Unit 7 · Festivals and Communities

In Sri Lanka, Thailand and many other places, a big holiday comes in spring. It is called Vesak. Some people spell it Wesak. It falls on the full moon of a month in April or May.

Many Theravada Buddhists teach that three things happened on this same full moon. The Buddha was born. He reached awakening under a tree. Many years later, he died. So Vesak remembers all three.

On Vesak, families visit the temple. They bring flowers and light lamps. Many take the five promises called precepts for the day. Streets fill with lanterns. Some people give free food to anyone who walks by.

In Japan, the Buddha’s birthday is often kept on April 8. The day is called Hanamatsuri, which means Flower Festival. Temples build a small shrine covered in flowers.

Inside stands a statue of the baby Buddha. Buddhist stories say that right after he was born, he took seven steps. He pointed up to the sky and down to the earth. The statue shows him that way.

People pour sweet tea over the statue with a ladle. Many say this remembers a story that the heavens sent gentle rain to wash the new baby. Korean, Chinese and Taiwanese Buddhists also bathe the baby Buddha on his birthday.

Not every Buddhist keeps the Buddha’s birthday on the same day. Many Theravada countries use a moon calendar. So Vesak moves a little each year. Some use the sun instead.

In Japan, most temples use April 8 on the modern calendar. In Korea, China and Taiwan, many keep the eighth day of the fourth moon month. That day falls in April or May.

This does not mean one group is right. Each community follows its own calendar. A lunar calendar counts months by the moon. Families in Illinois may keep the day of the country their family came from.

Some Buddhist holy days come every week or two. They are called Uposatha days. They follow the phases of the moon, like the full moon and the new moon.

On these days, many Theravada laypeople go to the temple. A layperson is a Buddhist who is not a monk or nun. They listen to a talk and give food. Some keep eight promises instead of five for that day.

Monks meet on the full moon and new moon days too. The Vinaya, the book of rules for monks and nuns, says they gather to recite their rules together. It is a way to keep the community honest.

In the rainy season, many Theravada monks stay in one temple for about three months. This is the rains retreat. The Vinaya tells the story of why: walking in the rain could crush young plants and small creatures.

When the retreat ends, families hold a festival called Kathina. They bring cloth for new robes. They also bring food, soap and other things monks need.

People often walk in a happy line, carrying the gifts. For many Buddhists, giving is a way to make merit. Merit is the good that Buddhists believe comes from good actions.

At many festivals, people bring offerings to the shrine. Common ones are flowers, candles or lamps, incense and food. These gifts show respect for the Buddha. Each one is placed with care on the shrine table.

Buddhists often explain what each gift means. A lamp can stand for wisdom that lights the way. Fresh flowers wilt in a few days, so many teachers say they remind people that all things change.

Some offerings are also shared. Food given to the temple often feeds monks and guests. In this way, a festival is also a time for a whole community to eat together.

In summer, many Japanese and Japanese American Buddhists keep Obon. It is a time to remember ancestors, the family members who lived before us. Many families keep it in July or August.

Families clean graves and set out food. Many light lanterns. At temples, people join in circle dances called Bon Odori. Buddhist temples in Chicago and across America hold Obon festivals, and neighbors are welcome.

Obon connects to a story. A student of the Buddha named Moggallana, called Mokuren in Japan, saw that his mother was suffering after death. The Buddha taught him to make offerings to monks to help her. The story says she was freed, and he danced for joy.

Tibetan Buddhists keep a new year festival called Losar. It follows a Tibetan moon calendar. It usually comes in February or March. Families look forward to it all winter.

Before Losar, families clean the house to sweep out the old year. They make special foods and fried pastries. Many hang new prayer flags. These are colored cloth flags printed with prayers and blessings.

On Losar, people visit monasteries and make offerings. They greet family and friends and wish them a good year. Tibetan families in America keep Losar too, often at a community center or temple.

Put the festivals together, and you see a whole year. Losar begins the year for Tibetans. The Buddha’s birthday comes in spring. The rains retreat and Kathina follow the wet season.

Obon comes in summer. Uposatha moon days come all year round. Each festival fits a place and its weather. Some festivals are big and noisy. Others are quiet and simple. All of them help people remember.

