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Poya
Poya is the name given to the lunar month, Lunar monthly Buddhism, Buddhist holiday of Uposatha in Sri Lanka, where it is a civil and bank holiday. When earth makes Full Orbit of moon is normally considered as the poya day in Sri Lanka every month. Poya A Poya occurs every full moon."Sri Lanka Bank Holidays, Public Holidays & Full Moon Poya Days" (Online Calendar for years 2003–2011), Ministry of Public Administration and home Affairs, Independence Square, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka. Uposatha is important to Buddhists all around the world, who have adopted the lunar calendar for their religious observances. Owing to the moon's fullness of size as well as its effulgence, the full moon day is treated as the most auspicious of the four lunar phases occurring once every lunar month (29.5 days) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanghamitta
Saṅghamittā (Saṅghamitrā in Sanskrit, nun's name Ayapali; 282 BC – 203 BC) was an Indian Buddhist nun and believed to be the eldest daughter (Sri Lankan Tradition) of Emperor Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) from his first wife Queen Devi (302 BCE – 242 BCE). Together with her brother Mahinda, she entered an order of Buddhist monks. The two siblings later went to Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of Buddha at the request of Sri Lankan King Devanampiya Tissa (250 BC – 210 BC) who was a contemporary of Ashoka. Ashoka was initially reluctant to send his daughter (Sri Lankan Tradition) on an overseas mission. However, because of the insistence of Sangamitta herself, he finally agreed. She was sent to Sri Lanka together with several other nuns to start the nun-lineage of Bhikkhunis (a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic) at the request of King Tissa to ordain queen Anulā and other women of Tissa's court at Anuradhapura who desired to be ordained as nuns after Mahi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uposatha
An Uposatha () day is a Buddhism, Buddhist day of observance, in existence since the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind," resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, both lay and ordained members of the sangha intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. On these days, the lay followers make a conscious effort to keep the Five Precepts or (as the tradition suggests) the ten precepts. It is a day for practicing the Buddha's teachings and meditation. Observance days Depending on the culture and time period, uposatha days have been observed from two to six days each lunar month. Theravada countries In general, Uposatha is observed about once a week in Theravada countries in accordance with the four lunar phases: the new moon, the full moon, and the two quarter moon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival (for other names, see § Etymology) is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, the Chinese believe that the moon is at its fullest and brightest, coinciding with the time of harvest in the middle of autumn. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important holidays and celebrations in Chinese culture; its popularity is on par with that of Chinese New Year. The history of the festival dates back over 3,000 years. Similar festivals are celebrated by other cultures in East and Southeast Asia. During the festival, lanterns of all sizes and shapessymbolizing beacons that light the path toward prosperity and good fortune for the peopleare carried and displayed. Mooncakes, a traditionally rich pastry that is typically filled with sweet-bean or lotus-seed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poson Poya
Poson, also known as Poson Poya, is an annual festival held by Sri Lankan Buddhists celebrating the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. The festival is the most important Poya (full moon) holiday of the year and the second most important Buddhist holiday of the year, being surpassed in importance by Vesak. Poson is celebrated throughout the island, with the most important ceremonies of the festival being held in Anuradhapura and Mihintale Mihintale is a mountain peak near Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. It is believed by Sri Lankans to be the site of a meeting between the Buddhist monk Mahinda (buddhist monk), Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa which inaugurated the presence of Buddhis .... The festival is held in early June, coinciding with the June full moon. Festival Poson is celebrated to commemorate the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Mahinda Thero in 236 BC. The focal point of the religious festival is the Buddhist monastic complex on the mounta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asalha Puja
Āsāḷha Pūjā () is a Theravada Buddhist festival which typically takes place in July, on the full moon of the Āsādha month. It is celebrated in Indonesia, Cambodia (), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Myanmar and in other countries with Theravada Buddhist populations. In Indonesia, the festival is centered at Mendut Temple and Borobudur Temple, Central Java. Asalha Puja, also known as Dharma Day, is one of Theravada Buddhism's most important festivals, celebrating as it does the Buddha's first sermon, the Sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath, in which he set out to his five former associates the doctrine that had come to him following his enlightenment. This first pivotal sermon, often referred to as “setting into motion the wheel of dhamma,” is the teaching which is encapsulated for Buddhists in the Four Noble Truths: there is suffering ( dukkha); suffering is caused by craving ( tanha); there is a state (nibbana) beyond suffering and craving; and finally, the way to ni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vesak Poya
Vesak (; Sanskrit: '), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, Visak Bochea and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as in Tibet and Mongolia. It is among the most important Buddhist festivals. The festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment (Pali: Nibbāna, Sanskrit: Nirvāṇa), and death ( Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism, and Navayana. The name ''Vesak'' is derived from the Pali term ' or Sanskrit ' for the lunar month of Vaisakha, which is considered the month of Buddha's birth. In Mahayana Buddhist traditions, the holiday is known by its Sanskrit name (') and derived variants of it. In the East Asian tradition, a celebration of Buddha's Birthday typically occurs around the traditional timing of Vesak, while the Buddha's awakening and death are celebrated as separate holidays that occur at other times in the calendar as Bodhi Day and Nibbāna Day. In the South As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vessantara Festival
The Vessantara Festival is one of the 12 monthly Buddhist festivals celebrated yearly in Theravada Buddhist pagodas in memory of Vessantara, remembered as the penultimate life of the Buddha. It is the only previous life of the Buddha which is celebrated with such importance. Rite The festival is usually celebrated in the preaching hall or ''sala'' of the local temple or ''wat'', beginning early in the morning and lasting until midnight. The festival usually takes place yearly for three full days between February and April, during the fourth lunar month. The festival includes a procession of one thousand balls of sticky rice to the temple to symbolize each verse of the long chant.,; the process of listening to the nonstop sermon on the Great Birth at the temple; merit making to transfer it to the deceased relatives and the departure of a "caravan", buffaloes, and oxcart for sale in distant lands. Preparation A few days preceding the feast, stages are built to host to folk op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tshechu
A tshechu (, literally "tenth day") is any of the annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar Tibetan calendar. The month depends on the place. Tshechus are religious festivals of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Tshechus are large social gatherings, which perform the function of social bonding among people of remote and spread-out villages. Large markets also congregate at the fair locations, leading to brisk commerce.Dancing on the demon's back: the dramnyen dance and song of Bhutan by Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, University of Western Australia, July 2003 The |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, while the largest city, Colombo, is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka. The most spoken language Sinhala language, Sinhala, is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 17 million). Tamil language, Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Holidays
This is a list of holidays and festivals celebrated within the Buddhist tradition. Holidays * Vesak: The Buddha's birthday is known as Vesak and is one of the major festivals of the year. It is celebrated on the first full moon day in May, or the fourth lunar month which usually occurs in May or during a lunar leap year, June. In some countries this has become an occasion to not only celebrate the birth but also the enlightenment and parinirvana of the Buddha. * Parinirvana Day: also known as Nirvana Day, a Mahayana Buddhist holiday celebrated in East Asia, Vietnam and the Philippines usually on February 15. * Magha Puja: Magha Puja is an important religious festival celebrated by Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month (this usually falls in February or March) * Buddha Jayanti: In South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and China, it is celebrated in April 8 in Lunar calendar. Also known as "Hanamatsuri", it is celebrated Ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
