{"id":2482,"date":"2015-06-01T09:00:20","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T09:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/?p=2482"},"modified":"2015-05-31T09:12:52","modified_gmt":"2015-05-31T09:12:52","slug":"vesak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/vesak\/","title":{"rendered":"Vesak in Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today is an important holiday for Buddhists all over the world, marking the birth, enlightenment, and death of Guatama Buddha. This day goes by many names &#8211; Vesak, Ves\u0101kha, and Buddha Purnima to name a few &#8211; and in Thailand it&#8217;s called\u00a0<strong>Visakha Bucha<\/strong> (\u0e27\u0e34\u0e2a\u0e32\u0e02\u0e1a\u0e39\u0e0a\u0e32). The date varies from country to country depending on what calendar they use; according the the Thai calendar, this year it falls on June 1st 2558 BE. Interestingly enough, it&#8217;s also celebrated as National Tree Day in Thailand.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2332\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-123.jpg\" aria-label=\"N. Thailand 123\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2332\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2332\"  alt=\"Most people will visit a temple today across Thailand.\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-123.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-123.jpg 650w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-123-350x263.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2332\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Most people will visit a temple today across Thailand.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>People dress up for this important occasion &#8211; many of them in all white &#8211; and head to a temple before dawn for the ceremonial hoisting of the Buddhist flag. Another important aspect of the morning&#8217;s festivities is\u00a0giving alms to the monks.\u00a0Worshippers also make offerings of flowers and burn incense, which both have a symbolic meaning &#8211; just as flowers eventually wither and die and the incense eventually burn out, life too is fleeting.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Walk up Doi Suthep on Visakha Bucha Day\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2FtvZ_ocTHA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Check out some highlights of this festival in Chiang Mai.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2326\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-134.jpg\" aria-label=\"N. Thailand 134 225x300\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2326\" class=\"wp-image-2326 size-medium\"  alt=\"A day to honor Buddha and his teachings.\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-134-225x300.jpg\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2326\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A day to honor Buddha and his teachings.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>During Visakha Bucha, people will take care to observe the Five Precepts of Buddhism:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>1.\u00a0I undertake the training rule to abstain from killing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>2.\u00a0I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>3.\u00a0I undertake the training rule to avoid sensual misconduct.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>4.\u00a0I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>5.\u00a0I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A brief introduction to the five precepts\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o80EPa7ZcFQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Learn more about the Five Precepts from a monk.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Some will even go the extra mile and follow an additional three:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>6. I undertake to abstain from eating at the wrong time (the right time is after sunrise, before noon).<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>7. I undertake to abstain from singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment performances, wearing perfume, and using cosmetics\u00a0and garlands (decorative accessories).<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>8. I undertake to abstain from luxurious places for sitting or sleeping, and overindulging in sleep.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<p class=\"p1\">Many birds and animals are also released into the wild as a symbol of giving freedom to those who are held against their will. In many temples, a small statue of Buddha will be placed in a water basin so devotees can pour water over it; this symbolizes the washing away of bad karma. In the evening, there will be a candlelit procession where people walk around the main shrine of a temple three times to honor the three jewels of Buddhism &#8211; Buddha, his teachings, and the monkhood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D3xjwBE132I\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D3xjwBE132I<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><em>A short news clip of Vesak in Thailand.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">While all of these rituals serve a purpose related to the holiday, the most important thing to do is follow the Buddha&#8217;s teachings (Dhamma) sincerely. In order to help people better understand the Dhamma, monks all across the country will give lectures where people are expected to listen intently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In a country that&#8217;s over 90% Buddhist, this is an incredibly important holiday. If you should find yourself in Thailand over Visakha Bucha, do your best to observe and respect the customs &#8211; put down that bottle of Chang, swap chicken for veggies, and head to a temple to partake in this very spiritual day. Buddhists are some of the most understanding and welcoming people in the world, so you&#8217;ll be welcomed in with open arms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-123-350x263.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image tmp-hide-img\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-123-350x263.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2015\/03\/N.-Thailand-123.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Today is an important holiday for Buddhists all over the world, marking the birth, enlightenment, and death of Guatama Buddha. This day goes by many names &#8211; Vesak, Ves\u0101kha, and Buddha Purnima to name a few &#8211; and in Thailand it&#8217;s called\u00a0Visakha Bucha (\u0e27\u0e34\u0e2a\u0e32\u0e02\u0e1a\u0e39\u0e0a\u0e32). The date varies from country to country depending on what calendar&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/vesak\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":2332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[378776,378777,12543,10656,378770,378778,378775,378774,275470,378773,378768,378769,378771,378772],"class_list":["post-2482","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-5-precepts-of-buddhism","tag-8-precepts-of-buddhism","tag-buddha","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist-holidays","tag-dhamma","tag-eight-precepts-of-buddhism","tag-five-precepts-of-buddhism","tag-thai-holidays","tag-thai-public-holidays","tag-vesak","tag-vesak-in-thailand","tag-visakha-bucha","tag-wisakha-bucha"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2482"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2486,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions\/2486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/thai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}