Festivals in the Light of the Buddha's Teachings (Dharma): How Can We Celebrate with Virtue?

Once, my teacher shared a memory from his student days: after finishing an exam, he invited his classmates out for ice cream. Seeing their joy, he suddenly understood why young people love to "gather and go out together." It turns out that when joy is shared, it multiplies many times over, and when sorrow has someone to listen to it, it diminishes greatly. From this, my teacher opened his dharma talk about festivals — activities that seem to exist only for fun, yet secretly hold opportunities for spiritual practice and for cultivating virtue.

**Resonant Joy and Shared Sorrow**

Since ancient times, people have loved to gather together, singing and dancing when they caught a large animal. That joy seemed to double, to multiply many times over, when many people shared in it. If we reflect carefully, this matches a common truth of the mind/heart: winning the lottery and keeping it to oneself is unbearable — one must go tell the whole neighborhood so the joy can multiply into "much greater happiness." But that joy is never complete if it is only about showing off rather than giving. Only when joy is shared among many hearts does it truly grow.

"Joy shared by many people doubles and multiplies many times over."

Conversely, sorrow has a strange quality: when we share it with others, it naturally lightens. Therefore, in daily life, the duty of a Buddhist is to rejoice in the happiness of others (mudita) and to feel compassion for and share in their sorrow. In this way, life will have less suffering (dukkha) and more joy.

**The Formula for Love and Happiness**

When people love one another, what appears next? Joy. A household where everyone loves one another is happy even in poverty. When we come to the temple, if Buddhists all love one another, without gossip or jealousy, then we feel it is a true home — one no longer wants to leave. Yet someone may ask: the Buddha taught that "craving" is the cause of suffering, so why does love bring happiness?

"Loving brings happiness, to be sure — but it depends on the kind of love, for behind that happiness will lie either suffering or everlasting happiness."

If we love with the Buddha's compassion, that joy will never be lost. But if love is confined within personal selfishness, the initial happiness will quickly turn into pain. Thus, practitioners do not turn their backs on the world; they join in its shared joy, and then transform that joy into material for cultivating virtue.

**Festivals and the Duty of Buddhists**

Some believe that practitioners should seek tranquility and stay far from noise and bustle. But my teacher reflected: the path to liberation begins with virtue. If we wish to help people attain enlightenment in the future, we must first help them cultivate virtue. And festivals are precisely the opportunity to do this.

"During festival days, we Buddhists must know how to create joy for everyone, so that love can arise in their hearts."

This means that when attending a festival, we do not simply celebrate in a meaningless way — we must sow seeds of compassion there. For example, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival for children. Instead of letting children merely play, parents can skillfully weave in folk tales about filial piety and cause and effect (karmic law). In this way, children have fun while also learning the way of being a good person.

**Avoiding Festivals That Involve Killing**

Not all festivals are wholesome. In the past, some festivals sacrificed living humans to the gods, causing entire tribes to sow heavy karma of killing and eventually perish. Today, some places still maintain the custom of slaughtering animals for offerings. My teacher reminded us that such festivals bring heartache — especially the killing of dogs. This not only brings bad karma upon the community but also kindles the flames of war, because the mind/heart of killing spreads. Buddhists must cherish all life and refuse to take part in amusements that involve killing.

**Gratitude: The Moral Foundation of Every Festival**

Every festival holds true moral value when it reminds us of the kindness we have received. Thanksgiving in America is very similar to Buddhism's Vu Lan Festival: remembering our ancestors, parents, teachers, and friends. Why? Because to live in this world without gratitude is a great fault.

"To live without gratitude is a loss of virtue."

My teacher once told of a week-long retreat for his disciples, where lay Buddhists cooked the meals. He worried that the disciples might think "monastics are superior" and forget the contributions of those who supported them. So at every meal, he reminded them to look upon the devoted service of the lay practitioners and thereby give rise to gratitude and loving care. Do not let ingratitude creep into the mind/heart and erode the basic virtue of a practitioner.

The Buddha taught us this message: bring more joy to the world and lessen its suffering. On every festival occasion, let us remember that we are the Buddha's disciples. So instead of turning away or simply following the crowd in celebration, let us bring the teachings into our joy and turn festivals into places that nurture human kindness. Let us rejoice in the happiness of others, feel compassion for their sorrow, remind one another to be grateful, and stay far from anything that harms life. In this way, every festival becomes a realm for sowing seeds of compassion and harvesting a happiness that is peaceful and joyful.