By the time Christianity appeared, Buddhism was

declining in India. By the 5th century it was being absorbed

into Hinduism, and by the 12th century it no longer existed as
a viable force in India. It spread throughout Asia, however,
where it took firm hold in the ensuing centuries, coexisting
with or merging with indigenous religions and philosophies,
among them the Confucianism and Taoism of China, the
Shintoism of Japan, and the Bon of Tibet.
Various schools and sects have emerged; the two major ones
are Mahayana and Teravada Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism
(sometimes called Northern Buddhism) holds that all have the
potential for enlightenment and emphasizes faith in the
Buddha, love of humanity, compassion, charity, and altruism.
The Buddha is considered to be an eternal being, an
embodiment of absolute truth, who occasionally takes human
form. There have been many Buddhas throughout the
centuries. Mahayana Buddhism is largely found in China,
Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia.
Teravada Buddhism (sometimes called Southern Buddhism)
holds out salvation to the monks and nuns who join the
community, and prescribes a discipline for individual
undertaking. The followers of this sect/school believe there
was only one Buddha and he was a human teacher. Teravada
Buddhism is largely found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri
Lanka and Thailand.
The Teravada Buddhist calendar is a basic luni-solar calendar
(much like the Chinese or Ancient Greek calendars). It should
be noted that each Teravadan tradition has its own version of
the Buddhist calendar, complete with names for the months,
the holidays, and even cycles of years. It consists of 12
months which have alternately 29 and 30 days. This
alternating length of the month is due to the length of the
lunar cycle being 29.54 days in length, very close to 29.5
days. Each year the calendar therefore slips 11 days
backwards with respect to the sun's cycle of equinoxes and
solstices. To help keep the calendar more or less in check with
the sun, the Buddhist calendar inserts a leap month of 30
days every third year. Read more about the Teravada
Buddhist calendar below.
Buddhists also have many local traditions and holidays that
vary from country to country depending on the ethnic group.
In most areas of the world, the holy days are in sync with the
phases of the moon. Therefore, they vary from year to year in
relation to the Gregorian calendar.
Nirvana Day is held in mid-February. It
commemorates the Death of Siddhartha Gautama, the
Buddha.
The New Year is the same as those in China, Korea
and Vietnam, and corresponds to the New Moon in
Aquarius, which can fall from late January to mid-
February.
Wesak is the Buddha's Birthday, which falls in April or
May. In some traditions, Wesak celebrates the
Buddha's Birth, Enlightenment and Death.
Khao Pansa marks the beginning of the Buddhist
Lent. In some countries it is the preferred day for
Buddhist men to be ordained as monks. It is
celebrated at the Full Moon of the eight lunar month,
typically July.
Boun Ok Pansa marks the end of Lent. It is at the
end of the rainy season, in October.
Bodhi Day, in early December, celebrates the
Buddha's Enlightenment in 596 B.C.E.
In the Tibetan Buddhist calendar most months are given
numbers; Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (previously
known as Burma) are the exceptions - they use names.
Buddhist Calendar Months
Tibetan-Buddhist
Month
Gregorian
Equivalent
1st Month/Moon Dec/Jan
2nd Month/Moon Jan/Feb
3rd Month/Moon Feb/Mar
4th Month/Moon Mar/Apr
5th Month/Moon Apr/May
6th Month/Moon May/Jun
7th Month/Moon Jun/Jul
Leap Day Periodically
8th Month/Moon Jul/Aug
9th Month/Moon Aug/Sep
10th Month/Moon Sep/Oct
11th Month/Moon Oct/Nov
12th Month/Moon Nov/Dec
13th Month/Moon Every few years
Each month is divided into two 2-week periods. The first or
light period begins the day after the New Moon of the
previous month and ends with the Full Moon. The second or
dark period begins the day after the Full Moon and ends with
the New Moon day, which is the last day of the lunar
month. The eighth day of each 2-week period is that of the
First Quarter and Last Quarter moons, respectively. These
four days (FQ, FM, LQ, NM) are known as Uposatha
days. These days are observed in the Teravada tradition as
days of enhanced practice of the Dhamma. Lay devotees
often go to temples or monasteries for the day, undertake the
Eight Precepts, and spend the day in meditation, listening to
Dhamma talks, and reading about the Dhamma. The practice
of observing the Uposatha days as special days of religious
practice predates Buddhism. The practice originally comes
from ancient India where the four special days of the lunar
cycle were set aside for special religious devotions.
