Festival of Floral Offerings
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| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Genre | Buddhist festival |
| Frequency | Yearly |
| Locations | Saraburi, Thailand |
The Festival of Floral Offerings, or Tak Bat Dokmai, is a traditional merit making ceremony where takes place at Wat Phra Phuttabat in Saraburi province.
At the beginning of Buddhist Lent in July, people gather together at Wat Phra Phuttabat to offer food to the monks. After that, they go out to collect the flower, Dok Khao-Phansa, to offer to the monks in the afternoon respectively. Dok Khao-Phansa is a special kind of flower that only found in the Saraburi province in Central Thailand. The colors of this flower are either white or purple. It blooms during the Buddhist Lent festival which is the reason why it is called Buddhist Lent Flower.[citation needed]
Legend
In Buddha’s lifetime, Sumonmala had a duty to collect eight flowers of jasmine for offering to the king of Ratchakuek kingdom, Phra Chao Pimpisarn.[citation needed]
One day, Sumonmalal encountered the Lord Buddha and his monastic disciples when he was picking flowers for Phra Chao Pimpisarn. Being faithful, he offered the flowers to the Lord Buddha instead of Phra Chao Pimpisarn. However, known the reason, Phra Chao Pimpisarn did not get angry with him. Moreover, he gave the price to Sumonmala which helped him to have a better living afterwards.[citation needed]