Extracted from the website of Buddhist Vajrayana Charity Funds Association and translated (浴 佛) into English:

Bathing the Buddha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Origin of Bathing the Buddha
The Buddha’s first name is Siddhartha and his surname is Gautama. His father was the monarch of Kapilavastu, also known as Suddhodana. His mother was Queen Maya. After the Buddha’s full gestation of ten months, the Buddha Mother, Queen Maya of Sakya, strolled in the Lumbini Garden. She raised her right arm on a branch of a Sal tree (Shala tree), to which the Buddha emerged from the Buddha Mother’s right side. He then walked seven steps in each direction of North, East, South and West, with lotus flowers appearing upon each and every footstep. Then, with one hand pointing towards the sky and one hand pointing towards the ground, he roared like a lion, “Above The Heaven and below the Earth, I am the Supreme.” (‘I’ refers to the original existence of Buddha nature within all sentient beings). At this time, the earth shook, the Dragon Emperor spouted water like a pouring shower, both warm and cool. There are also records from other scriptures that various heavenly kings carried twelve kinds of fragrances, soup and miscellaneous flowers to bath Prince Siddhartha. Thus, this is the origin of ‘Bathing the Buddha’.

The Merits of Bathing the Buddha
According to the records of【The Buddha Speech On The Sutra On The Merits of Bathing The Buddha】Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva once asked Buddha why Buddhas,Tathagatas could obtain pure body. The Buddha therefore gave His discourse and explained the merits of Bathing the Buddha: “Various Buddhas, Tathagatas, in order to quest for Bodhi, practised Samadhi, Precepts, Meditation, Forbearance, Emptiness Wisdom, Benevolence, Compassion, Happiness, Forgiveness, Liberation, the Concept of Liberation, Force of Non-Fear, all Buddha Dharmas, all types of wisdom, which were all pure, this was how the Tathagata acquires the pure body. Also, the provision of offerings in flowers, incense, streamers and canopies are offered; then fragrant water is used to bathe the body of Tathagata, before placing a precious cover over the body. Once again, various food and drink, percussion, stringed music and songs are utilised to praise the Tathagata. Such merits will bring back all categories of wisdom. The merits received are both immeasurable and boundless, and can even achieve the Supreme Bodhi.” The Buddha further said, “The Dharma of Bathing Statues is considered as the most precious and victorious amongst all offerings.”

According to the record of【The Buddha Speech on The Sutra of Cleaning The Buddha Statue】, ‘Benevolent Men, bathing the Buddha Statue can enable you and others, such as Buddhist monks and the general public, to enjoy present fortune and happiness and be free from illness in the long-term, all wishes will come true, and friends and family will all have stability. With long dismissal of troubles from all sources, any hardship will forever be discharged; one will not receive a female body, and one can speedily attain enlightenment!’ 【The Sutra On The Merits of Bathing The Buddha】also states the offering of Bathing the Buddha can have fifteen types of merits:
	1.	To remain humble
	2.	To cultivate pure confidence
	3.	To possess an honest and straightforward mind
	4.	To associate with good friends
	5.	To develop immense wisdom
	6.	To often see Buddhas
	7.	To permanently maintain Righteous Dharma
	8.	To act on one’s words
	9.	To be born in the Pure Buddha Land as one wishes
	10.	If one is born as a human being, then to be born into a noble family to be respected and be delighted
	11.	To be born as a sentient being and believe in Buddhism naturally
	12.	To be amongst evil forces and have no harm or worry
	13.	To be able to protect and support Righteous Dharma even at the end of the world
	14.	To receive the blessing and protection from Buddhas of the Ten Directions
	15.	To attain instant enlightenment in the Five Kayas Dharma

The History of Bathing Buddha Festival
Not long after Buddhism was introduced to China during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the celebration of the Bathing the Buddha Festival was swiftly established. According to the history books of《Han Dynasty, the Tao Qian biography》stated, ‘At every Bathing the Buddha Festival, there were plenty of food and drink, and these were placed along the roads on pieces of cloth’. The《Records of the Three Kingdoms, the book of Wu》, also recorded that during the Wu Dynasty, there were lavish celebrations during the Bathing the Buddha Festival, ‘…expenses are in huge amount of hundred million…’. However, the date of The Buddha Festival is not the same.《The Domestic Record of Han Law》,《Buddhacarita - The Poem of the Acts of the Buddha》,【Ru Jing Origin Arisen Sutra】,【Bathing The Buddha Sutra】, etc., all state that the Buddha was born on the eighth of April and the【Long Agama Sutra】and《Sa Po Multi-theories》state it was the eighth of February. According to the records of Chinese History Biography, in the early period of Han, Wei and Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasty, Bathing the Buddha Festival was mainly celebrated on the eighth of April. Yet, the Liang period through Sui and Tang dynasties to the beginning of Liao, the Festival was mainly celebrated on the eighth of February. At the time of Northern Song Dynasty, the North changed the celebration to the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the South changed to the eighth of April. However, in the region of South East Asia, and according to the Theravada method, it was set on the fifteenth of April, and to this day, is also regarded as Buddha’s Birthday, Enlightenment Day and Nirvana Day.