The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Buddhist festivals S 69

on achieving health and prosperity in the com ing year, not on any specific Buddhist teaching or practice. In China, Korea, and Japan, the most popu lar festival for Buddhists who are not monks or nuns is Ullambana. The Japanese call it Obon and celebrate it on July 13–16. Ullambana honors the ancestors: It is believed that at this time the spir its of the dead return to earth. This is a joyous occasion, not a macabre one. Buddhists celebrate Ullambana by decorating household altars and cleaning grave sites. They may also light bonfires and sponsor events such as dances to entertain the spirits. At festival’s end, the Japanese make little boats, often out of leaves, attach candles to them, and float them down streams and out to sea. Further reading: Don Farber, Tibetan Buddhist Life (New York: DK Publications, 2003); Ruth Gerson, Traditional Festivals in Thailand (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996); Herbert Plutschow, Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan (Richmond, U.K.: Japan Library, 1996); Frank E. Reynolds and Jason A. Carbine, eds. The Life of Buddhism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000).

R ELICS of the Buddha play a large role in Bud dhist practice. In Sri Lanka, the most important relic is a tooth of the Buddha. It has traditionally been the sign of the rightful ruler of the island. It sits inside a richly decorated gold reliquary that is kept for most of the year in a temple in the city of Kandy. But once a year, in July or August, at the climax of several days of celebration, the decorated gold reliquary with the tooth inside is brought out of the temple, mounted on the back of an elephant, and taken through the city in a large procession. In addition to festivals focusing on the Bud dha, Buddhists celebrate festivals in honor of BOD HISATTVAS and other prominent Buddhists. The Chi nese celebrate a festival in honor of Kuan-yin, the bodhisattva A VALOKITESVARA in female form. Espe cially important for Tibetan Buddhists is the fes tival in honor of Padmasmbhava. For members of the Jodo Shin school in Japan the most important festival honors Shinran (1173–1262), the founder of the school. The N EW Y EAR FESTIVAL is a major celebration for almost all Buddhists. Because they use differ ent calendars, they celebrate it at different times. The focus of New Year’s celebrations is generally