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.
🇰🇷 South KoreaNorigae노리개
A Korean pendant of knots and tassels, worn with hanbok and kept for luckDress
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreRudrakshaरुद्राक्ष
Seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree, worn as prayer beads by devotees of ShivaSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi
A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress
🇨🇳 Dunhuang, China and 2 moreYingluo璎珞
A ring-shaped Buddhist neck ornament that became a Chinese necklace, worn again todayDress
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreDaura-Suruwalदौरा सुरुवाल
The traditional Nepali male attire of a wrap shirt, tapered trousers, and a coat.Dress
🇹🇭 ThailandKhruiครุย
A sheer ceremonial robe worn by Thai royalty and now as academic dress at universities.Dress
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKasayaकाषाय
The traditional patchwork robes worn by ordained Buddhist monasticsDress
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalTraditional Newar clothingनेवार समुदायमा भएको संस्कृति पहिरन
The customary handwoven dress and ceremonial garments of Nepal's Newar peopleDress
🇰🇭 Longvek, Cambodia and 2 moreKhmer traditional clothing
How Khmer people dress: the wrapped sampot, the embroidered sbai, the checkered kramaDress
🇰🇭 CambodiaAv pakអាវប៉ាក់
A Cambodian women's shirt in silk or cotton, embroidered or laced, for festivalsDress
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese patchwork
A needlework craft joining fabric scraps into protective clothing, quilts and folk artCraft
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Norigae: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Rudraksha: Merasmita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yingluo: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Daura-Suruwal: not researched, CC BY 4.0, source
- Khrui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kasaya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Traditional Newar clothing: Uray1130, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Khmer traditional clothing: Engsamnang, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Av pak: Puppetcreator, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese patchwork: Unknown author, CC0, source