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.
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreWater lantern
Small lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneFestival
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da)
Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 3 moreOvooовоо (Cyrillic Mongolian); ᠣᠪᠤᠭᠠ (Traditional Mongol)
A stone cairn on a peak or pass, circled by travellers and honoured in sky worshipSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese knotting中國結 (Zhōngguó jié)
A folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsCraft
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePretaप्रेत
Offerings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.Spiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanRakugo落語
Japanese solo comic storytelling told from a cushion using a fan and a clothPerformance
🇲🇲 Bagan, MyanmarNat worshipနတ်
Veneration of guardian spirits and nature deities alongside Buddhism in MyanmarSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanOmikujiおみくじ
Paper fortunes drawn at Japanese shrines and temples to consult divine guidanceSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅
A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance
🇹🇭 Phon Phisai, Thailand and 1 moreNaga fireballsบั้งไฟพญานาค (bang fai phaya nak)
A festival of glowing orbs rising from the Mekong River, attributed to a mythical serpent.Festival
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreTibetan prayer flagLung ta / Darchog
Colorful cloth banners printed with mantras, hung in high places to spread blessings on the wind.Spiritual
🇨🇳 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
🇯🇵 Takasaki, JapanDaruma doll達磨 (daruma)
A round Japanese wishing doll: fill one eye to set a goal, the other to mark it done.Folklore
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ)
Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship
Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual
🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖
A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanKintsugi金継ぎ
Mending broken pottery with lacquer and gold, so the repair stays visibleCraft
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔
A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore
🇲🇾 Kelantan, Malaysia and 2 moreMak yongTarian Mak Yong (Jawi: مق يوڠ)
A dance-drama of Kelantan and Patani, told in song, music and improvised speechPerformance
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma
A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals
Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual
🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreVessantara JatakaVessantara Jātaka
A Buddhist festival celebrating the last life of the Buddha as a generous prince.Festival
🇦🇱 Gjirokastër, Albania and 5 moreDodola and Perperuna
A rainmaking ritual kept across Southeast Europe, where children dressed in greenery lead processions to call for summerSpiritual
🇹🇭 Dan Sai, ThailandPhi Ta Khonผีตาโขน
A three-day festival in Dan Sai, north-east Thailand, of ghost masks and merit-makingFestival
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese patchwork
A needlework craft joining fabric scraps into protective clothing, quilts and folk artCraft
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India
Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFive Grains五穀
A sacred grouping of staple crops honoured as the bedrock of East Asian civilizationFolklore
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Five Grains: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Water lantern: 松岡明芳, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Archery in Bhutan: muddum27, CC BY 2.0, source
- Double Ninth Festival: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese knotting: Ucla90024, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese funeral rituals: Salzmann, E.v., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Preta: Temple, Richard Carnac, Sir, Public domain, source
- Rakugo: Yuya Tamai, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nat worship: Emily Khine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Omikuji: C121749n, Public domain, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Naga fireballs: J A Forbes, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tibetan prayer flag: Wotan, CC BY 2.5, source
- Kintsugi: Daderot, CC0, source
- Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
- Mazu: Prince Roy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Phi Ta Khon: E.D.W., Public domain, source
- Garid: hu:Burumbátor, Public domain, source
- Vessantara Jataka: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source
- Chinese patchwork: Unknown author, CC0, source