Why is there a ritual of bathing the Buddha during Buddha’s birthday?

The thrilling legend of Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth in Lumbini garden is the origin of the Buddha bathing ritual – an important part of Buddha’s birthday.
The ritual of bathing the Buddha appeared long ago in India, China and Central Asia, and is now practiced in most Buddhist communities around the world to express the joy of Buddhists over the arrival of the Buddha. the Enlightened One in 624 BC.

In this ritual, after the ashram chants the sutras, everyone chants the verse and the Buddha Bathing mantra, then goes to the platform, where there is a newborn Buddha image placed in the basin, joins hands to pay homage, scoops up fragrant water and gently sprinkles the two shoulder, and at the same time meditate on the stream of orange juice that washes away greed, anger, and delusion from your mind. Buddha bath water is cooked from fragrant or fragrant flowers, or simply pure rain water. The ritual of bathing the Buddha during Buddha’s birthday. This ritual comes from the birth story of Buddha more than 2,600 years ago. According to the Theravada scriptures, after his mother, Queen Mahamaya, gave birth to him in the garden of the Heart of Bhikkhuni, at the foot of the tree of no concern, four great Brahmas descended from heaven, wrapping the child with a golden net. At that moment, two rains fell from the sky on the future Buddha. In the Northern Buddhism scriptures, it is said that, after the Buddha was born from the right side of Queen Mahamaya, a lotus flower rose to support it and nine dragons flew down from the sky, spewing two streams of cold and hot water to bathe them. Sir. The scene of Buddha’s birth with a water-breathing dragon is recorded in many sculptures at Deer Park, an important Buddhist site in northern India. According to Buddhist scholars, the two streams of cold and hot water represent joy and sorrow, happiness and suffering of life, which everyone in this world must accept. Those who endure both favorable and unfavorable circumstances with a calm and free mind will be able to become a Buddha. Therefore, when doing the Buddha bathing ceremony, it is important for participants to visualize the washing of body and mind to be relieved, cool and happy. When pouring water on the right shoulder of the Buddha image, we need to make a vow that even when we encounter things that are very happy and satisfied, our mind is still calm. When pouring water on the left shoulder of the Buddha image, it is necessary to keep in mind that despite facing adversity and suffering, our mind is still peaceful and calm.