Buddhism derives its name from its founder Sakyamuni
Buddha. Here he is called Sakyamuni, meaning from the clan
of the Sakyas, however, he has been called by many names
such as Guatama, Siddartha, and the Buddha, which simply
means "The Enlightened One." He was the son of the King of
the Sakya clan. In Mahayana Buddhism, the title Buddha may
be applied to any historical or even present day enlightened
person. Here Buddhism differs from Western religions, which
state that there can only one Christ, or Mashiah, or Mahdi, but
there have been and may be many Buddhas.
Western religions also have a relatively small number of
scriptures, and they have remained unchanged for 1,400
years or more. Buddhism, by contrast, has a huge and ever
expanding range of scriptural literature, as a visit to any
Gompa on the Annapurna circuit will demonstrate. Like
Christianity and Islam, Buddhism includes the life story of its
founder within its literature. Buddhists believe in a cycle of
birth and rebirth (reincarnation), which ends only with the
enlightenment of a soul. Sakyamuni's previous lives as a
Boddhisattva are part of his lifestory. A Boddhisattva is
someone who has reached the point where his advance in
wisdom means that enlightenment is inevitable.
In the Teravada tradition of Buddhism, Sakyamuni is the one
and only Buddha. Sakyamuni began his progress toward
enlightenment in a previous lifetime when he was a monk
called Megha. Megha sought out Dipankara, a Buddha alive at
that time. Dipankara, with the supreme knowledge of a
Buddha, told Megha that he, Megha, would be the future
founder of the Buddhist religion. Now you may be wondering,
and indeed you should be wondering, how do we know about
Sakyamuni Buddha's past lives? Simple. Buddhas have
supreme knowledge. When they become enlightened they can
remember all their past lives.
There are four Special Buddha days or Festivals during a year,
which relate to the life of Buddha Sakyamuni. During these
days, it is said that the effects of positive or negative actions
are multiplied 100 million times, so practice is strongly
advised.
Chotrul Duchen: During the first two weeks of the
New Year, it is believed that the Buddha displayed a
miracle each day to increase the merit and devotion of
future disciples. The 15th day is the Day of Miracles.
During these days, the Gelugpa Monlam Chenmo
(great prayer festival) is celebrated, and practice is
strongly advised.
Saga Dawa Duchen: the 15th day of the 4th month,
Buddha Sakyamuni's Enlightenment and Parinirvana
are celebrated. He became enlightened during a Full
Moon night in Bodhgaya and entered Parinirvana
(passed away) in Kushinagar.
Chokhor Duchen: the 4th day of the 6th month, the
First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma (first teaching) is
celebrated. For the first seven weeks after his
Enlightenment, Buddha did not teach. Encouraged by
Indra and Brahma, he then gave his first teachings at
Sarnath on the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble
Truths are: Life is suffering and suffering is
unavoidable; suffering is caused by desire (karma,
attachement, anger and ignorance); suffering can end
by eliminating desire (Nirvana is peace);there is a
means to eliminate desire and thus suffering called the
Eightfold Path (correct speech, conduct, livelihood,
effort, mindfullness, concentration, views, and
intentions).
Lha Bab Duchen: the 22nd day of the 9th month,
Buddha Sakyamuni's Descent from the Heaven of 33 is
celebrated. Buddha's mother had been reborn in
Indra's heaven. To repay her kindness and to benefit
the gods, Buddha spent three months teaching in the
Heaven of 33. Some traditions call it Tushita heaven;
this is the realm where the Buddha lived before he
descended to Earth.