Many Buddhists say festivals help them remember the Buddha’s teachings. They also bring families together. A child may learn the stories best by joining the festival year after year, a tradition passed down.

The Buddhist Temple of Chicago began in 1944. Japanese Americans leaving the wartime incarceration camps started it. Incarceration means being locked up. These families had done nothing wrong.

The temple’s first leader was Reverend Gyomay Kubose. He taught in plain English so everyone could understand. He wanted young Japanese Americans and new friends to feel welcome.

Today the temple stands in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. It holds Sunday services, classes and festivals. It is part of the long story of Buddhists in Illinois.

Japanese American temples often hold services on Sunday. Many belong to a tradition called Jodo Shinshu, or Shin Buddhism. It centers on Amida Buddha.

At a service, people chant together. A minister gives a short talk, called a Dharma talk. Some temples have a Sunday school for children, too. Then people share tea and snacks.

Leaders like Rev. Kubose wanted the teaching in plain words. So many talks are in English. This helps children and new visitors understand the Dharma, the Buddha’s teaching.

Buddhism came to Chicago’s attention long before 1944. In 1893, the city held a great world’s fair. Beside it met the World's Parliament of Religions.

Leaders of many faiths spoke there. Anagarika Dharmapala came from Sri Lanka. Soyen Shaku, a Zen teacher, came from Japan. They explained Buddhism to large crowds.

Many Americans heard about Buddhist teaching for the first time. Some began to read Buddhist books. Chicago became an early meeting place of Buddhists and other Americans.

Walk around Chicago and its suburbs, and you can find many kinds of Buddhist temples. Some were started by Thai families. Others by Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Sri Lankan, Korean, Chinese or Tibetan families.

Many of these families came to America after 1965, when the law made it easier to immigrate. Refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos came after wars in the 1970s. They built temples to keep their faith and language.

There are also converts. A convert is someone who chose a new religion. Some Americans who grew up in other faiths now meet in Zen or Tibetan Buddhist centers in Illinois.

In many temples, you meet monks or nuns. They shave their heads and wear robes. The color can be orange, maroon, gray, brown or black, depending on the tradition.

Monks and nuns study, teach and meditate. In the Theravada tradition, they follow the many rules of the Vinaya. The community of monks and nuns is called the sangha. Some people use sangha for all Buddhists together.

Laypeople and the sangha help each other. Laypeople give food and needed things. Monks and nuns give teaching and lead ceremonies. Buddhists call this a circle of giving.

In Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, many monks walk out early each morning. They walk quietly in a line, carrying alms bowls. This is the alms round.

Families wait by the road. They place rice and other food in the bowls. Often they kneel or bow. The monks may chant a short blessing in return. No one hurries.

Monks do not ask for food. They simply walk. Buddhists say the round gives laypeople a chance to practice generosity every day. Some temples in America hold a version of this on special days.

When you walk into a Buddhist temple, you often see a shrine first. A statue of the Buddha sits in the center. It is placed high, as a sign of respect.

Around it are offerings: flowers, candles, incense and food. You may hear people chanting together. You may see people bowing before the statue. Many people sit on the floor.

Buddhists explain bowing in different ways. Many say they bow to show respect for the Buddha and his teaching. They say they are not bowing to the metal or stone itself.

Many temples ask guests to take off their shoes at the door. Floors in prayer halls are kept very clean. You might see rows of shoes by the entrance. Just follow what others do.

Guests speak softly. They do not point their feet at the Buddha statue or at monks. In many Asian cultures, pointing the feet is rude. A guest can sit with feet tucked to the side.

A guest does not have to bow or chant. Watching quietly is fine. The best thing a visitor can do is ask the hosts what is welcome. That is respect.

In one city, you can find Shin, Zen, Thai, Vietnamese and Tibetan temples. Each has its own language, clothing and customs. Some are big, and some are small. Each one is a real place where families meet.

Yet they share some things. All honor the Buddha. All treasure the Dharma, his teaching. All have a sangha, a community. Buddhists call these the Three Jewels.

Scholars who study religion describe each group on its own terms. They do not say one is the true Buddhism. Learning about many temples helps us see the whole picture.