Dhammacakka day – ‘The turning of the wheel of teaching’. This is aTheravada celebration of the First Proclamation by Gautama to five ascetics in the Deer Park near Benares. Although he was initially reluctant to teach, he finally rejoined his five friends, with whom he had previously spent several years travelling throughout the Ganges plain, and in their presence he gained enlightenment. He then spoke to them at length and taught them the Middle Way, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths, the essence of all subsequent Buddhist teaching. He also ordained them as his followers, the first step towards the foundation of the Sangha of Buddhist monks.
The main activity that takes place on this day is the chanting of the discourse known as the Dhamma Cakka Sutta (the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Truth). This would usually be in the original Pali language. The month of Asalha marks the beginning of the three months long retreat period for Buddhist monks, a period of meditation and restraint, though it is also a time when lay Buddhists offer a variety of gifts to the monks. It is also the month in which the Buddha’s son, Rahula, was born.
The Tibetan festival of Chokor Duchen corresponds to Asalha Puja in many respects.
7th October 2025
Buddhist
Pavarana is a Buddhist holy day celebrated on Aashvin full moon of the lunar month. This usually occurs on the full moon of the 11th month. It marks the end of the three lunar months of Vassa, sometimes called “Buddhist Lent.” The day is marked in some Asian countries where Theravada Buddhism is practiced.
5th November 2025
Buddhist
Anapanasati day, which is observed by monks in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, is marked by two different ceremonies: one falls on the day after the final day of the three months long Rains Retreat; the other falls on the same day or at some time during the month that follows.
The first is the ‘Invitation’ or ‘Pavarana’ ceremony (see above), usually held towards the end of October. On the same day or up to a month later comes the Kathina ceremony. Anapanasati is the last day on which the Kathina ceremony may be observed.
This ceremony, the ‘Invitation’, takes place at the very end of the Rains Retreat when the monks and nuns meet together and invite one another to point out each other’s faults, as they have been observed during the Retreat. Its purpose is to help them in purifying themselves. A monk (Bhikkhu) has to be open to any criticism from colleagues or from lay people he (or she) has met regarding his/her behaviour.
Being open to criticism in this manner was a way of life the Buddha himself inaugurated. Since then the monks of the Sangha need to be sensitive to complaints made by others in order to win their respect and to encourage them to learn and progress in the Dhamma (teaching). In particular they have to take note of the remarks made by their fellow monks. It is a kind of check-and-balance system between individual Bhikkhus as well as between the senior and the junior monks.
The ‘Invitation’ Ceremony is important ceremonially as well as spiritually. Without it there cannot be a proper Kathina robe-offering – any gifts of robes will only be the ordinary robe-offerings which often follow the Retreat, with no advantage or benefit to the monks themselves.
The second ceremony of Anapanasati falls on or after the final day of the three months long Rains Retreat, after cloth has been presented to the Sangha (the community of monks and nuns) by members of the lay Buddhist community. This is made into a Kathina robe by sewing patches of the cloth together. The robe is then offered by the monks present to a particular monk, usually an especially deserving or virtuous one, in a thoughtful ceremony conducted by four of his colleagues.
The word ‘Kathina’ is Pali in origin. It means a frame used in sewing robes in the period when the Buddha lived and taught in India. The Kathina ceremony is necessarily a monastic one, but the cost of producing and dyeing the robe is usually supported by the generous donations of local devotees. The laity are able to gain merit for themselves by observing the ceremony.
Throughout the four following months the monk who receives the robe enjoys the relaxation of five minor rules (out of the 220 that normally apply during and after the Retreat). These mainly relate to travel and the receipt of alms. Normally a Bhikkhu, whether senior or junior, has to inform his fellow monks who live in the same temple before he goes out. Once he has received the Kathina-robe he can choose whether to do so or not. He also has less restriction on where he travels. Usually he has to carry all the three pieces of his/her robe wherever he goes, but now he can now leave one behind if he wishes. He can also accept other robes if offered during the period of four months.
