Last week we received an invitation from our local Bhikkhu (Buddhist monk: the word also means ‘beggar’ thus underlining the ideal of non-attachment Bhikkus practice) to attend festivities in honour of the Buddha’s birthday at their little temple at Ponte a Moriano. Also known as Wesak this is the most important of the Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the full moon in May. In 2024 Wesak officially takes place on 23 May but since most people are working in Italy it was celebrated yesterday, the 19^th of May.

Wesak commemorates not only the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama at Lumbini in Nepal (sometime between the 6^th and the 4^th century BC) but also his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Unfortunately Ponte a Moriano’s own Bodhi tree (Ficus Religiosa) seemed a bit threadbare this year.

My thoughts went back to the time when I sat under the (supposedly) original Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya during my hippy escapade.

The birth of the Enlightened One is commemorated in different ways in different Buddhist countries. In Ponte Moriano with its Buddhist community largely coming from Sri Lanka it’s celebrated by particular religious observances and offerings.

We arrived at a nicely decorated temple precinct and assembly hall with candles and paper, bamboo-framed lanterns. 

We placed our little offering of a potted yellow flower to the Buddha in the temple which was attended by three Bhikkhus.

We then went outside and sat ourselves under a decorated pavilion where we had a tasty lunch known as a Dansalas which means the free offering of food and drink to people. It consisted of red and white rice, lentils, aubergines and fish and, this being Italy, was finished off with gelato and fruit salad.

The stage was then decorated with the statues of Buddha transported from the temple.

The congregation offered birthday presents to the Buddha consisting largely of rice and clothing. One lady said to us she spent more fifty Euros on her present.

Devotional songs known as Bakthi Gee then followed led by a Bhikkhu whose warm voice lulled me to a particularly ecstatic trance.

Children and ladies then entered the stage to sing. No knowing Sinhala I was unable to fully follow the words but they were devotional in tone and offered praise to Gautama.

Thus ended our Buddhist birthday. It was a sweet way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the peaceful surroundings of Ponte and we would like to thank our Bhikkhu for his kind invitation.