buddhists, expressing compassion publicly.
• Identity across cultures. For migrant communities, including Buddhists in Australia (2.4% of the population at the 2021 Census), Wesak celebrations maintain religious and cultural identity and introduce Buddhism to the wider public.
• Global recognition. UN resolution 54/115 (1999) acknowledges Buddhism's contribution to humanity and gives Wesak an international profile.

Evaluating Wesak

• Strength. It gathers all the principal beliefs into one day of practice and celebration.
• Risk. Festivities, decorations and tourism can overshadow practice; the Buddha's words in DN 16 are often quoted to redirect attention to the precepts and meditation.
• Diversity. Different traditions celebrate different events on different days, which shows the unity of Buddhist devotion within diverse cultural forms.

In one sentence

Wesak, the full-moon festival commemorating the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing, expresses the Three Jewels, the possibility of enlightenment, impermanence and merit through refuges, precepts, offerings, meditation, lanterns and generosity, renewing each Buddhist's practice and uniting the Buddhist community across schools and nations, in keeping with the Buddha's teaching that the highest honour is to practise the Dhamma.

Try this

Q1. Identify the THREE events Wesak commemorates in the Theravada tradition. (2 marks)

• What the marker wants. The Buddha's birth, enlightenment and parinibbana (final passing).

Q2. Explain how Wesak expresses the Buddhist belief in karma. (4 marks)

• What the marker wants. Karma and merit; dana, sila and meditation on Wesak (AN 8.36); intention; the effect on rebirth and the path.

Q3. Analyse the significance of Wesak for the Buddhist community. (5 marks)

• What the marker wants. Unity, support of the Sangha, generosity to all, cultural identity and global recognition, with a judgement.