At the heart of Anapanasati, which means ‘mindfulness of breathing’, is a form of Buddhist meditation initially taught by Gautama Buddha. It is described in several suttas (discourses delivered by the Buddha) including the AnapanasatiSutta. It originated when the Buddha announced in advance one year that he would speak at the end of the Rains. This allowed a large number of monks, elders, and teachers to come together. He praised their various practices within the assembly, and then explained the importance to them of ‘mindfulness of breathing in and out’, and how it can bring ‘knowledge and liberation.’ Mindfulness, meditation and breath control have since come to be at the heart of Theravada Buddhism.
This presentation aims to introduce Key Stage 3 students to the concept of Anicca (impermanence) in Buddhism.
13th – 15th April 2025
Buddhist
This is the traditional New Year’s Day festival in Thailand, where containers of water are thrown over those standing nearby as a symbol of washing away all that is evil. Fragrant herbs are often placed in the jug or bucket containing the water. The name Songkran comes from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘passing’ or ‘approaching’. The most common greeting is ‘Sawasdee Pee Mai!’, ‘A happy new year’ in Thai. Also spoken is, ‘Suk san wan Songkran’ (pronounced: suke sahn wahn song kran) which means ‘Happy Songkran day’.
This Thai water festival in Bangkok officially runs for three days, starting on the morning of April 13th and finishing on April 15th. Although officially only three days long, many people take time off from work and stretch the festival into a six day celebration. April is the hottest month of the year, and the entire country enjoys its friendly water fights and street parties that can last nearly a week.
The real significance of the splashing with water relates to physical cleanliness, spiritual purification, and making a fresh start to daily life. Houses are cleaned and Buddha statues are carried through the streets to be rinsed with flower-scented water, so symbolically washing off all the misfortunes of the past year, and in so doing welcoming in the new year when a fresh start can be made.
Making merit is an essential part of Songkran, and visiting nine sacred temples during Songkran is considered one of the ultimate merit accumulators. Other merit-making customs in Bangkok include going to the temples to build sand stupas, which are then decorated with colourful flags and flowers. These can be seen around key temples in the Rattanokosin area.
Songkran is the occasion for family re-unions and temple visits. Many Thais observe the holidays by spending time with families and friends, and they may politely pour a bowl of water on members of the family, and as well on their close friends and neighbours. Traditional Thais perform the Rod Nam Dum Hua ritual on the first day of Songkran, which is officially the National Elderly Day. During the ritual, young people pour fragrant water into the elders’ palms as a gesture of humility and ask for their blessings. Known as ‘Songkran Day’, this first day of the festival is an exuberant celebration with processions of Buddha images taking place throughout the country. Thai people prepare themselves for the beginning of the New Year, as for other festivals, by thorough cleaning of their houses. April 13th is also when the water throwing really commences.
The second day of Songkran is officially the National Family Day. Families wake up early and give alms to the monks; then ideally the rest of the day is spent sharing quality family time together. An important religious ritual on Songkran is ‘Bathing the Buddha image’, in which devout Buddhists pour fragrant water over Buddha statues, both at the temple and at home. More religious Thais engage in Buddhist ceremonies and merit-making activities throughout the holidays.
Others may enjoy a series of cultural activities, such as the Thai-Raman flag ceremony, a ‘saba’ game, Raman dances, boat races, floral floats parade, and many more. As well as sprinkling or throwing water, a few local people may practise smearing white powder or paste on the heads of others. The paste is usually brushed gently on the forehead and symbolically wards off bad luck.
Another Songkran ritual is to tie strings to people’s wrists. If a friend or neighbour approaches with a string held by its ends, the custom is to extend the wrist with the palm facing the sky. The friend will then tie on a new bracelet (usually thin, plain strings) and say a short blessing. The tradition is to leave the strings on until they break or fall off on their own.
6th November 2025
Buddhist
Loy Kratong is celebrated in most of the village and town temples in Thailand and often coincides with the local temple’s Kathina Day observance of Anapanasati. The festival takes place on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month when the water level is high and the climate is cooler. This is usually in November when the full-moon lights up the sky, at the end of the rainy season. The festival indicates a close bond between Thai culture and the creative use of the recent heavy rainfall.