In the Teravada Buddhist calendar there are three seasons,
not four. This reflects the climate of India and Southeast Asia
where there is a rainy period for four months out of the year
(Vassana), followed by a cool season or winter (Hemanta),
which in turn is followed by a hot, dry season, or summer
(Gimha).
In the Buddhist year the season of Vassana is a time of
special religious practices. During this season monks must
remain in their monasteries and avoid traveling long
distances. The monks normally devote themselves to their
mediation and study during this time. Also, lay devotees
often enter the monastic order during this season to pass
Vassana as a monk or novice. The Vassana season is flanked
by two holidays: Asalha Puja (Dhammacakkapavattana)
begins the season, and Pavarana (Abhidhamma) ends it.
The period between the Full Moon of Assayuja to the Full
Moon of Kathika is set aside as the special season for making
Kathina offerings to the Sangha, particularly offering of new
robes. Another major holiday occurs during the Hemanta
season, namely Magha Puja on the Full Moon day of the
month of Magha.
The Gimha season commences the day after the New Moon
day of the month of Phagguna. During this season on the Full
Moon day of Visakha, the highest holiday in the Buddhist
calendar occurs. Visakha Puja commemorates the Birth,
Enlightenment, and Mahaparinibbana of the Buddha. At the
end of Gimha, we come around again to the holiday of Asalha
Puja, after which Vassana begins again.
The years of the Buddhist Era (B.E.) begin from the traditional
date of the Buddha's Mahaparinibbana Death (he passed away
at the age of 80). According to traditional sources this event
occurred in the year corresponding with 543 BCE. As
mentioned above, the Mahaparinibbana occurred on the Full
Moon day of Visakha, thus Visakha Puja also serves to usher
in a new Buddhist Era year. Visakha Puja in the year 2004 CE
was in the Buddhist Era year 2547.
If you would like to know the year in the Buddhist Era, just
calculate the following:
Current year in Buddhist Era = 543 + current year in AD.
Not all Buddhists follow this calendar. The Tibetan monks
follow a calendar that comes full cycle every 60 years. It is
related to the Chinese calendar, with each year named after
an animal and an element.
The Life of the Buddha
The name of the Buddha is just an honorary title which means
he was Enlightened. His first name was Siddartha, which
means "wish fulfilled," and his last name was Guatama. He
was born in the year 623 BC in a tiny town called Lumbini, in
what is now southern Nepal. His parents were King
Suddhodana and Queen Maha-maya.
On the fifth day after his birth, learned Brahmans predicted
that he would become either a universal monarch or an
Enlightened One (the Buddha).
At the early age of 16, he married his beautiful cousin,
princess Yasodhara. He knew no personal grief because his
father provided more than he could ever need.
As he lived in a guarded palace, one day he decided to see
the world outside. He first saw an old man, then a diseased
man, a corpse and a dignified monk. He had never seen such
sights before. The first three sights convinced him that beings
are subject to birth, decay, disease, death, sorrow and grief,
and he then realized he would be as well. The fourth sight,
the monk, suggested to him a way to overcome the ills of life,
and to attain calm and peace. So, he decided to leave his
opulent life to search for truth and eternal peace.
On the day when his first and only son was born he left the
palace to become a hermit. At that time he was 29 years old.
After searching for the truth for six years, he found it, and at
the age of 35, he became known as the Buddha.
The Buddha was the most energetic of all religious teachers.
Throughout the 45 years of his ministry, he was constantly
occupied with religious activities except when attending to his
physical needs, only taking short rests after meals and
sleeping about one-and-a-half hours at night. When anyone
needed his spiritual guidance, he would undertake even
lengthy journeys to help them, on foot or sometimes by using
his psychic powers. Even in the last minutes before attaining
Parinirvana (passing away), he preached to a person who had
another faith and concept, and wanted to know the answers
to some problems.
The Buddha's final words were, as ever, pragmatic and
encouraging: 'All things are impermanent - strive on with
diligence!'