Magha Puja Day is
one of the most important Buddhist celebrations which falls on the full
moon day of the third lunar month (about last week of February or early
of March).
This day marks the great
four events that took place during Lord Buddha's lifetime, namely;
- 1250 Buddhist monks from
different places came to pay homage to Lord Buddha at Valuwan Vihara
in Rajgaha, the capital of Magaha State, each of his own initiative
and without prior notification or appointment.
- all of them were the enlightened
monks (or Arahantas)
- all of them had been individually
ordained by Lord Buddha himself (Ehi Bhikkhu)
- They assembled on the
full moon day of the third lunar month.
On the evening of that day,
Lord Buddha gave the assembly a discourse "Ovadha Patimokha"
laying down the principles of His Teachings summarised into three acts,
i.e. to do good, to abstain from bad action and to purify the mind.
It was unclear as to when
the Magha Puja Ceremony took place. However, in a guide book of ceremonies
for the twelve months written by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), it is
said that,
"In the past, the
Magha Puja was never performed, the ceremony has just been practised
during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV)"
Having realized the significance
of this day, King Rama IV ordered the royal Magha Puja Ceremony tobe
performed in the Emerald Buddha Temple in 1851 and to be continued forever.
Later the ceremony was widely accepted and performed throughout the
kingdom. The day is declared as a public holiday so that people from
all walks of life can go to the temple to make merit and perform other
religious activities in the morning and to take part in the candlelit
procession or "Wien Tien" in Thai in the evening.
At the same time, at this
auspicious time, His Majesty the King will preside over the religious
rites to mark the occasion at the Emerald Buddha Temple and will later
lead hundreds of people in a candlelit procession held within the temple's
compound.
In fact, the candlelit procession
can be held at any time suitable to the public's convenience, either
in the morning or in the evening. However, in Bangkok it will usually
take place in the evening at about 8.00 p.m. and the procession will
be led by Buddhist monks.
In general, most Buddhists
are not aware of the Significance of this day. As a result, a number
of people taking part in the ceremony may be less than on other days
such as Visakha Puja or Asanha Puja Days. Even so Magha Puja Day carries
an equal meaning to all Buddhists.
This
story comes from "Essays on Thailand" by Thanapol
Chadchaidee. It is used here with his permission. The book contains
60 essays about Thailand written in Thai and English.