Before the festival, small lotus shaped baskets are made out of bread or the bark of a banana tree or rubber plant leaves, all items that will degrade naturally in the water, and these are elaborately decorated with folded banana leaves or lotus flowers in intricate, towering designs. Into these are placed incense sticks, candles, betel nuts and sometimes a small coin. They are then launched on rivers, canals, ponds or the sea. The sight of thousands of krathongs with their flickering candles sending a thousand pinpoints of light far into the horizon is a truly magical sight.
With them goes a wish for good luck, offered to propitiate the spirits of the water. The floating of a krathong is intended to wash away ill fortune as well as to express apologies to Khongkha or Ganga, the River Goddess for misuse or pollution of her domain. Captive eels and turtles are frequently released into the water at this time in her honour.
Hundreds of krathongs are for sale around the main Loy Krathong festivity areas. Often children will make their own versions at school or with their family. They may share in contests in school to see who can craft the most beautiful and artistic float. If your candle stays alight until your krathong disappears out of sight, it is said to mean a year of good luck, and couples can get an insight into the future of their relationships by watching whether their krathongs float together or drift apart.
In recent years Thais have become more creative in their craft, and design the krathongs from coconut shells, flowers, baked bread, potato slices, some even breaking with the conventional lotus leaf shape in favour of turtles and other sea creatures. On the other hand the base of the krathong often tends currently to be made from synthetic materials and, despite efforts to ban environmentally unfriendly floats, rivers and waterways are often covered with unsightly pieces of styrofoam the next morning.
Loy Krathong vies for the title of most important Thai holiday festival with Songkran, which is held in April. The grandest Loy Krathong celebrations are held in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Large floats are drawn through the streets, fashioned as giant krathongs each with their own theme. Many of the celebrants on the floats dress in regal Thai costumes or as mythical Thai beings, and beauty queens sometimes wave to the crowds.
The history behind the festival is complex, and Thais celebrate for many reasons. The main rice harvest season has ended and it is time to thank the Water Goddess for a year’s worth of her abundant supply. Some believe that this is the time symbolically to ‘float away’ all the anger and grudges and ill fortune people have been holding inside themselves, and including a fingernail or a lock of hair is seen as a way of letting go of the dark side of oneself, to start a new year free of negative feelings.
8th December 2024 8th December 2025
Buddhist
Buddhists around the world celebrate Gautama’s attainment of Enlightenment in 596 BCE on this day while sitting under a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, in Northern India. Many consider this to be the most sacred of holy places as it was the birth place of their tradition. Bodhi Day is celebrated in many mainstream Mahayan traditions, including Zen, and in Pure Land Buddhist schools in China, Japan and Korea. Buddhist commemorate the day by meditating, studying the Dharma (teaching), chanting sutras (Buddhist texts) and performing kind acts toward other beings. Some celebrate by a traditional meal of tea, cakes and readings.
Siddhartha Gautama, who would later become the Buddha, was a prince in Nepal who had lived a comfortable and sheltered life under the care of his family. When he grew up he travelled about, witnessing the misery of old age, sickness, and suffering. These profoundly affected him, and at the age of 29, he chose to leave his comfortable surroundings and seek meaning in life.
After spending six years living the life of an aesthetic and serving under six teachers, he was still unsatisfied. He tried many different disciplines, even going so far as to survive by eating only one grain of rice per day, but he soon realized that this was not the way to achieve what he sought. Unable to find answers to his questions, he vowed that he would sit under the Bodhi tree (sometimes called the Pipal tree or Bo tree in certain texts) until his way was clear.
Siddhartha fasted and meditated under this tree for a week, and on the morning of the eighth day came to several realizations which were to become the principles of modern Buddhism. It was here, as Siddhartha meditated and gazed upon Venus rising, that the basis of The Noble Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths were born.
From this point forward he was referred to as the Buddha – The Enlightened One. He was also known as Shakyamuni (the sage of the Shakya clan) Buddha.
