In Buddhism there are many common festivals that are celebrated throughout the year. These festivals vary depending on which Buddhist country one is looking at. For example, many of the common festivals in China may differ from those in India or Sri Lanka. Still, there are many festivals and ceremonies that are universal to all countries in which Buddhism is present.

In China, many festivals were dedicated to important people from Chinese Buddhist history (Eliade 347). At these festivals, there were often vegetarian feasts. At the same time that Buddhis

Most of the sites that were important in pilgrimage were places that were already important for some reason (Eliade 346). This, again, visits the fact that it was possible to continue worshipping other things while following Buddhism. Because of the fact that many destinations of pilgrimage already had deities associated with them, Buddhism was reinforced (Eliade 346). In Sri Lanka, there was something known as the Sinhala pattern. This consisted of sixteen major sites that were pilgrimage destinations systematically spread throughout Sri Lanka (Eliade 346). In South East Asia, objects of pilgrimage became representations where Buddha was associated with indigenous spirits (Eliade 346). These spirits became protectors of Buddhist institutions in a short time. In China, local deities by the names of Ksitigarbha, Manjuori, and Avalokilesvara became denizens of the sacred mountains that were known as popular pilgrimage sites (Eliade 346).

One area that differed from the others was South East Asia. In South East Asia, in order to attain adulthood, males had to be temporarily initiated into the order (Eliade 347). This could be done as a novice in places such as Burma. In central Thailand, this was done at a later age and the male was entered as a full-fledged monk (Eliade 347). South East Asia is the only Buddhist country in which this was apparent.

Another important element in Buddhism is pilgrimage. Throughout history, every instance of Buddhism in the world has had patterns of pilgrimage (Eliade 346). Pilgrimage helped to spread Buddhism throughout countries in which Buddhism is practiced and eventually helped to spread it throughout the world. Sometimes, Buddhism helped to support particular political kingdoms (Eliade 346). In these cases, Buddhism united the kingdom and therefore the kingdom supported Buddhism in return. However, Buddhism also cut across political divisions at times (Eliade 346). Because Buddhists didn't have to give up their original Gods and religions, Buddhism picked up many different deities through pilgrimage (Eliade 346).

In India, there was a ritual in which the Bhiksu, a monk from the local monastery, received his sustenance from the charity of laymen and laywomen (Eliade 358). Every morning, monks from the monastery walked the villages collecting alms. People in the villages gained merit by giving alms (Eliade 358). Some people believed that the Bhiksu gained merit by helping others to gain merit. However, most people believed that a monk could only gain merit through his own virtue (Eliade 358). Also in India, there was an ordination ceremony in which people were initiated into the Buddhist order by self-dedication to monastic life (Brandon 200). In India, followers of Buddhism were identified by their adherence to the five-fold moral precept (Eliade 258).

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2165
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)