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.
🇹🇭 Dan Sai, ThailandPhi Ta Khonผีตาโขน
A three-day festival in Dan Sai, north-east Thailand, of ghost masks and merit-makingFestival
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAbhiṣekaabhiṣeka (Sanskrit); wang (Tibetan)
A Vajrayana Buddhist ritual of consecration where a guru transmits spiritual authority to a student.Spiritual
🇧🇹 Punakha, BhutanTraditional Day of OfferingBuelwa Phuewi Nyim
A Bhutanese New Year marked by offerings to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and family feasts.Festival · Breakfast
🇲🇲 Bagan, MyanmarAtar-ohအတာအိုး
A terracotta vessel prepared for the Myanmar New Year to welcome celestial blessings and purify the home.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaAbhiṣekaabhiṣeka (Sanskrit); wang (Tibetan)
A Vajrayāna rite in which a guru empowers a pupil for secret tantric practiceSpiritual
🇱🇦 Vientiane, LaosBoun Suang Hueaບຸນຊ່ວງເຮືອ
A Lao festival of riverboat races and floating offerings at the close of Buddhist LentFestival
🇯🇵 JapanKirikane截金
A Japanese craft of cut gold, silver or platinum leaf for Buddhist statues and paintingsCraft
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India
Marriage rites and festive gatherings celebrated across the diverse communities of India.Rite of passage
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreDaura-Suruwalदौरा सुरुवाल
The traditional Nepali male attire of a wrap shirt, tapered trousers, and a coat.Dress
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India
Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese patchwork
A needlework craft joining fabric scraps into protective clothing, quilts and folk artCraft
🇨🇳 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
🇰🇭 CambodiaAv pakអាវប៉ាក់
A Cambodian women's shirt in silk or cotton, embroidered or laced, for festivalsDress
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGunla Bajanगुंला बाजं
Devotional music the Newars carry through the streets during the holy month of GunlaPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaPranamaप्रणाम
A traditional Indian gesture of reverent bowing, prostration, and touching the feetEtiquette
🇨🇳 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
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalTraditional Newar clothingनेवार समुदायमा भएको संस्कृति पहिरन
The customary handwoven dress and ceremonial garments of Nepal's Newar peopleDress
🇹🇭 ThailandKhruiครุย
A sheer ceremonial robe worn by Thai royalty and now as academic dress at universities.Dress
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFive Grains五穀
A sacred grouping of staple crops honoured as the bedrock of East Asian civilizationFolklore
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKasayaकाषाय
The traditional patchwork robes worn by ordained Buddhist monasticsDress
🇨🇳 Dunhuang, China and 2 moreYingluo璎珞
A ring-shaped Buddhist neck ornament that became a Chinese necklace, worn again todayDress
🇰🇭 Longvek, Cambodia and 2 moreKhmer traditional clothing
How Khmer people dress: the wrapped sampot, the embroidered sbai, the checkered kramaDress
🇧🇹 Bhutan and 4 moreLhabab Duchenལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་
A Buddhist festival for the day the Buddha returned to earth from a god's realmSpiritual
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
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
- Khrui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Buddhist initiation: ScooterSponson, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Xi'an guyue: Liuxingy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Av pak: Puppetcreator, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Life release: Wonderlane, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gunla Bajan: Kamal Ratna Tuladhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yingluo: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Khmer traditional clothing: Engsamnang, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Phi Ta Khon: E.D.W., Public domain, source
- Garid: hu:Burumbátor, Public domain, source
- Atar-oh: Maung Sun, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abhiṣeka: Wonderlane, CC BY 2.0, source
- Boun Suang Huea: ClaireM1FLERéunion, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kirikane: 内閣府, CC BY 4.0, source
- Weddings in India: Jaisingh Rathore, CC BY 2.5, source
- Daura-Suruwal: not researched, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source
- Chinese patchwork: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Traditional Newar clothing: Uray1130, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kasaya: Unknown author, Public domain, source