Bodhi Day (or Rohatsu), the day of enlightenment, can be celebrated in many ways. To the Buddhist monk it is a day of remembrance and meditation. To the lay people a good way of recognizing this important event in Buddhism is to dwell on its meaning and to place in the home reminders of this event. Often, coloured lights are strung about the home to recognize the day of enlightenment. They are multi-coloured to symbolize the many pathways to enlightenment. The lights are turned on each evening beginning on December 8th and for 30 days thereafter. A candle is also lit for these thirty days to symbolize enlightenment.
In Buddhist homes, a fiscus tree of the genus ficusreligiosa is often displayed. Beginning on Bodhi Day, these trees are decorated with multi-coloured lights, strung with beads to symbolize the way all things are united, and they are hung with three shiny ornaments to represent the Three Jewels – The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Sujata offered The Buddha milk and rice which helped him to regain his strength on his pathway to enlightenment. A breakfast of milk and rice would be an appropriate way to start Bodhi day with mindfulness.
Detailed lesson plans based on the Westminster Faith Debate on religion, peace and conflict, linked with GCSE and A Level exam specification
This is a Faith Interview featuring John Brewer, Keith Kahn-Harris, Jonathan Powell, Ian Reader, Charles Clarke and Linda Woodhead.
This programme is suitable for use with A level students studying Christianity, Christian thought, Islam, Judaism, religious ethics and religion and society.
In order to get the most out of the programme it would be worth first showing students the two minute preview below and then brainstorming them on questions such as:
To what extent can religion help in peace-building?
What might be the disadvantages of religion being involved in peace-building?
Would you agree that ‘Violent conflicts in the modern world which appear to be rooted in religious divisions are in reality “power and resources dressed up as religion”’?
How far would you agree that women have a particular and special role in peace-building?
All of these issues are addressed in the discussion and the Question and Answer section.
Violent conflicts in the modern world which appear to be rooted in religious divisions are in reality “power and resources dressed up as religion”, according to Jonathan Powell at the final Westminster Faith Debate of the season. He argued that religious organisations can play a part in bringing about peaceful resolutions – but other members of the panel were doubtful. The lively discussion showed that the role of religion in conflict situations is highly ambivalent.
This debate provided academic insight into what is a very contemporary controversy. In January 2014 former Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that religious extremism will be the biggest source of conflict in the 21st century; and in our first Faith Debate of the year we explored the interactions of religion, politics and armed conflict in the Arab Spring. But are there ways in which religious organisations can be agents for ending violence? Or do religions mainly act as catalysts for conflict and stumbling blocks for peace?
On the panel tackling these questions were John Brewer, Professor of Post Conflict Studies at Queen’s University Belfast; Keith Kahn-Harris, a specialist on dialogue within the Jewish community and on attitudes to Israel; Jonathan Powell, former Chief of Staff for Tony Blair and the chief British government negotiator on Northern Ireland during his time in office; and Ian Reader, Professor of Religious Studies at Lancaster University, with research interests in the connections between religion and violence. The debate was chaired by Charles Clarke, former Home Secretary, and Linda Woodhead, Professor of Sociology of Religion at the University of Lancaster.
Underlying much of the debate was the crucial question – what exactly is meant by ‘peace’? According to Brewer, an important factor that can exacerbate conflicts is that different players may have different ideas about what ‘peace’ is. He argued that in the Northern Ireland peace process, Catholics were often pushing for a broad “positive peace”, or “social transformation” – the securing of “justice, fairness, equality of opportunity”. Protestants, however, were focusing primarily on simply ending the violence – “negative peace”, or “conflict transformation”. Kahn-Harris cited the example of Israel and Egypt to demonstrate another interpretation – “cold peace” – a situation where the different sides do their best to avoid and ignore each other rather than actively seek to resolve their differences. For Powell, these more pessimistic notions of peace were exemplified in the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland – simply signing a peace agreement does not necessarily mean the end of social conflict.
