The Buddha’s Birthday Festival Christmas is one of the most celebrated festivals in the western world. The nativity celebration of Jesus. In every country, or every region, local customs influence the ceremonies, and Christmas is celebrated differently everywhere because of those customs. But what most western people have no idea of is that Christmas is not the only nativity festival of a founder of a religion. It is not even the oldest nativity festival! That would be the traditional Buddhist festival of the birth of Buddha. Evidence of the birth of Buddha being celebrated goes back to the 4th century, and it is believed the festival was even celebrated before that. And just as in the western world, the festival is celebrated differently in different countries in the eastern world too! What are these differences, and how is the festival celebrated? And how did celebrations originally start? What major changes have taken place in how the ceremony and rites were performed over the centuries? These questions are the focus for this paper. What is the origin of the Buddha’s Birthday Festival, and how are these festivals celebrated differently in Chinese Buddhist Communities and Japanese Buddhist Communities? Origin: The Buddha’s birth is celebrated in most eastern Asian countries on the 8th day of the 4th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. This year that will be on May 6th (Fo Guang Shan Chung Tian). In Japan however, the Birth of Buddha is celebrated on the 8th day of the 4th month of the Gregorian calendar, on April 8. The Buddha Tathagata said about this day after he reached enlightenment: “all Buddha’s of the ten quarters are born at midnight of the 8th day of the 4th month, because at that time, between spring and summer, a... ... middle of paper ... ...rings people express their gratitude and thank other Buddhists for help they have received from them over the years. Finally the ceremony ends with the bathing ritual to purify the body, heart and spirit (Kao). Conclusion and Discussion The origin of the festival of the Buddha’s birthday is traceable to China in the 4th century, and it is thought it was even celebrated before that in India. Elements from the different stories about the Buddha’s birth are found in the rites and ceremonies performed on the day of the festivities, usually the 8th day of the 4th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. There are many local customs also celebrated in different Asian countries and regions, but the main celebrations are the same: there is a procession of some sort, offerings are made of fresh flowers and other natural things, and a statue of the Buddha as a baby is washed.
...ssion of Jizo Ceremony. This is where people confess the guilt they gained over the faults they made during the year in hopes to get rid of bad Dharma. They pray that Jizo will bestow them permanence and continue to protect their children. This is related to confession in the Catholic traditions. “In some vicinities, children believe that tapping their forehead against the beads will bring them luck.” (Schumacher) In many areas, children are allowed to paint the faces of the statues or dress them in new red hats and robes. Red lanterns are hung at Jizo memorials and youths eat red-colored food. This is a fun but also regaining time for many people and children. It gives adults the opportunity to try and make up for what they did and being aware in the present moment. It also allows children to participate in an event of actions of kindness, games, festivities, etc.
It is generally agreed that the Buddha was born in 563 BC in Kapilavastu to the ruler of a small kingdom. He grew up with luxuries and had a sheltered life. When he was 29 he came to realize that hi life up to this point had been so empty. He let go any earthly attachments and soon set out to find peace and enlightenment trying to steer away from the cycles of rebirths. He started practicing Yoga and "adopted a life of radical asceticism." He soon gave up this way of thinking and focused on "a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of self-denial." After a time of great inner struggle, he began to wander to different places and preach and organized a monastic community know as the sangha.
The Buddha had lived a sheltered childhood. Before the Buddha was born, “his mother dreamed that a white elephant entered her womb” (“Buddha” Compton’s) and soon after she became pregnant (“Buddha” Compton’s). In the sixth century BCE in Lumbini (present day Nepal), the Buddha was born. His birth name was Siddhartha Gautama, and his father was the king of the Shakya people. His mother, Queen Mayadevi, died a week after giving birth
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Altarpiece Dedicated to Buddha Maitreya (Mile) [China] (38.158.1a-n). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
Since I grew in traditional chinese family, so I don’t know much about religions. In my family, we don’t go to church or temple. In my family, we do have some special customs that we follow during holidays,
Myanmar consists of a lot of ethnic groups all around the population, in order to communicate with different set of ethnic tribes; much of their interaction consists of hierarchy—A system in which people are classified by their family relationship, age, professional functions (teacher, monk, etc.) Although other minorities of religion in Myanmar have entered the country, Buddhism is followed by many of the non-Burmese ethnic groups. In Theravada Buddhism, it is said to be that, up to each individual to seek salvation and attain nirvana. The Burmese have many rituals and times of celebrations. One of the biggest celebrations is the Thingyan water festival. This marks the advent of the New Year in mid April. During this festival people cast water on each other, dance, sing and put on theatrical performances. Another festival is called Kason. This celebration is for the birth, enlightenment and entrance to nirvana of Buddha. This gathering has a ceremonial watering of Banyan trees to commemorate the time that Buddha attained enlightenment (under a Banyan
Chinese artwork is a form that contains and demonstrates many different meanings and morals that can be linked back to not only religion, but the overall meaning of life. This paper will discuss the sculpture titled Seated Buddha and how it represents peace, enlightenment, and the overall importance of how these two components influence the mindset of the people involved in the Buddhist religion. The Seated Buddha was created between the 5th and 6th century in China. The artist of this piece is unknown, but this does not hinder us at all from seeing what the artist was trying to portray through the different aspects that they included in the Seated Buddha sculpture. This piece is crafted from stone and a chisel was then used to create the
When exploring the specific function of sacrifice within Buddhism, it will be necessary to understand some of the fundamental beliefs that lay the groundwork for the religion as a whole. The Buddha was an actual historical figure who lived around 350 BCE in northern India. After his own spiritual awakening, he taught four basic lessons about the nature of life. The Four Noble Truths state
The Lantern Festival is also a very important festival in China and in my opinion a very interesting one. It's celebrated on the 15th of the first month of...
"The development of perfection: the interiorization of Buddhist ritual in the eighth and ninth centuries. " Journal of Indian Philosophy, 32, no. 1 F 2004: 1-30. Farrington, Roger. The. " Personal identity and Buddhist philosophy: empty persons.
It's thought that Jesus of Nazareth was born in springtime. A Pope, Julius I, chose December 25th for the celebration of his birth in the 4th century -- to include a Christian element in the long-established mid-winter festivals.
I bet if you were to ask anyone from any culture what Christmas was, they would know automatically that it is a Christian holiday. And because of this I think that I should know what Hanukkah is, or who the Buddha was and what he represented.
To understand the importance a sacred worship, beliefs rituals, customs, etc. we have to look at history and culture. It is impossible to engulf the history of religion in this paper, however I am purposeful to include similarities and differences in the way religion is practiced and lived. How religion and sacred rituals impact our world and culture today. To better understand the essentials of religion, I find it necessary to define religion by highlighting key rituals, practices, traditions, and beliefs of the Buddhist and Islamic faith in conjunction with my own.
New Year’s Day (Oshogatsu) is the most important traditionally celebrated holiday. It is a time for ritual reaffirmations of social obligations. On December 31, at midnight, millions of people visit Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples to pray for their families. Much like Americans, one special activity includes lots of hearty eating and drinking along with fellowship and cheer.