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.
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.
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaTemplestay템플스테이
A program that invites visitors to live in South Korean Buddhist temples and join the daily routines of monastic life.Spiritual · Dinner
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅
A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节
A spring custom of sweeping family graves and honouring ancestors across East Asia.Spiritual
🇨🇳 China and 7 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
🇨🇳 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
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanHatsumōde初詣
The first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year to pray for good fortuneSpiritual
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар
The Mongolian Lunar New Year festival of peace, elders, white foods and renewalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 JapanHadaka Matsuri裸祭り
Japanese festivals where participants clad in loincloths seek luck and purificationSpiritual
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe연등회
A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual
🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTsukimi月見 (Tsukimi) / お月見 (Otsukimi)
A Japanese autumn festival honoring the harvest moon with seasonal foods and pampas grass decorations.Festival · Dinner
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaLaba Festival臘八節
A winter porridge festival marking the start of the Chinese New Year seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 2 moreSho Dun Festivalཞོ་སྟོན། (Tibetan), 雪頓節 (Chinese)
A summer festival in Lhasa where a monks' retreat ends with yogurt and all-day operaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 3 moreObonお盆 (Obon)
A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance, light, and family reunion.Festival
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreBodhi Day成道会
A Buddhist observance marking the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under the Bodhi TreeSpiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 5 moreTaiko太鼓 (taiko)
Japanese drums, and the ensemble style of playing themPerformance
🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreLunar New Year
New year festivals dated by the moon, kept from East Asia to the Middle EastFestival
🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖
A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月
An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 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
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석
A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSanja Matsuri三社祭
A loud three-day Shinto festival in Tokyo honoring the founders of Sensō-ji temple.Festival
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGozan no Okuribi五山送り火
Five giant bonfires lit across Kyoto's hills to bid farewell to ancestor spirits.Spiritual
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날
A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal
🇯🇵 Tokushima, JapanAwa Dance Festival阿波踊り
A summer street dance festival held in Tokushima during the Buddhist season of ObonFestival
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaiyin Xingjun太陰星君
The Chinese moon goddess, honoured at Mid-Autumn with incense, mooncakes and prayersSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
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
- Garid: hu:Burumbátor, Public domain, source
- Japanese New Year: No machine-readable author provided. Sixgimic assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tsagaan Sar: User:Chinneeb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yeondeunghoe: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bodhi Day: Shirazibustan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tsukimi: katorisi, 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
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sanja Matsuri: View_of_mikoshi_from_sensoji_Sanja_Matsuri_2006-2.jpg : * View_of_miko, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gozan no Okuribi: J_o, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Obon: Batholith, Public domain, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Templestay: (c)한국불교문화사업단, culturalcorpsofkoreanbuddhism, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taiko: Ohno.A, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lunar New Year: Flying Pharmacist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mazu: Prince Roy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sho Dun Festival: No machine-readable author provided. John Hill assumed (based on copyr, CC BY 2.5, source
- Hadaka Matsuri: CES, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Double Ninth Festival: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Awa Dance Festival: Rosino, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Taiyin Xingjun: Unknown author, Public domain, source