Friday, February 20, 2009

A Day for Showering the Buddha

A Day for Showering the Buddha
Text and photograph by Liu King-pong
The Buddha was born in Kapilavastu, a place that is now in southern Nepal, 2,563 years ago. Before his enlightenment, at the age of about thirty, his name was Siddhartha Gautama. Because he was the son of Suddhodhana, king of the Sakya kingdom in India, he is also referred to as Sakyamuni (Sage of the Sakyas) Buddha.
According to legend, right after his birth the Buddha took seven steps toward the east, south, west and north and, with one finger pointing at the sky and another at the earth, said, "In the whole universe, I am the most venerable!" The word "I" here stands for the intrinsic undefiled buddha-nature, which exists in every living being. It is the spirit of altruism that millions of Tzu Chi people now call Great Love.
As for the date of the Buddha's birthday, people in China and Japan hold that the eighth day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar is his birthday. In Taiwan, starting with this centennial year, the second Sunday in May has been designated as the official festival of the Buddha's birthday or "the Day for Showering the Buddha."
The etiquette for showering the Buddha is as follows: we fold our palms and bow three times to the Buddha. Then we pour fragrant water, concocted with various kinds of fragrant herbs such as cinnamon and cloves, over the head of the figure. We may silently chant, "I vow to cultivate goodness, I vow to eradicate all evil deeds, and I vow to redeem all living beings from the suffering of the world."
The showering of the Buddha represents a kind of spiritual growth for us. Through this act we hope to rid ourselves of the poisons of greed, anger, delusion and other bad thoughts hidden in our minds.
Just as most people regularly take showers, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike should wash away the dirt and filth in their minds by showering the Buddha at least once a year. Beyond that, Tzu Chi members often visit lonely or bedridden old people and wash them with the same respectful manner as if they were living buddhas. That is probably the most pragmatic and meaningful practice of "showering the Buddha."