The 2550th Buddha Jayanthi makes Vesak all the more important this year. Elaborate arrangements have been made to celebrate it on a grander scale. Giant pandals donned in thousands of electric bulbs stand majestically by the roadside, a myriad of colourful lanterns dance in breeze, the needy queue up near danselas dishing out food, drinks and dry rations.

Vesak is the time for reflection.

Is the successor of the Enlightened One—Dhamma—being given the due place in the on-going celebrations? Religiosity is, no doubt, prevalent as is obvious on a day like today. Is religious fervour synonymous with the actual practice of the Buddha’s teachings? If so, why do governments have to temporarily ban the slaughter of animals, the sale of meat and liquor in view of Vesak or any other Poya in a predominantly Buddhist country? Aren’t such trades demand-driven, and wouldn’t they die a natural death if the vast majority of the people, who are Buddhists, chose to live by the Dhamma, which has no place for killing and intoxicants? And won’t the end of those animals that got a new lease of life during Vesak coincide with the expiry of the ban?

Buddha Jayanthi celebrations have also put a temporary halt to the killing of stray dogs. But the question is whether it is only during times of religious significance that lives of those hapless creatures should be spared?

The late Most Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Maha Nayake Thera once pointed out in a sermon, which was re-telecast posthumously in honour of that scholarly monk who adorned the Sasana, that during the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi celebrations, there had been a considerable decrease in the incidence of anti social activities including crime. It is not implied that only Buddhists are responsible for the high incidence of crime etc. But as that erudite monk said the fact remains that if Buddhists conduct themselves the way they do during Vesak on other days as well, a real difference could be made in this society. And why doesn’t it happen? It is a poser that monks and lay Buddhist leaders ought to give serious thought to.

An oft-heard lament is that Buddhism has come under various threats, mainly external. The not-so-wise have resorted to the so-called direct action which militates against the Buddha’s teachings based on non-violence. They have only brought Buddhists of this land to disrepute and played into the hands of those whom they accuse of trying to destroy Buddhism. Dhammo Havae Rakkhathi Dhammacari (He who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma), the Buddhists believe. That also works, one will see on a closer examination, the other way round: Dhamma is protected by the person who lives by it!

In an interesting discussion on Buddhism on radio recently, a learned panelist disputed the opinion being peddled that Buddhism will last only for 5,000 years. Buddhism, he pointed out, didn’t have a shelf life as such and it would last as long as the monks and the laity followed it properly. He sounded convincing. One’s liberation, as the Buddha has said, lies within oneself. Similarly, it may be said, the liberation of Buddhism lies in its followers being true Buddhists.

He who misses the essence of the Buddha’s teaching for the mundane accretions to it, manifested in religious festivals such as peraheras and Vesak or Poson celebrations cannot aspire to be a true Buddhist. Such mundane trappings, no doubt, serve cultural purposes but don’t pave the path to Nirvana. They only blind one to the real path that the Budda showed.