Buddhist traditions

Buddhist traditions are found across Asia and increasingly worldwide, in the forms of Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Mahayana in East Asia and Vajrayana in Tibet and Mongolia.

Buddhist traditions are found across Asia and increasingly worldwide, in the forms of Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Mahayana in East Asia and Vajrayana in Tibet and Mongolia. They include the festival of Vesak, the Poya days, almsgiving to monks, the Kathina robe offering, the pilgrimage to Lumbini and Bodh Gaya, temple festivals and the rites of the Tibetan year. At their heart are meditation, compassion and the Buddha's teaching, and many customs are acts of generosity. These pages describe them with respect.

Monks, merit and giving

Laypeople support monks and nuns with food, robes and shelter, and in return receive teaching and blessings. Giving, dana, earns merit, and many festivals centre on it: the morning alms round in Laos and Thailand, the Kathina ceremony at the end of the rains retreat, the free meals of Vesak in Sri Lanka. Temples are also community centres, schools and places for funerals.

Festivals and the year

Vesak marks the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha with lanterns and lights. In Thailand, Songkran and Loi Krathong, in Japan Obon, in Tibet Losar and Saga Dawa, and in Korea the Lotus Lantern Festival are among the major events. Each blends Buddhist meaning with local custom, and many include the remembrance of ancestors and a cleansing of the old year.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Buddhist (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMother's Day A worldwide annual celebration dedicated to mothers, maternal bonds and family careHome

🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa) A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇹🇭 ThailandThai solar calendarปฏิทินสุริยคติไทย The official solar calendar of Thailand, numbered in the Buddhist EraSeasonal

🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarThadingyutသီတင်းကျွတ် A Burmese celebration and calendar month marking the completion of Buddhist Lent.Seasonal

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节 A spring custom of sweeping family graves and honouring ancestors across East Asia.Spiritual

🇧🇹 Bhutan and 4 moreLosarལོ་གསར་ The Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGhost Festival中元節 / 中元节 (Zhōngyuán jié) A full-moon night in the seventh lunar month for feeding ghosts and guiding souls homeSpiritual

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGuru Purnimaगुरुपूर्णिमा A sacred South Asian festival honouring spiritual guides, teachers, and mentorsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreDouble Ninth Festival重陽節 An autumn festival of mountain walks, chrysanthemum wine and ancestor remembranceSeasonal · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар The Mongolian Lunar New Year festival of peace, elders, white foods and renewalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanHatsumōde初詣 The first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year to pray for good fortuneSpiritual

🇯🇵 JapanHadaka Matsuri裸祭り Japanese festivals where participants clad in loincloths seek luck and purificationSpiritual

🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreMāgha Pūjāមាឃបូជា A Buddhist holy day honoring monastic unity, moral guidance and spiritual fellowshipSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarThingyanသင်္ကြန် A four-day water festival marking the Myanmar New Year, celebrated in April with merit-making and playful splashing.Festival

🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreRoyal Ploughing Ceremonyព្រះរាជពិធីបុណ្យច្រត់ព្រះនង្គ័ល A royal agricultural rite opening the rice season across mainland Southeast AsiaCeremony

🇱🇦 Luang Prabang, Laos and 5 moreLao New Yearປີໃໝ່ລາວ A mid-April water festival and Buddhist celebration marking the Lao new yearFestival

🇰🇭 Siem Reap, CambodiaCambodian New Yearបុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី ប្រពៃណីជាតិ A three-day harvest festival marking the traditional solar new year across CambodiaSeasonal

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh, Cambodia and 1 moreBon Om Toukបុណ្យអុំទូក A three-day Cambodian festival of dragon boat races, floating lanterns and moon offeringsFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇮🇳 IndiaChaturmasyaचातुर्मास्य A four-month sacred monsoon season of fasting, vows, and monastic retreat in IndiaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月 An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥 A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore

🇱🇰 Sri LankaKiribathකිරිබත් Rice cooked in coconut milk, the dish of Sinhalese New Year and family beginningsTable custom · Breakfast

🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreLunar New Year New year festivals dated by the moon, kept from East Asia to the Middle EastFestival

