Why Buddhists Celebrate Nirvana Day

By C Barnett --
15 Feb 2016 --

The journey to enlightenment: death, rebirth and nirvana acknowledged on Nirvana Day.

Nirvana Day refers to an annual Buddhist festival that is celebrated on February 15th in commemoration of the death of Buddha at the age of 80 years when he reached Nirvana. The day is also known as Parinirvana Day. According to the Buddhist faith, Nirvana is believed to be the festival that marks the end of the cycle of death and rebirth.

The Buddhist Nirvana Day.[/tweetthis]

The Buddhist celebrates Buddha’s death since they believe that he had attained his Enlightenment stage. He spent his last 40 years teaching, and it’s believed that Buddha met his death in a state of meditation and attained Nirvana. Buddhism faith teaches that a state of Nirvana is achieved when one gets rid of every suffering and need.

Today, a Buddhist commemorates Nirvana Day either through meditation or even going to the Buddhist temples or monasteries. However, Nirvana Day is celebrated by Buddhists in different ways all over the globe. There are Buddhists who spend the Parinirvana Day reading scriptures from the Parinirvana Sutra, an ancient chronicle that explains the last days of Buddha. Some Buddhists hold their celebrations in monasteries and treat the festival as a social occasion. They prepare food while others bring valuable items such as money, clothes and household goods to mark the day.

If you become happy
and content
one day you may
reach #Enlightenment. 🙂#Buddha #endsuffering #Nirvana
— Jim Wilson (@sonshineonline) January 18, 2016

But why is Nirvana Day so important to Buddhists? Buddhists use Nirvana Day as an occasion for reflecting on one’s future death and their relations to friends and those who have of passed away recently. Buddhist teachings remind them that everything is temporary, and nothing remains the same. They are encouraged that matters of death should be accepted as something normal, and it should not cause grief.

On this festival, meditations are done to the recently deceased so as to give them help and support wherever they are.