Buddha Jayanti celebrated with gusto in Darjeeling Hills

Darjeeling: Darjeeling, on Monday, joined in to commemorate the birth of Lord Buddha—the epitome of peace and non-violence.

The 2589th birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, in Darjeeling, saw the rerun of the age-old Buddha Jayanti, as remembered by the town elders. The Dharma Chakra Committee had organised a congregation at the Chowrasta.

Rallies from different monasteries and Buddhist organisations were taken out through the major thoroughfares of Darjeeling. The congregation started with prayers “Sangchuyey Monlam” (Prayers for peace for all sentient beings) by the monks. The procession which followed was a riot of colour and sound. Monks dressed in traditional clothes and hats, carrying traditional lamaistic musical instruments like the conch, bell, Gyeling (wind instrument), cymbals and drums representing various Buddhist Sects like the Nyingmapa, Kagyupa, Gelugpa and the Sakyapa sects carried altars with a statue of Lord Buddha and important Buddhist scriptures and texts called the “Pushtaks”.

Among the texts were the Kangyur, which means “Word of the Master” and contains more than 100 volumes of canonical literature consisting of 1108 distinct books and Tanjyur, which means the “Commentaries” and contains about 225 volumes consisting of 3458 works of Buddhist Philosophy.

People thronged on the streets to pay their reverence to the holy shrines and the Pushtaks (books) being carried. As elderly men and women placed Khadas (traditional silk scarves) on the altars carried on poles. Children scurried under the altars as it is the popular belief in the hills that passing under an altar brings good luck. It was a special treat for the tourists.

“I have never witnessed anything like this. It was a riot of colour and sound. We were very lucky that Buddhajayanti coincided with our stay,” stated Anurag Sinha from Kolkata. Tourists were seen busy clicking photographs of the rallies.

Monasteries in and around town witnessed long queues from early in the morning as people from all walks of life, dressed in traditional finery arrived to pay reverence and make offerings. Similar processions were taken out in all major towns of the Hills.