Faith Time: Vesak Day

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Nina Nemat with the Meditation Center of Alabama joins us this morning. Good morning to you. Good morning. We are talking about we Vesak Day, which recently passed. What is that?

Guest: Vesak Day is an internationally recognized day by the United Nations and it is actually a very important Buddhist holiday. It is a day on which the Lord Buddha attained enlightenment on this day and he passed away to complete nirvana. On this day, about two and a half millennia ago.

Anchor: So how do you normally observe this?

Guest: Buddhist practitioners and peace seekers all around the world will go to local temples and nearby communities to pay respect to the Lord Buddha and pay gratitude to him. So what we usually do is we observe the five precepts, or we take morality, which is respecting another person’s life of not killing, stealing, committing adultery, lying or taking any intoxicants. We also practice generosity. We share our positivity and smiles, maybe offer flowers or donation to the temple to support them. And then most importantly, we will purify our minds in our hearts through meditation and mindfulness.

Anchor: You mentioned a lot of great ideas that are carried through your religion, but what do you think is the most important?

Guest: I feel like the most important thing is just to pay respect and gratitude to a great role model. A great teacher who provided the world with teachings of how to find peace within yourself and peace outside of you in the world. This is not something that you would just chance upon finding peace upon yourself or attaining enlightenment. But to have a great teacher sacrifice their life to share this knowledge and wisdom with the world is something that is truly priceless.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.