浴佛節的故事 – The story of Buddha Day
佛誕，通常是慶祝佛教創始人釋迦牟尼佛誕生的日子，又稱「浴佛節」、「灌佛會」、「龍華會」、「華嚴會」等。 紀念的日期，在漢傳佛教和藏傳佛教一般訂為農曆四月初八。 而在南傳佛教、藏傳佛教的一些地區，將佛陀誕生、出家、成道、湼槃於同一日紀念，稱衛塞節，日期訂為陽曆5月份的一個月圓之日（望日），常常是農曆的四月十五日。例如2014年，馬來西亞和新加坡的衛塞節皆定於在5月13日（農曆四月十五）。北傳佛教則稱四月十五日為「佛吉祥日」或「佛顯日」，認為佛在本日顯示祥瑞，而天龍八部皆奔來供養佛祖，通常與佛誕合併慶祝，而不獨立慶祝。 緣起[編輯] 釋迦牟尼佛誕生在南尼泊爾，為淨飯王之太子，傳說天有九條龍吐出香水為太子洗浴。因為這個典故，便有了慶祝的重要內容：一說要以香水沐浴佛身，所以佛誕節又名「浴佛節」。 後代信徒們尊為釋迦牟尼佛。信徒自古以來，在當天佛教寺院都會舉行一連串盛大的浴佛儀式、慶祝活動，祈求佛陀福澤社會，消弭災難，以及禮請法師開壇說法，講經說法。佛教徒也都會在這一天回顧和學習佛陀慈悲的教導。 浴佛節的由來是源自於2600多年前尼泊爾迦毗羅衞國的王后摩耶夫人，在藍毗尼花園的無憂樹下誕下了悉達多太子，也就是後來出家成道的佛陀。太子誕生後，一手指天，一手指地，說道：「天上天下，唯我獨尊。」意思是說，祂已經過三大阿僧祗劫的修行圓滿，即將在人間成佛，所以不論在人間或天上，再也沒有勝過祂的人了。隨即有兩股水從天瀉下，沐浴在王子的身上。後來，佛教徒每年為慶祝佛陀誕辰就沿用此例舉行浴佛儀式，藉此感恩佛陀，讓自己能夠幸運的接觸佛法、修行佛法 。 ——————————————————————————————————– Buddha’s Birthday – is a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism to commemorate the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddha and founder of Buddhism. According to the Theravada Tripitaka scriptures[which?] (from Pali, meaning “three baskets”), Gautama was born in Lumbini in modern-day Nepal, around the year 563 BCE, and raised in Kapilavastu.[2][3] According to this legend, shortly after the birth of the young prince Gautama, an astrologer named Asita visited the young prince’s father—King Śuddhodana—and prophesied that Siddhartha would either become a great king or renounce the material world to become a holy man, depending on whether he saw what life was like outside the palace walls. Śuddhodana was determined to see his son become a king, so he prevented him from leaving the palace grounds. But at age 29, despite his father’s efforts, Gautama ventured beyond the palace several times. In a series of encounters—known in Buddhist literature as the four sights—he learned of the suffering of ordinary people, encountering an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and, finally, an ascetic holy man, apparently content and at peace with the world. These experiences prompted Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a spiritual quest.
視頻來源：Youtube 頻道