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual

🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJoya no Kane除夜の鐘 A Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.Spiritual

🇮🇳 Ujjain, India and 1 moreVikram Samvatविक्रमसंवत् A lunisolar Hindu calendar of Nepal and India, its years counted 57 ahead of the GregorianSeasonal

🇰🇭 CambodiaPchum Benភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ A fifteen-day Cambodian Buddhist festival honouring ancestors with food and prayersSpiritual

🇳🇵 NepalMha Pujaम्हपुजा A Newar New Year ritual of self-worship, mandalas and renewal in NepalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇱🇰 Mihintale, Sri LankaPoson A Sri Lankan Buddhist festival marking the ancient arrival of Buddhism on the islandSpiritual

🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreBodhi Day成道会 A Buddhist observance marking the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under the Bodhi TreeSpiritual

🇱🇰 Anuradhapura, Sri LankaSinhala New Yearඅලුත් අවුරුද්ද The April solar New Year and harvest festival celebrated across Sri LankaSeasonal

🇻🇳 VietnamTếtTết Nguyên Đán The Vietnamese festival of the lunar new year, welcoming spring with family gatheringsFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날 A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal

🇨🇳 Dali, ChinaThird Month Fair三月街 A mountain-foot bazaar, festival, and sports gathering among the Bai in YunnanFestival

🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭 A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, Thailand and 1 moreYi Pengยี่เป็ง A northern Thai Buddhist festival of sky lanterns, clay lamps and temple sermonsSpiritual

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreAsalha Pujaอาสาฬหบูชา A Theravada festival marking the Buddha's first sermon and the monastic orderSpiritual

🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreVassa A three-month rainy-season retreat of meditation, study, and discipline for BuddhistsSpiritual

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreRocket Festivalບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ A rainy-season festival of merit-making, music, parades and homemade rocketsFestival

🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์ The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival 🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoya A monthly full moon Buddhist holiday of observance and fasting in Sri LankaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇯🇵 JapanHigan彼岸 A Japanese Buddhist week of reflection and ancestor remembrance at the equinoxesSpiritual

🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGozan no Okuribi五山送り火 Five giant bonfires lit across Kyoto's hills to bid farewell to ancestor spirits.Spiritual

🇺🇸 Spokane, United States and 5 moreFather's Day A day to honour fathers and fatherhood, kept on many different dates worldwideFestival

🇮🇳 IndiaMonlam Prayer Festival A Tibetan Buddhist festival of mass prayers, sacred dances and ritual offeringsSpiritual

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Hatsumōde: KKPCW, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bon Om Touk: Codas, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Vikram Samvat: Westindischer Maler um 1400, Public domain, source
Losar: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Double Ninth Festival: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tsagaan Sar: User:Chinneeb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Māgha Pūjā: myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Thingyan: Pagan era painter(s), Public domain, source
Royal Ploughing Ceremony: Xiengyod, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lao New Year: Darren On The Road, CC BY 2.0, source
Guru Purnima: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cambodian New Year: Sam Sith, CC BY 2.0, source
Pchum Ben: Saphabodi, CC0, source
Mha Puja: Karrattul, Public domain, source
Hadaka Matsuri: CES, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Poson: Hafiz Issadeen (YIM Hafiz), Dharga Town, Sri Lanka ( https://www.flick, CC BY 2.0, source
Bodhi Day: Shirazibustan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sinhala New Year: Anna Anichkova, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
Third Month Fair: ZhaoScorpio, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Gion Matsuri: 江戸村のとくぞう, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Yi Peng: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Asalha Puja: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
Vassa: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
Rocket Festival: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
Higan: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gozan no Okuribi: J_o, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Japanese New Year: No machine-readable author provided. Sixgimic assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Joya no Kane: Leung Ming Ho (Michael) (MHLeung), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Thadingyut: Aungzawtoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Laba congee: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
Kiribath: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Lunar New Year: Flying Pharmacist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Father's Day: Jjsarto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Monlam Prayer Festival: Evan-Lovely, CC BY 2.0, source