|Posted on May 20, 2016 at 3:15 PM|
Saka Dawa: An Ancient Practice for A Modern World – Part I
--Orgyen Jampa Dorje (Rev. William L. Chamberlin,
|Posted on May 20, 2016 at 3:15 PM|
Saka Dawa: An Ancient Practice for A Modern World – Part I
--Orgyen Jampa Dorje (Rev. William L. Chamberlin, Temple White Lotus, LLC.)
If it can be said that Buddhists, particularly those of the Vajrayana variety, had a Christmas and Easter celebration/holiday combined, it would be the one known as Saka Dawa, which normally can last an entire month from the first week of May through the first week of June; the dates are sometimes fluid. The most auspicious day would be on the Full Moon day of the 15th of the Tibetan Month, which is May 21st on our calendars. It is upon this day that the birth, enlightenment, and paranirvana (death) of Shakyamuni Buddha is jointly commemorated.
The very name of this month long celebration is even named after this auspicious day: Saka is from Tibetan Astrology, meaning the Star called Saka which is associated with the full moon day of the fourth month; and, Dawa means month. Hence, Saka Dawa is the Saka Star Month of the Full Moon day of the Fourth Month.
This sounds all very interesting. But why should we, here in the West…those unwashed barbarians of us not from the Himalayas….even care? Well, I’ll tell you….and it’s all about Merit. However, first some background to set the scene.
The historical Buddha, at least the Encyclopedia Britannica version, is often called Shakyamuni Buddha….or, the Awakened Sage of the Shakya clan (his family, tribal name). Born sometime in the 5th century B.C.E., he was named Siddhartha Gautama, with Gautama being a more specific family name (immediate family) and Siddhartha meaning “one who has accomplished a goal”.
The Shakya were a tribal clan and ruled over a city-state with its capital in Kapilavastu, in modern day Nepal. Although probably more of a Tribal or Clan Republic than a powerful kingdom as normally depicted, it did exist on a major transit route for lucrative trade. Just south, across the modern day Nepal-Indian border, were very prosperous and powerful city-states and outright kingdoms which benefited from this trade. Chief among these was Varanasi (Benares)….The place from which the Buddha first began to share his vision.
Siddhartha’s father married two sisters, Maya and Pajapati Gotami, a princess of another city, the Koliya. Maya was his mother, but died at child birth, leaving his step mother, Pajapati, to raise him; hence, his family name of Gotama in addition to Shakya, his father’s clan name.
Now, there are various accounts of the Buddha’s nativity, some miraculous and magical, and yet others rather straightforward; I will leave it up to you to decide which version you accept and/or research more, if so moved. The main thing is that he was well off, sheltered, very skilled in all he undertook, including his training as a warrior (being a member of the warrior/ruling caste, a Kshatriya), but also very spiritually sensitive and searching, as if he were born with a mid-life crisis in full spasm right from the moment of his birth.
This striving/dissatisfaction with the status quo and the general, politically and socially correct explanation for the meaning of life, death, morality, politics, etc. were to drive him towards becoming the future Buddha. More on that later.
Besides being probably quite skilled in defense and warfare, including playing with disturbingly sharp objects (swords, as his father was known to be a master swordsman himself), Siddhartha was quite illiterate….he was, after all, living in a pre-literate age for the most part.
He was also skillful in the love department (Siddhartha, that is) by all accounts; and upon reaching the mature age of 16 was married, by arrangement of his father, to his cousin, Yasodhara, who was also of 16 years of age. She was the daughter of another chief, of Koliya, with her mother being the sister of Siddhartha’s father. She was also the sister of another cousin, Devadatta, who would be known later as the consummate thorn in his side during all his years of teaching….basically earning the reputation as being the Buddha’s equivalent of Judas Iscariot.
The royal couple eventually had a child, a son named Rahula (which translated means ‘the Fetter’), or as I like to call him, “The Ball and Chain”, which betrays a glimpse into that spiritual, psychic and emotional disenchantment the Buddha had with the status quo and accepted realities of the world. Now don’t get me wrong….he loved his family very much, and always did. It was because of this love, that he decided to strive onward, into the primordial wilderness and away from secular distraction, in order to find his answers. Eventually he would obtain these answers, deep within himself, seat