Vesak: A Time to Remember by Adam Stonebraker

Each year around the time of the full moon in May, Buddhist communities across the world gather to celebrate Vesak—a day that commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and final passing (parinibbāna) of the Buddha. Known by many names in different cultures—Vesakha Puja in Thailand, Buddha Jayanti in Nepal, Saga Dawa in Tibet—it is perhaps the most sacred day in the Buddhist calendar.

Vesak is not just a historical remembrance, but a call to deepen our own path of awakening. It invites us to pause, bow, and begin again. To light a candle not only in honor of the Buddha, but as a symbol of our own aspiration to live with greater wisdom, compassion, and freedom.

The story goes that the Buddha was born under the full moon, awakened under the full moon, and died under the full moon—each time in the month of Vesākha. Whether we hold these events as literal or mythic, they remind us of the full arc of human life: birth, struggle, liberation, and release. And they remind us that each of us, too, carries within us the seeds of awakening.

For me, Vesak is a time to return to the fundamentals—to reflect on what drew me to this path in the first place: the mystery of suffering, the yearning for peace, the glimpses of joy in presence and letting go. I like to spend the day in reflection, making an offering at my meditation altar, revisiting the refuges and precepts, chanting, and reading, especially the stories from the life of the Buddha. It is a time to remember the Buddha not as a distant figure from history, but as a mirror of our own potential, a presence that continues to whisper: There is a way.

This year, may we each find a moment to pause and honor the light of awakening, within and around us. As the Dhammapada says:

“The radiance of the awakened one
shines far, lighting the world—
like the moon freed from a cloud.”

Wishing you all a blessed Vesak.