Tibetan Buddhism Festival

1. Introduction

Along with the economical development and changes of time, Tibetan Buddhism festivals have been an integral part of the organic community, which advocates the Tibetan Buddhism religious doctrine. The paper tries to do a brief study of Tibetan Buddhism festivals through the theories of cultural anthropology and the aspect of ethnology. Analyzed the secularization of the Tibetan Buddhism festivals and discussed the functions of the festivals. Explored the relationship between the festivals and politics、the festivals and economics、the festivals and other cultural elements. Therefore, I would like to research that the secularization of the festivals happened automatically, or forced to change by some pressure, especially on the

“According to their tradition, when Buddha was dying, he instructed one of his followers not to honor him merely with flowers, incense and lights after he died but by striving to follow his teachings about living a noble life and being kind and compassionate. He urged people not to weep about his death but to remember that all compound objects like the human body must eventually disintegrate.” [2] In various Buddhist countries, people celebrate the holiday in different ways and on different days. In Tibet, the people celebrate the festival on June 15, 2011 and June 4, 2012, and the main activities involve going to temples, raising a tall prayer pole called the Tarboche Prayer Flagpole, and lighting a lot of butter lamps for the

The latter means that Tibetan Buddhism transfers from the core to the brink of social life; social life tends to decrease social impact of Tibetan Buddhism. The worldview and values of Tibetan Buddhism are no longer determined factors to judge social affairs. Believing in Tibetan Buddhism becomes a personal affair. [7] The connotation of the secularization of Tibetan Buddhism including following three aspects: First, Tibetan Buddhism transfers from the core to the brink of social life. It means that the influence of Tibetan Buddhism on social, political, economic and other cultural affairs is weakened, and no longer a major factor restricting their development. Second, having faith of Tibetan Buddhism becomes a private thing, society or Tibetan Buddhism itself can not compel individuals to believe in Tibetan Buddhism. Third, Tibetan Buddhism does not rely on forcing the whole community to serve its own development anymore. In contrast, it should meet the needs of social development and in the service of people’s secular lives. As I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, the secularization of Tibetan Buddhism festivals is coincident with the secularization of Tibetan Buddhism. The latter is specifically reflected through the former with various social relationships and festival