The "Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly" celebrates Sakyamuni Buddha's Birthday on the eighth day of the fourth month (lunar calendar). It is also known as Buddha Bathing Celebration. Avatamsaka Vihara dedicates a special prayer service to this ceremony every year.

Bathing the Buddha celebration originated because the new born Prince Siddhartha was bathed by dragons. The celebration of Buddha Bathing originated from the birth of Prince Siddhartha who, when first born was bathed by the dragons. According to the Chapter one of the Past and Present Causation Sutra, Queen Maya gave birth to Sakyamuni Buddha, then known as Prince Siddhartha beneath the Sala tree when visiting the Lumbini Park one day. At the time of the birth, two dragon kings, Nantuo and FuBouNanTuo, spurted streams of pure water to bathe the Prince's holy body. For this reason, Buddhist disciples celebrate the Buddha's birthday by bathing the infant Prince Siddhartha statue.

Ceremony is held inside the temple. A infant Prince Siddhartha statue, with one arm pointing towards the sky and the other pointing towards the ground, is placed on a plate on the Lotus alter table so that followers can use fragrant water to bathe the statue. This activity symbolizes the Fourfold Assembly's offering, and it is a day of joy and blissful celebration.

Sakyamuni Buddha has attained full perfect enlightenment to Buddhahood many aeons ago. His dharma body named Vairocana (PiLuSheNa Buddha) fullfils everywhere in the endless empty space, and transforms into myriad forms to convert sentient beings. After Prince Siddhartha had attained to the Buddhahood, he taught Eighty-four Thousand Dharma-Doors to save all sentient beings in this Saha world. These Dharma teachings help us to eradicate our limitless afflictions, and to flourish limitless blessings and wisdom. The quote, "All Buddhas, the World Honored Ones, appear in the world only because of the causes and conditions of the one great matter." from the Dharma Flower (Lotus) Sutra refers the Great Matter to the teaching of how to end birth-and-death, how to reach the ultimate Bodhi stage, and to attain "Buddha-fruit" enlightenment.

During the Buddha Birthday ceremony, we whole heartedly pray and wish that his spiritual power of great compassion and full perfect virtues will enable us to purify our polluted mind of greed, hatred, and stupidity, and will help us to achieve perfect merit and virtues in moral precepts, samadhi, and wisdom.

The verses in the Merit of Bathing The Buddha Sutra describe the true meaning of Bathing the Buddha:
I now bathe all thus come ones,
Who are adorned with pure wisdom, and who have amassed merit and virtue.
May living beings of the five turbid realms be led from filth,
And expediently realize the pure dharma body of the thus come one.
May the fragrance from the realization of precepts, samadhi and wisdom constantly perfume every realm of the ten directrions.
May this incense fragrance, performs countless Budhha work of salvation.
May suffering in the three evil paths and the wheel of Samsara ceases,
Completely extinguishing the fires and obtaining the coolness of relief.
So that all beings vow to attain the supreme Bodhi mind
Perpetually escaping the river of desires and advancing to the other shore of Nirvana.

Avatamsaka Vihara will host a Bathing Buddha Dharma Assembly on May 16, 2010. The assembly will start at 8:30AM. We would like to welcome all dharma friends to join this assembly and celebrate Shakyamuni Buddha's Birthday together.

  Schedule  ( 5/16/2010)

8:30AM - 11:00AM	Bathing Buddha Dharma Assembly
11:30AM	Meal Offering - Vegetarian Lunch
12:50PM - 1:20PM	Liberation of Life
3:20PM	Dedication of Merit in the Rebirth Hall