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| Many special or holy days are held throughout the year by
the Buddhist community. Manyof these days celebrate the birthdays of Bodhisattvas
or other significant dates in the Buddhist calendar. Some holy days are
specific to a particular Buddhist tradition or ethnic group. Here are some
of the more important celebrations which are shared by all traditions: |
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1 |
Most Buddhists, with the exception of the Japanese, use
the Lunar Calendar. |
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2 |
The dates of Buddhist festivals vary from country to country
and between Buddhist traditions. |
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3 |
Various traditions of Buddhism observe festivals which
may be unique to them. The Buddhist New Year depends on the country of
origin or ethnic background of the people. Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese
celebrate late January or early February according to the lunar calendar,
whilst the Tibetans usually celebrate about one month later. People from
Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia celebrate the New Year for
three days in the middle of April. |
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| Theravada Buddhism,
the school of Buddhism found in Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia
and in part, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, celebrates the birth, enlightenment
and death of the Buddha on the one day, the first full moon day in May,
except in a leap year when the festival is held in June. This celebration
is called Vesak (also Wesak or Vaisakha),
being the name of the month in the Indian calendar. The Magha Puja festival tells of a spontaneous gathering, from many separate parts of the countryside, of 1250 fully enlightened monks. They had all quite independently decided to go and visit the Buddha and assembled on the full moon day of Magha in the Bamboo Grove at Rajagaha where the Buddha was currently living. Asalha Puja commemorates the Buddha's first teaching or the turning of the wheel of the Dhamma (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta) to the five ascetics at the Deer Park (Sarnath) near Benares The Full Moon of the
seventh lunar month (Vassa in the Indian calendar) is the start of the
three month long retreat when the Sangha (clergy) are to remain in their
temple and intensify their practice. If they need to stay out of the temple
during this period, it can be for no longer than three days. This Vassa
Retreat corresponds to the monsoon season in Asia and usually concludes
in October. |
| The Festival of the Tooth takes place in Sri Lanka once
a year in August on the night of the full moon. The tooth relic of the
Buddha is paraded on the back of an elephant through the streets of Kandy.
The Festival lasts for nine consecutive nights and the procession involves
more than one hundred and thirty elephants. |
| The Kathina Ceremony is held on any convenient date within
one month of the conclusion of the Vassa Retreat. It is the time of the
year when new robes and other requisites may be offered by the laity to
the monks. |
| Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism,
the schools of Buddhism found in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam
celebrate festivals on a variety of dates. Japanese Buddhists have fixed
the dates for the anniversaries of the birth, enlightenment and death of
the Buddha in terms of the Gregorian calendar as:- |
| April 8th; the Buddha's Birthday. Kogen Mizuno, in his book
"The Beginnings of Buddhism" says: "There is no documentary evidence clearly
establishing the day on which Shakyamuni (the Buddha) was born. Japanese
Buddhists, following the texts on the life of Shakyamuni translated into
Chinese from Sanskrit - for example the Buddhacharita - celebrate April
8th as his birthday and hold ceremonies in which sweet tea is poured over
a statue representing him as a newborn infant. (The tradition arises from
a legend that Shakyamuni was washed with warm and cool waters at birth.)
Since the late nineteenth century in Japan, this ceremony has been called
the Flower Festival (Hana Matsuri) in rememberance of the flower filled
Lumbini Garden (on the border of India and Nepal), where Shakyamuni is
said to have been born." |
| Mahayana Buddhists, other than the Japanese observe the
Buddha's Birthday on the 8th day of the fifth lunar month (seven days before
the Full Moon) |
| The Tibetan (Vajrayana) tradition, unlike its Mahayana source
but in common with the Theravadins, holds the celebration of the Birth
of Shakyamuni Buddha (the historical Buddha) on the full moon day,15th
day of the fifth lunar month. |
| Obon, beginning on the thirteenth of July and lasting for
three days, is a Japanese Buddhist festival, which celebrates the reunion
of family ancestors with the living. |
| This same festival is also known by its Sanskrit name of
Ulambana and is celebrated throughout the Mahayana tradition from the first
to the fifteenth days of the eighth lunar month. It is believed that the
gates of Hell are opened on the first day and the ghosts may visit the
world for fifteen days. Food offerings are made during this time to relieve
the sufferings of these ghosts. On the fifteenth day, Ulambana or Ancestor
Day, people visit cemetaries to make offerings to the departed ancestors.
Many Theravadins from Cambodia, Laos and Thailand also observe this festival. |
| December 8th in Japan, is the Day of Enlightenment of Shakyamuni
Buddha, whereas others following the Mahayana tradition observe the Enlightenment
Day on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. |
| The Buddha's Death Day is celebrated in Japan on February
15th, whilst other Mahayanists celebrate it on the eighth day of the second
lunar month. |
| There are moves by the World Fellowship of Buddhists to
have Vesak day celebrated by Buddhists of all traditions, as "Buddha Day",
on the Full Moon day of May. |
