Buddhism, like most of the prominent religions in the world, is divided into different traditions. However, as most traditions share a common set of fundamental beliefs, so does Buddhism.
One central belief of Buddhism is often referred to as reincarnation — the concept that people are reborn after dying. In fact, Buddhists believe most individuals go through many cycles of birth, living, death and rebirth.
A practicing Buddhist differentiates between the concepts of rebirth and reincarnation. In reincarnation, the individual may recur repeatedly. In rebirth, a person does not necessarily return to Earth as the same entity ever again. Buddhists compare that to a leaf growing on a tree. When the withering leaf falls off, a new leaf will eventually replace it. It is similar to the old leaf, but it is not identical.
Buddhism is a philosophy of life expounded by Gautama Buddha (“Buddha” means “enlightened one”), who lived and taught in northern India in the 6th century B.C. The Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic worldview. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely at liberating sentient beings from suffering.
The Buddhist New Year is April 13-15, and in some nations where the faith is dominant — especially in Thailand — there the Songkran Water Splashing Festival is a big part of it. It is a celebration where Buddha images are bathed, and younger Thais show respect to monks and elders by sprinkling water over their hands.
Parades, dancing and folk entertainment mark the lunar change too, although getting wet is what Songkran is most famed for.
Over the years the festival has morphed into all-out water war, with unsuspecting victims and eager participants being blasted by high powered super-soakers. It can be a reprieve from the intense heat, but it has its serious side too, as the original focus was to enrich religious intentions and build family bonds.
