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.
Sources on the Buddha's life indicate that he was born around the 6th century BCE. The events and conditions of his conception are miraculous. Tradition reports that the Buddha's mother, Maya2, had just returned from the Festival of the Full Moon in the month of Asalha3, when a deep sleep overcame her. During her sleep, she envisioned a beautiful white elephant approaching her. The Mahavastu Pali texts relate the elephant as being: light of steps, flawless of limbs, gleaming like snow-white silver with six tusks, and a gracefully waving trunk and crimson head.4 The elephant, holding a white lotus in its trunk, circled the queen's body three times, and then entered into her womb from the right side.
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,
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
Compare And Analysis The Japanese Buddhism And Indo Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama in northeast India during the period from the late 6th century to the early 4th century BC. Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played an influential role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of much of the Eastern world. It is the prevailing religious force in most of Asia (India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet). ‘Buddhism’ is reformulated and re-expressed in different cultures and at different times, adopting and redefining aspects of the cultures in which it has taken root. Today, there are about 300 million followers. (Yamplosky) The Indian religion Buddhism, founded in the sixth century BC, is one of the common features of Asian civilization, and Buddhist institutions and believers are found all over East, South, and Southeast Asia. While Buddhism is now just a minority belief in the country of it’s founding, it remains a significant religious and cultural force in Japan today. Buddhism started in India and made its way to China and Korea. From there, it ended up in Japan. Buddhism went through several different periods before it became Japan's national religion. In indo Buddhism, the temple is the main sanctuary, in which services, both public and private, are performed but Japanese Buddhism is mainly hub of individual activities and services. Similarly to Japanese Buddhism, in Indo Buddhism the monastery is a complex of buildings, located usually in a spot chosen for its beauty and seclusion. Its function is to house the activities of the monks. Images are important features of temples, monasteries, and shrines in both Indo a...
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
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Altarpiece Dedicated to Buddha Maitreya (Mile) [China] (38.158.1a-n). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
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
Although it was never celebrated in biblical times, Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Visalia, California in praise of the fact that God loved us so much; he sent his one and only son to earth. He was wholey god and wholey man. Whereas we have succumbed to the temptations of this earth, Jesus was able to overcome all temptations and live a sinless life. He was then crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. One cannot understand why we celebrate the birth of Christ without seeing the other end of his life. He was crucified for our sins and resurrected.
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...
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.
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.
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.