Today is Buddha Purnima, so we thought we would refresh your memory on what this day means and why it is celebrated. This day commemorates the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, who founded Buddhism, and is celebrated on the full moon night in the month of Vaisakha (either April or May).
The day is marked with prayer meets, sermons on the life of Gautam Buddha, religious discourses, recitation of Buddhist scriptures, group meditation and processions.
Pilgrims from all over the world make their way to Bodh Gaya in the state of Bihar, which is said to be the place where Gautama Buddha attained nirvana (enlightenment).
For Buddhists, Bodh Gaya, home to the Mahabodhi temple, is the most important of the main four pilgrimage sites, the other three being Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath.
The story goes that Gautama Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha in the ancient kingdom of Kapilavastu. However, at the age of 29, depressed by the ills in the world around him, he renounced his royal life, his family and all luxuries to become an ascetic and search for 'truth'. He finally found his answers, at age 35, under a pipal tree, now known as the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya.
For the next 45 years, till the time he died, Gautama Buddha is said to have traveled across what is now North India and Nepal to teach his discipline and beliefs to people. 
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