Bathing of the Buddha Ceremony，The Vesak ceremony:  05/15

The Buddha Bathing Ceremony, also known as “Vesak,” is the most grandiose festival in Buddhism each year, as it marks the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. During this festival, we pour clean water over a Buddha statue, a ritual known as the Buddha Bathing. This act is believed to purify the body, speech, and mind. While holding the clean water for bathing the Buddha, one should sincerely pray and chant,

“As I now bathe the Tathagatas, with the accumulation of pure wisdom and merit,

may all beings of the Five Turbidities be freed from defilement, aspiring to the pure Dharma body of the Tathagata.

我今灌浴诸如来，净智庄严功德聚，

五浊眾生令离垢，愿证如来净法身”

This is a wish to remove the impurities of greed, hatred, and ignorance, maintaining purity in actions, speech, and thoughts. It’s a hope for a peaceful and clean society, free from violence, deceit, and evil, for a beautiful and pristine environment. Through the merits of bathing the Buddha, one seeks to purify personal afflictions and beautify our society and land, transforming the troubled world into a pure land and guiding misguided hearts towards kindness and enlightenment. This is the true meaning of the Buddha Bathing Ceremony.