Buddha Bathing Festival Ceremony

• Date: May 5, 2025 (Monday, Lunar April 8th)
• Location: Mahayana Temple Retreat
  710 Ira Vail Rd, Leeds, NY 12451

Introduction to the Bathing Buddha Festival

The Bathing Buddha Festival, also known as “Buddha’s Birthday,” “Bathing the Buddha,” or “Anointing the Buddha,” is a traditional Buddhist holiday. According to Buddhist legend, when Shakyamuni Buddha was born, nine dragons sprayed fragrant water to bathe his body. Based on this story, Buddhists hold a bathing ceremony on Buddha’s Birthday.

Timing and Customs of the Bathing Buddha Festival

1. Timing
   The Bathing Buddha Festival falls on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month.
   • Chinese Buddhism: In the early Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was observed on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month. During the Liang Dynasty through to the Tang and early Liao Dynasties, it was changed to the 8th day of the 2nd lunar month. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the northern regions celebrated on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, while the southern regions maintained the 4th lunar month tradition. From the Yuan Dynasty onward, the festival was unified nationwide on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month.
   • Theravāda Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism: In Theravāda Buddhism and regions like Mongolia and Tibet, Buddha’s Birthday is usually celebrated on the 15th day of the 4th lunar month, coinciding with Buddha’s Enlightenment Day and Parinirvana Day.
   • Dai Water-Splashing Festival: The Dai people celebrate their Water-Splashing Festival in the 6th month of the Dai calendar (4th lunar month).
2. Chinese Customs
   Residents create a red paper cross inscribed with the words: “On the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, Buddha was born, and today caterpillars are married off into the deep mountains, never to return home.” This is pasted on doors and walls, symbolizing warding off evil. Other customs include processions, preparing fragrant soup, and cooking black rice. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Bathing Buddha Festival was confined to monasteries, but it gradually spread to the public during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
3. Theravāda Buddhism Customs
   Among the Dai people, who practice Theravāda Buddhism, everyone, regardless of age or gender, visits temples in the early morning to worship Buddha, make offerings, conduct cleansing rituals for Buddha statues, and perform ceremonies to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Afterward, they engage in water-splashing, laughter, and games, including launching sky lanterns, dragon boat races, fairs, and throwing love tokens.
4. Tibetan Buddhism Customs
   Tibetan Buddhism refers to the festival as the “Fourth Month Dharma Assembly,” with events lasting several days. Activities include chanting sutras, performing Cham dances (also called ritual dances or Dharma King dances), and worshipping in temples. The water-splashing custom is only popular among young novice monks.

Origin of the Bathing Buddha Festival

1. Legend of Shakyamuni’s Birth
   According to The Sutra of Past and Present Cause and Effect, Queen Maya, nearing her due date, passed through Lumbini Garden and gave birth to Prince Siddhartha under the Ashoka tree (also called Sala or Paricchattaka tree). At that moment, Nanda and Upananda, two dragon kings (or nine dragons in some versions), sprayed pure water to bathe the prince. The newborn prince immediately walked seven steps, with lotus flowers blooming beneath his feet, and declared, “Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am honored.”
   This legend was widely known in ancient India and is depicted in Buddhist sculptures unearthed in Sarnath and Amaravati.
2. Historical Background in Ancient India
   Over two thousand years ago, there was a prosperous kingdom called Kapilavastu, ruled by King Suddhodana, who was virtuous but childless for many years. Queen Maya dreamt of a six-tusked white elephant entering her body and became pregnant. Following the custom of returning to her family for childbirth, she stopped in Lumbini Garden, where she gave birth joyfully beneath an Ashoka tree.

Significance of the Bathing Buddha Festival

On Buddha’s Birthday, Buddhists gather in temples to participate in the Bathing Buddha ceremony. A statue of the infant Buddha is enshrined in the main hall, and devotees take turns pouring fragrant water over the statue using small copper ladles. Surrounding the ceremony are other related Dharma assemblies, collectively referred to as the Bathing Buddha Festival.

The festival symbolizes reverence and gratitude toward Buddha, encouraging purification, blessings, and the propagation of Buddha’s compassionate spirit.

We warmly invite you to participate in the Buddha Bathing Festival Ceremony to commemorate the sacred birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha. The bathing ritual symbolizes cleansing our inner afflictions, purifying the body and mind, cultivating bodhicitta, and sowing seeds of merit.

Join us at Mahayana Temple Retreat to immerse yourself in the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha. Together, let us pray for world peace, the happiness of all sentient beings, and the growth of wisdom and blessings in our lives.

For more information, please contact us at info@mahayana.us or visit our website.