Peace Times 15

Over 450 million people will be celebrating Vesak this year, the Buddhist anniversary celebration of Buddha Shakyamuni’s birth, enlightenment and paranirvana.

This “festival of awakening” coincides with the full moon in May, an occasion when buddhist practitioners worldwide gather and meditate upon the Buddha’s message of peace.

For Italians this year, the Vesak will also be a great moment to rejoice, following the signing of a new agreement between the Italian Government and the Italian Buddhist Union (UBI), founded in 1985 and representing 35 associations of different buddhist traditions (Theravada, Mahayana-Zen, Mahayana-Vajrayana).

With this agreement, the Italian Government gives official recognition to buddhism as a religious denomination to all legal intents and purposes. The agreement also guarantees buddhist practitioners - which are some 50,000 in Italy alone: spiritual assistance in hospitals, prisons, convalescence homes; the possibility to take part in the practices of a buddhist centre during military service; recognising the Dharma Masters’ qualifications as a “Religious Minister”; the respect of individual traditions’ rules as far as the treatment of bodies and funeral arrangements are concerned; as well as officially recognising the Vesak festival as a national holiday.

Moreover, once the law is passed and comes into full effect, the agreement will make it possible for anyone who so wishes, to get tax relief on yearly donations of up to two million liras (about US$ 1,000), as well as to be included in the sharing out of the 8%o of government income revenue, which it has been decided, will be allocated towards the support and development of buddhism, through social, spiritual and cultural  activities held both in Italy and around the world.