Visaha Puja Day

The Magha Puja Day or the day of the Fourfold Assembly began with a special gathering of Arahant monks. They met to pay homage to the Buddha at the Veluvana or the Bamboo Grove.

The word Puja signifies worship,
and the word Magha is the name of the third lunar month
used in ancient India.

Currently Magha Puja day is observed on Western calenders on the day of the full moon towards late February or early March.

The time and circumstances of the gathering contained some extraordinary features :

1. The time was on the full moon day during the month of Magha.
2. The circumstances were :

The 1,250 monk disciples that assembled to venerate the Buddha, had no prior knowledge of the assembly

All of the monks that met were Arahants who had attained the sixfold-super-knowledge.
All of the monks were the Buddha's direct disciples ordained by the Buddha himself.

At the fourfold assembly, the Buddha preached the Principal Teaching of Buddhism to the monks. His propagation of the Dhamma was that the monks would follow it, and pass the same teachings to future monks and to the lay people.

The Buddha's teaching included :

1. The philosophy of Buddhism.
2. The principles of Buddhism.
3. The methods of propagation.

According to the canon, the Buddhist philosophy is comprised of the following :

1. The practice of enduring patience is of greatest importance.

2. Nirvana, as proclaimed by the Buddha, is the realm of true happiness. In Nirvana there is no physical pain, no emotional suffering, no birth, no death, no aging, only happiness. Nirvana is the ultimate level of joy.To enter Nirvana one must purify his or her mind through meditation. One must eliminate all defilement in his or her mind, for example, one must leave behind all thoughts of avarice, arrogance, dilusion, hatred, murder, and lust for the flesh. After all defilement is eliminated and the mind becomes pure, one can then enter Nirvana, finding true happiness. The ideal of obtaining Nirvana should be the goal of all Buddhists.

3. A monk must never cause suffering or trouble to others. Another term often used is, Samana, a person whose mind is so peaceful and calm they never create problems or cause suffering to others.

The three fundamental principles of Buddhist doctrine

The three fundamental principles of Buddhist doctrine are :

1. Never do evil.
2. Always do good.
3. Purify the mind through meditation on a regular basis.

The method of propagation is comprised of the following :

1. Never insult others.
2. Never harm anybody or anything.
3. Always observe strict self-discipline in living such as always eat in moderation, dress to protect the physical body from the extream weather.
4. Always be diligent about observing and practicing the monk’s regulations.
5. Always have a place of tranquility in your mind that will support to meditate.
6. Always be diligent in the practice of meditation.

Magha Puja Day is important in yet another respect. It is said that in the last year of the Buddha's life, just three months before his passing away, he had made a prophecy about the day he would die and announced it to his disciples. The speech is known as the "Rejection of Life to the Aggregates," and it also took place on the full moon of the third lunar month, or Magha. To Buddhists, the timing of the this speech raises the sacredness of Magha Puja day to a much higher level.

On Magha Puja Day, Buddhists assemble at the temple in the morning, to observe the five precepts. They also listen to a sermon, offer food to monks, practice meditation, or take part in other forms of meritorious activities. Buddhists also perform circumambulation, or the walking around a shrine or a Buddha image three times as a gesture of faith and respect in the Triple Gem.