Speech on Buddha Purnima in English
- myNachiketa
- Apr 30
- 3 min read

आत्मदीपो भव। Be your own light.
Good morning, respected teachers and my dear friends,
Today, I feel honoured to speak about a very special festival — Buddha Purnima. It’s not just a festival, it’s a reminder of the light of wisdom that came into the world as a great teacher —Gautama Buddha. Gautama Buddha understood the truth about life by asking deep questions and letting go of things that were not true.
As we know, Buddha Purnima is celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Vaisakha, which usually falls in April or May each year. This festival marks three important events in the life of Gautama Buddha — his birth, his enlightenment, and his passing away. That’s why this day is full of peace, light, and wisdom.
Gautama Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha. He lived in a beautiful palace and had everything a prince could wish for. But one day, when he stepped outside the palace, he saw something that changed his life. Siddhartha saw people in pain, which raised some deep questions in his mind: Why do people suffer? Can this pain ever end? Buy and read our special book, Discovering God, to understand these concepts deeply.
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To find the answers, Siddhartha left behind his royal life and went in search of truth. After years of deep meditation under a Bodhi tree, he found the answer within himself. He became Buddha, which means “the Enlightened one or the wise one.” He then shared his wisdom with others to help them live a life free from suffering.

Buddha gave his first teaching in a place called Sarnath. There, he shared four simple but powerful truths about life:
Sometimes, life can be hard and full of problems.
Most of the time, we feel upset because we want things our way.
But the good news is — this pain and sadness can stop.
And there is a way to live happily and peacefully.
This path is called the Eightfold Path. It teaches us to live with right thoughts, right actions, right speech, and mindfulness. Buddha believed that peace and happiness come from within, and meditation is one way to find that peace.
There’s a story about Buddha that I really like. One day, a man came to him full of anger and shouted at him. But Buddha stayed calm. He asked the man, “If someone offers you a gift and you don’t accept it, to whom does the gift belong?” The man replied, “To the one who offered it.” Buddha smiled and said, “In the same way, I do not accept your anger.” The man became quiet and peaceful. This story teaches us that we don’t have to react with anger — we can choose to stay calm and kind.
Buddha Purnima is celebrated in many countries and is also recognised by the United Nations as the UN Day of Vesak. This festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm in schools. Children take part in plays, stories, and meditation activities.
People visit stupas and monasteries and study the teachings of Buddha. This day is meant for knowing oneself and for spreading the message of compassion and love to others.
As children, we can learn so much from Buddha’s life — to be kind to others, to stay calm in tough situations, and to believe that the answers we seek are already within us and we just need to find them. Even a few minutes of meditation every day can help us feel more peaceful and happy.
So, my dear friends, on this Buddha Purnima, let’s promise to embrace the teachings of Gautama Buddha and shine like the full moon, with wisdom, kindness, and peace in our hearts.
Thank you, and Happy Buddha Purnima to all!

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