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.

🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 10 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī) A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals

🇳🇵 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

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreWater lantern Small lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneFestival

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreKailash Mansarovar Yatraकैलाश मानसरोवर यात्रा (Hindi); ཀཱའི་ལ་ཤ་མན་ས་རོ་ཝར་ཡ་ཏྲ། (Tibetan) A high-altitude pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in TibetSpiritual

🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaKandyan danceඋඩරට නැටුම් The sacred dance of Sri Lanka's hill country, kept in temple and on the stagePerformance

🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreMani stone Inscribed stones placed along trails in Tibetan Buddhist regions as devotional offerings.Spiritual

🇮🇳 India and 5 morePretaप्रेत Offerings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.Spiritual

🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalKumariकुमारी A living goddess tradition in Nepal where a young girl embodies the divine feminine.Spiritual

🇱🇰 Colombo, Sri Lanka and 6 moreVesakVisakha Bucha (Thailand), Visakha Bouxa (Laos), Full Moon Day of Kason (Myanmar) A day to honor the birth, awakening, and passing of the Buddha, kept by Buddhists across Asia.Festival

🇮🇳 IndiaNamasteनमस्ते A respectful greeting made with joined palms, spoken in South Asia and beyondEtiquette

🇮🇳 India and 6 moreBuddha's Birthday佛诞 A festival marking the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, observed across Asia with temple rituals and community gatherings.Spiritual

🇮🇳 India and 6 moreMakar Sankrantiमकरसङ्क्रान्ति The Sun's northward turn, kept on 14 January with kites, fairs and river bathsSpiritual

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

🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 1 moreNaga Panchamiनागपञ्चमी (Nāgapañcamī) A day of worship for serpent deities and cobras, observed by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists across South Asia.Spiritual

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

🇳🇵 Kathmandu, Nepal and 4 moreDashainबडादशैँ A fifteen-day festival of family gatherings, blessings, and feasts across NepalFestival

🇳🇵 Nepal and 2 moreTiharतिहार A five-day Nepalese festival honoring animals, deities, and the bond between siblingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanTshechuཚེས་བཅུ། Annual Bhutanese Buddhist festivals of sacred Cham dances and colossal cloth scrollsFestival 🇮🇳 IndiaChaturmasyaचातुर्मास्य A four-month sacred monsoon season of fasting, vows, and monastic retreat in IndiaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaEsala Perahera A Sri Lankan procession of sacred relics, drummers and elephants honouring the BuddhaSpiritual

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual

🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual 🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoya A monthly full moon Buddhist holiday of observance and fasting in Sri LankaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreFuneral The ceremony a community holds when someone dies, from burial to cremationRite of passage

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

🇮🇳 India and 2 morePandal Temporary decorated pavilions and arches built for festivals and gatheringsFestival

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

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

🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoruwa ceremony A Sinhalese wedding rite held on a decorated wooden platform called a PoruwaRite of passage

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBhajanभजनम् (bhajanam) Devotional songs of South Asia, sung alone or together with drums and cymbalsPerformance

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreRudrakshaरुद्राक्ष Seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree, worn as prayer beads by devotees of ShivaSpiritual

🇮🇳 IndiaAhimsaअहिंसा A daily Indian discipline of doing no harm, in deed, word and thoughtSpiritual

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

🇮🇳 IndiaGuru-shishya traditionपरम्परा The lineage system passing spiritual and artistic knowledge from master to discipleSpiritual

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreRemoval of footwear indoors The widespread custom of leaving outdoor shoes at the door for cleanliness and respectEtiquette

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAbhiṣekaabhiṣeka (Sanskrit); wang (Tibetan) A Vajrayana Buddhist ritual of consecration where a guru transmits spiritual authority to a student.Spiritual

🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGunla Bajanगुंला बाजं Devotional music the Newars carry through the streets during the holy month of GunlaPerformance

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKasayaकाषाय The traditional patchwork robes worn by ordained Buddhist monasticsDress

🇮🇳 IndiaAbhiṣekaabhiṣeka (Sanskrit); wang (Tibetan) A Vajrayāna rite in which a guru empowers a pupil for secret tantric practiceSpiritual

🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India Marriage rites and festive gatherings celebrated across the diverse communities of India.Rite of passage 🇧🇹 Bhutan and 5 moreLhabab Duchenལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་ A Buddhist festival for the day the Buddha returned to earth from a god's realmSpiritual 🇮🇳 IndiaPranamaप्रणाम A traditional Indian gesture of reverent bowing, prostration, and touching the feetEtiquette

🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual

Photo credits on this page

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

Water lantern: 松岡明芳, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Prostration: Meghan Breeze, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Losar: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Vesak: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Naga Panchami: No machine-readable author provided. Krish Dulal assumed (based on cop, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Antyesti: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Tshechu: Stephen Shephard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: micknik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Poson: Hafiz Issadeen (YIM Hafiz), Dharga Town, Sri Lanka ( https://www.flick, CC BY 2.0, source
Kandyan dance: PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Preta: Temple, Richard Carnac, Sir, Public domain, source
Kumari: Nirmal Dulal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tibetan prayer flag: Wotan, CC BY 2.5, source
Mani stone: John Hill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Guru-shishya tradition: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Rudraksha: Merasmita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gunla Bajan: Kamal Ratna Tuladhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Removal of footwear indoors: Sarang, Public domain, source
Bhajan: Bootervijay at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Diwali: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Abhiṣeka: Wonderlane, CC BY 2.0, source
Weddings in India: Jaisingh Rathore, CC BY 2.5, source
Monlam Prayer Festival: Evan-Lovely, CC BY 2.0, source
Esala Perahera: Ashan96, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tihar: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0, source
Buddha's Birthday: User: (WT-shared) Manoj nav at wts wikivoyage, Public domain, source
Dashain: Unknown author, CC0, source
Guru Purnima: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Namaste: Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pandal: SHUBHAM KR SONI, CC0, source
Sinhala New Year: Anna Anichkova, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mha Puja: Karrattul, Public domain, source
Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source
Kasaya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Poruwa ceremony: A Derivative Work by MediaJet ,, CC BY 2.0, source
Ahimsa: Jain cloud, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Makar Sankranti: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source