Buddhist Festivals

Buddhism originated in India about 2500 years ago between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. Buddhism is today the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers. Buddhism is a tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development. Buddhists strive for a deeper insight into the true nature of life and do not worship gods or deities.

Buddhism is a religion largely based on teachings of Gautama Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama, was born into a royal family in Lumbini which is in present-day Nepal. He lived a royal life of privilege and luxury until one day he left the royal palace where he saw for the first time, an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. Disturbed by these sights, he left his wife and royal palace to became a monk. He adopted a very harsh life of poverty and asceticism. However this path also did not satisfy him. Buddha then chose to pursue the ‘Middle Way’ - a life without luxury but also without poverty. Given below are some of the Buddhist festivals.