Hanamatsuri is a Buddhist holiday that celebrates the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. His birthday is said to be April 8th. The reason why it is called Hanamatsuri which means “the flower festival” comes from the scene when Buddha was born.

About 2,600 years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha was born as a prince in Kapila Castle in Northern India (present-day Nepal). His mother’s name was Maya. When Maya gave birth, she tried to make it to Kurijo Castle, where she was born.

On her way from Kapila Castle to Kurijo Castle, she saw a flower garden called Lumbini Garden. Just as she arrived at the flower garden, Maya felt labor pains and there she gave birth to her son. On that day, April 8th, the flowers in Lumbini Garden were in full bloom. Because Shakyamuni Buddha was born among the many flowers, that day became known as the “Flower Festival” (Hanamatsuri). This is why the statue of the Baby Shakyamuni Buddha is surrounded by beautiful flowers.

On Hanamatsuri, we celebrate by pouring sweet tea on the statue of Baby Shakyamuni Buddha. This tradition comes from the fact that when Buddha was born in Lumbini Garden, sweet nectar rain fell from the sky.

If you look at a statue of Buddha, you will see that his right hand is pointing to the sky and his left hand is pointing to the earth. It is said that when the Buddha was born, he immediately walked seven steps, stopped, pointed to the sky with his right hand and the earth with his left hand and said, “TENJO TENGE YUIGA DOKUSON.” If you look at the kanji, this means Tenjo (sky) Tenge (ground) Yui (just) ga (I) Doku (only) son (respected), or “above the sky, on the ground, only, I, alone, am precious.” But Buddha was not trying to say, “I am the only one who is precious!” Rather, it is a teaching that says, “If you see the sky or the ground, there is only one individual in existence like you, me, and others. Every life is irreplaceable, so all lives are equally precious.”

Buddha taught that among the many types of life, being born as a human being is extremely rare, and among these human beings, it is even rarer to encounter Buddhism. While feeling that joy, let’s celebrate Buddha’s birthday!
*Ah, hard to encounter, even in many lifetimes, is the decisive cause of birth, Amida’s universal Vow! It is hard torealize, even in myriads of kalpas, pure shinjin that is true and real! If you should come to realize this practice and shinjin, rejoice at the conditions from the distant past that have brought it about.