Queen Maha Maya and King Suddhodhana did not have any children for twenty years. One Esala Full Moon night she dreamt that she was carried by Devas to a lake where they bathed and anointed her with perfumed oils. Then a white elephant with six white tusks and carrying a white Lotus flower in its mouth appeared and circled the Queen three times after which he entered her womb from her right side. The Queen awoke then and realized that she had been given a very important message. Ten months later she gave birth to Prince Siddhartha who went on to attain Enlightenment and become the Buddha.
It was on yet another Esala Full Moon day that Prince Siddhartha, at the age of 29, renounced his royal title along with his luxurious lifestyle and left his father’s palace seeking the truth and searching for a means to end universal suffering. Accompanied by some of his followers he led the life of an ascetic and strove to attain Enlightenment. He subsequently returned to the palace seven years later as the Buddha. The day he left the palace was also the day his only son, Prince Rahula was born.
Another important event in the life of Lord Buddha which is commemorated on Esala Full Moon day is His first sermon delivered two months after attaining Enlightenment. Known as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta ( the wheel of Dhamma), this sermon was delivered to His five disciples Kondangna, Wappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama and Assaji at Isipathanaya in Benares (Baranasi). In this sermon He told them that there are two extremes of living – one is a “Life of Pleasure” and the other a “Life of Self-mortification”. The Blessed One advised them to follow the middle path which consists of purity, virtue and righteousness.
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