For Brewer and Powell, it is precisely because ‘peace’ means more than the cessation of violence that religious organisations can play important roles in ‘peace-building’. Brewer divided this term into two processes: “state-building”, or the “political peace process”, which involves the reintroduction of government structures and the re-establishment of institutions of justice and politics; and “nation-building”, or the “social peace process”, where former enemies learn to live together after conflict. Most important in his view are the contributions of faith-based institutions to nation-building – they can lead communities in dealing with issues of forgiveness, memory, truth and justice. Powell suggested that religious institutions do not tend to have very useful roles in brokering the end of violence itself, though religious individuals have played important parts. Religious institutions can, however, be important for creating a context for dialogue between different sides. As Brewer noted, in Northern Ireland churches provided sacred spaces where political enemies could be brought together to engage in, and implement, the processes of ‘state-building’.
But the role of religions in conflict areas is not simply benevolent. Powell insisted that religion’s influence on the causes of conflict is often exaggerated – “Northern Ireland was not about religion” but about access to power, traditions and identity. Reader and Kahn-Harris, however, felt that religion often plays a much greater role in causing conflict than reducing it. Reader challenged Brewer by arguing that it is precisely when religion becomes involved in “nation-building” that problems arise. “Religious nationalism” is driving the attacks by Buddhists on Muslims in South East Asia. When the land itself forms part of a sacred landscape, which cannot be negotiated in religious terms, peaceful solutions can only be found in the ‘political sphere’.
Kahn-Harris was also critical of the capacity for religious organisations to reduce conflict. He suggested that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had originally been between two movements that were essentially secular – the Zionist movement and the leftist liberation movement of the Palestinians. In the last few decades, however, the conflict has taken on increasingly religious elements. Religions can function by giving the “nitty gritty stuff” of daily life “transcendent implications” – which in Kahn-Harris’ view can make disputes over such temporal issues as land and power much more difficult to resolve. He also noted that peoples in diasporas, including Jews and Palestinians, can give conflicts universal significance, drawing in the support of other states like the USA and hindering resolution. Peace-making is best achieved when conflicts are relatively isolated and localised. Similarly, interfaith dialogue achieves most on the local, grassroots level – there is a danger that global, elitist interfaith dialogue can simply work as an “alibi”, enabling religious leaders to “feel good about themselves” without making practical progress.
A number of other structural factors were noted by the panel and audience members that might inhibit efforts for peace-building. International justice bodies can, ironically, impact detrimentally on the ending of conflict. Both Powell and Reader noted that the threat of facing justice and imprisonment makes it less likely that key figures involved in conflict atrocities will accept peace processes. On another note, Brewer stressed that the relations between particular states, civil societies and religions can affect in various ways the capacity for religious organisations to aid in peace-building. In the Northern Ireland case, he suggested that the established churches aimed at “negative peace”, the ending of violence, but were constrained by their allegiance to state players from pushing further. The “minority” churches and “maverick” individuals led the way towards broader “positive peace”. The variability of the structural relations between states, societies and religions means that it is important to approach conflict situations case-by-case – the peace-building model from one place may not be appropriate in a different context.
A final point raised by an audience member concerned the connections of gender, religious organisations and peace-making. The UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, affirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction. It was suggested to the panel that some of their pessimistic views on religion’s capacity to resolve conflict overlooked the importance of religiously-orientated, grassroots women’s movements in peace processes. Whilst the panel agreed with this point, Kahn-Harris cautioned against stereotyping women as ‘the peace-makers’ – both men and women can contribute to conflict, and both should engage in peace-building processes.
Ultimately, it seems that if religious organisations are to have practical successes in resolving conflicts, these are best achieved on the local, grassroots level. The panel generally agreed that religious groups are unlikely to broker the end of violence by themselves; but they can provide spaces for the establishment of dialogue, and in some cases they can aid the healing of social wounds after formal peace agreements are signed. In other cases, however, the influence of religion is clearly more likely to exacerbate conflict situations. As Clarke summed up, we need to disentangle religion’s precise role in the origins of individual cases. Sweeping statements about the functioning of religion only exacerbate the ignorance and distrust which lie behind much of the world’s conflicts today.
As always, after watching the discussion, it is worth returning to the students’ views and finding out if and how their personal opinions have been influenced or changed by what they have heard.
For 6th formers it might well be possible to watch the discussion straight through, however, for some students it might be advisable to watch one segment at a time. After discussion, it might be worth getting students to listen to some of the podcasts provided on the website.
