Dear Friends,
As most of you probably know, Vesak is the most important holiday on the Buddhist calendar. Vesak falls on the full-moon day of May (the Indian month Visakha), which this year is May 5, but it is usually celebrated throughout May. According to the Theravada tradition, Vesak commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana. The Northern Buddhist tradition celebrates Vesak as marking the birth of the Buddha. Thus for all Buddhist traditions, Vesak is commonly known as “International Buddha Day.” It is a time to fully honor the Buddha with offerings and with dedication to the practice of his teachings.
The Buddha arrived at his attainment of Buddhahood by practicing the paramitas or spiritual perfections over countless lives. His motivation for seeking Buddhahood was his heart of great compassion, his earnest wish to promote the well-being, happiness, and security of countless sentient beings. The first of the spiritual perfections is dana-paramita, “the perfection of giving.” In life after life, as a bodhisattva, the future Buddha sacrificed his wealth, his status, his bodily parts, and even his life in order to rescue others from suffering.
As followers of the Buddha, we can follow his example by helping alleviate the suffering of others. We should remember that despite our differences, we all dwell on the same planet, bound together by common origins and a shared destiny. The basis for all well-being and happiness in this world is a healthy body, and the chief means of sustaining bodily health is nourishing food. The Buddha said that hunger is the worst illness and the gift of food the best of mundane gifts. It is the means of promoting health, happiness, and life itself.
In today’s world, the gift of food is of critical importance. Close to a billion people suffer from chronic hunger and food insecurity, and the need to increase food assistance is always intensifying. We each should do our best in ensuring that our fellow travelers on this planet can receive sufficient nourishment, that no one has to face the ordeal of persistent hunger.
For fifteen years, Buddhist Global Relief has been dedicated to the battle against chronic hunger and malnutrition. We currently sponsor over fifty projects in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Haiti and the U.S. Our contributions to address emergency situations have dramatically increased. Just recently, we provided $500,000 in emergency assistance to people in South and Southeast Asia, and $300,000 to address the severe hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. We see our work less as a form of “charity” than as a way of affirming the humanity of those we serve, of helping them realize their own potentials for a meaningful, dignified, and fulfilling life.
If you would like to share in our work, please consider making a generous donation to BGR during the month of Vesak. This will be your way of honoring the Buddha and thereby of realizing your own potential for generosity, kindness, and compassion. Such a gift will be a source of deep inner joy that will last long into the future.
I thank you deeply for responding to this message.
With blessings,
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is the founder and chair of BGR.
