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.
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual
🇨🇳 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
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi)
A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage
🇯🇵 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
🇯🇵 JapanBowing in Japanお辞儀
The Japanese bow, used to greet, thank, apologise and show respectEtiquette
🇰🇷 South KoreaKorean tea ceremony다례 (茶禮)
Tea served in Korea as a rite of courtesy, now mostly grain and herbal brewsTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖
A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual
🇰🇷 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
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals
Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ)
Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCham danceའཆམ་
A masked monastery dance of Tibetan Buddhism, staged at festivals to teach and blessSpiritual
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJapanese tea ceremony茶道 (Sadō / Chadō), 茶の湯 (Chanoyu)
The formal serving of powdered matcha, shaped by Zen, Shinto and wabiTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 5 moreThroat singing
Several deep, guttural singing styles, each named and kept by its own peoplePerformance
🇨🇳 ChinaKowtow叩頭
A traditional Chinese prostration of deep respect by kneeling and bowing to the groundEtiquette
🇨🇳 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
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese patchwork
A needlework craft joining fabric scraps into protective clothing, quilts and folk artCraft
🇯🇵 JapanKirikane截金
A Japanese craft of cut gold, silver or platinum leaf for Buddhist statues and paintingsCraft
🇨🇳 Dunhuang, China and 2 moreYingluo璎珞
A ring-shaped Buddhist neck ornament that became a Chinese necklace, worn again todayDress
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLife release放生
A Buddhist practice of freeing captive animals to spare their lives and gain meritSpiritual
🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaXi'an guyue西安鼓乐
Ritual wind and percussion music from Xi'an, played sitting or walkingPerformance
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFive Grains五穀
A sacred grouping of staple crops honoured as the bedrock of East Asian civilizationFolklore
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreBuddhist initiation受戒
A public ceremony where a lay follower takes refuge in the Triple Gem and accepts moral precepts.Spiritual
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
- Garid: hu:Burumbátor, Public domain, source
- Xi'an guyue: Liuxingy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Life release: Wonderlane, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lunar New Year: Flying Pharmacist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Japanese funeral: 夢の散歩, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
- Bowing in Japan: Maya-Anaïs Yataghène, CC BY 2.0, source
- Korean tea ceremony: Mai-Linh Doan, CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Mazu: Prince Roy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yingluo: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Kirikane: 内閣府, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kowtow: Gary Todd, CC0, 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
- Chinese patchwork: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Chinese funeral rituals: Salzmann, E.v., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Buddhist initiation: ScooterSponson, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cham dance: Arian Zwegers, CC BY 2.0, source
- Japanese tea ceremony: Photograph taken by Stephane D'Alu ( en:User:Sdalu ) in April 2004, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Throat singing: Bill Loewy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source