Buddha’s teachings have eternal appeal: President

Delivering his official message to celebrate Vesak Day yesterday, President Maithripala Sirisena called on Sri Lankans to rediscover the teachings of the Buddha and live by them. 

The President’s full message is given below: 

The Buddhists all over the world celebrate the Vesak Festival with much religious fervour and enthusiasm to commemorate the important events that took place in the life of Gautama Buddha on this day, namely the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, his supreme attainment of Buddhahood, and the Mahaparinibbana. The Buddha’s teachings, which reflect a great vision of a superior religious sage and a humanitarian philosopher, has an eternal appeal to the human civilization.

Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was born in a complex era where the Indian society embraced various beliefs and religions. The religious orthodoxy had a strong impact on that society which also had various divisions within. Women were considered as weak beings, and they enjoyed limited rights in a male-dominated society.

The Buddhist teaching demolished the traditional immoral ideals and myths that were prevalent in that society which were rooted in ignorance and blindness, and moved forward with scientific thoughts. The Buddha addressed the mindset of the people directly. The right of understanding the truth in our own minds after investigating the validity and veracity was bestowed to us by the Buddha.

So, a spiritual human being emerges, dispelling illusion and ignorance.

The Buddha preached that a human can become a worthless person or a great person, not by his birth, but only through his actions. This noble concept became a strong binding force of the entire humanity.

Bestrewing metta on minds of enmity with immense kindness and pure joy, Gautama Buddha awakened the wisdom of mankind to show the absolution of existence, and this blessed period of Vesak gives us an ideal opportunity to recall the great teachings of the Noble One. I wish for a great Vesak Celebration for all the Buddhists around the world.