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EveryParampara

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.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoya A monthly full moon Buddhist holiday of observance and fasting in Sri LankaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇯🇵 JapanHigan彼岸 A Japanese Buddhist week of reflection and ancestor remembrance at the equinoxesSpiritual 🇯🇵 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 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月 An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJoya no Kane除夜の鐘 A Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 3 moreObonお盆 (Obon) A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance, light, and family reunion.Festival 🇮🇳 India and 2 morePandal Temporary decorated pavilions and arches built for festivals and gatheringsFestival 🇲🇲 Yangon, Myanmar and 1 moreShinbyuရှင်ပြု A Burmese Buddhist rite in which a boy goes forth as a novice monk, often at New YearRite of passage 🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India Weddings across India, each shaped by faith, region and familyRite of passage 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 5 moreTaiko太鼓 (taiko) Japanese drums, and the ensemble style of playing themPerformance 🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥 A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoruwa ceremony A Sinhalese wedding rite held on a decorated wooden platform called a PoruwaRite of passage 🇯🇵 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 🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamTraditional Vietnamese wedding A Vietnamese wedding: two families joined through proposal, engagement and ceremonyRite of passage 🇯🇵 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 🇱🇰 Sri LankaKiribathකිරිබත් Rice cooked in coconut milk, the dish of Sinhalese New Year and family beginningsTable custom · Breakfast 🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 5 moreButter teaབོད་ཇ་ A salted tea churned with yak butter, served to guests across the HimalayaTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇲🇾 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 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreSky burialབྱ་གཏོར་ (bya gtor) A Tibetan funeral in which the dead are laid out on a rock for vulturesRite of passage 🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual 🇨🇳 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 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 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 5 moreThroat singing Several deep, guttural singing styles, each named and kept by its own peoplePerformance 🇯🇵 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 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCham danceའཆམ་ A masked monastery dance of Tibetan Buddhism, staged at festivals to teach and blessSpiritual 🇰🇷 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 🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual 🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖 A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual 🇮🇳 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 🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBhajanभजनम् (bhajanam) Devotional songs of South Asia, sung alone or together with drums and cymbalsPerformance 🇮🇳 IndiaAhimsaअहिंसा A daily Indian discipline of doing no harm, in deed, word and thoughtSpiritual 🇺🇸 Spokane, United States and 5 moreFather's Day A day to honour fathers and fatherhood, kept on many different dates worldwideFestival 🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage 🇪🇬 Alexandria, Egypt and 5 moreCenobitic monasticism A communal way of monastic life where monks live, pray, and follow a shared ruleSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇨🇳 ChinaKowtow叩頭 A traditional Chinese prostration of deep respect by kneeling and bowing to the groundEtiquette 🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreVessantara JatakaVessantara Jātaka A Buddhist festival celebrating the last life of the Buddha as a generous prince.Festival 🇮🇳 IndiaMonlam Prayer Festival A Tibetan Buddhist festival of mass prayers, sacred dances and ritual offeringsSpiritual 🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์ The Thai solar New Year marked by temple rites, elder blessings and water throwingSeasonal 🇮🇳 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 🇦🇱 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
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Photo credits on this page

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

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