Many religions look to holy sites to remember and honor their history. These sites might be churches, temples, ruins of ancient buildings that were associated with the religion, or places where momentous events happened. For instance, Christians look to Jerusalem as a holy area, because that’s where Jesus walked. Muslims look to Mecca as their holiest of places. For those who follow the Buddhist religion, one of the holiest places is Lumbini, where Buddha was born.

Lumbini is in the foothills of the Himalayas, in what is now Nepal. At the time of Buddha’s birth, the area was a large green space, covered with gardens and trees. The area was owned by the Kolias and Shakyas clans; King Suddhodana, the father of Gautama Buddha, was of the Shakyas dynasty.

Maya Devi, the mother of Buddha, was traveling to her parents’ home in Devadaha when she paused to rest in Lumbini. She felt labor pains while there, and soon she gave birth to her son under the drooping branches of the Sal tree. The birth happened in May of 642 B.C.

Over time, the small area of Lumbini became a lively, productive village. In 249 B.C., Emperor Ashoka visited the village and erected a monument to Buddha and his mother. The monument included a stone pillar with an inscription testifying to the royal and holy meaning of the place. Later, the temple of Maya Devi was built in the same area.

But over time, Lumbini fell into disrepair, and later into neglect. The once thriving village disappeared, and left only ruins in its passing. In 1895, German archaeologist Feuhrer discovered the great pillar among ruins, and an excavation began. Others parts of the monument were discovered, and the holy meaning of the area became clear to a new generation of Buddhists.

Excavations soon revealed much more. The temple of Maya Devi was still there, as was the sacred bathing pool nearby, where it is believed Maya Devi bathed before giving birth to the Buddha. In 1996, archaeologists uncovered a “flawless stone” that had been set in the area to mark the precise location of Buddha’s birth.

Since the discoveries, several beautiful shrines have been built nearby, and the once-neglected village has become a haven for those seeking peace, tranquility, and spiritual enlightenment.

Every religion has their holy days, sometimes also called holidays, that are celebrated on a regular basis. These days are meant to celebrate what a particular religion means, the days that changed the course of the faith, and important events that solidified the tenants of the religion for future followers.

Here are a few of the major holidays in Buddhism, and what they mean to those who celebrate them.

Buddhist New Year. The Buddhist New Year is an important festival time, but it varies from one country to another. For instance, in Thailand the Buddhist New Year begins on the first full moon day in April and lasts for three days. However, in China, the Buddhist New Year often falls in early January or February.

Vesak or Vesakah Puja. On the first full moon day in May (in June during leap years), the birth and enlightenment of Buddha is celebrated. This is the biggest festival of the year, and takes place on the one day of Buddha’s birth celebration.

Loy Krathong. Also known as the festival of the floating bowls, this particular ritual can light up a countryside into a beautiful work of art. On the full moon night of the 12th Lunar Moon, people bring bowls of leaves to bodies of water. The bowls are filled with flowers, candles, incense sticks, and the like. The offering of the bowls is said to pay homage to Buddha while erasing bad luck.

The Elephant Festival. During many of his teachings, Buddha used a story of an elephant. A wild elephant, when caught, it tethered to a tame elephant in order to tame the wildness. So it is with people, Buddha said — those who understand and are reaching for enlightenment should “tether” themselves to those who are just starting out in order to teach them what they need to know. The Elephant Festival, held on the third Saturday in November, celebrates the elephant and Buddha’s teaching.

Songkran. A massive “spring cleaning” that takes place in April, people wash their homes and their clothes, spray each other with water, and play in the rivers and streams. It is a break from the heat and a chance to enjoy each other.

Uposatha. This represents the four holy days of the month. They fall in the new moon, the full moon, and quarter-moon days.

The parable of the burning house and the three carts is one that has been around for centuries, and it teaches an important lesson to Buddhist children, one that can benefit those of other religions as well. It goes like this:

Once, there was a wealthy man who was father to many children. He lived in a grand home. One day, a fire broke out in the house, and the man yelled for his children, telling them to flee as quickly as they could. But the children were absorbed in their games, and didn’t hear their father calling to them.

The man had to come up with a plan, and almost immediately, he did. He knew certain playthings would catch the attention of his children, so he yelled to them that he had new toys for them, the very things they had always wanted! “Just outside the gate are those carts you wanted…one pulled by oxen, one by deer, and one by goats. Come out and play with them!”

The children raced out of the house to get to the carts they wanted. The wealthy man had saved his children.

But once outside, they asked where the carts were. The father, so grateful to have his children safe with him and away from the flames, gave them something greater — a much finer and larger cart than they had ever seen, one pulled by the best of oxen, a faster cart than anyone had ever known before.

What does it mean? In the parable, the children represent the people, and the wealthy man represents Buddha. The small carts represent the teachings, which were to pull them away from the flames of the world. But once they had learned of the three teachings, then they went on to learn much more. The larger cart represents the Lotus Sutra, or the teachings that open up the way to the greater understanding and enlightenment.

There are many stories surrounding Buddha and his path to enlightenment. One of the most entertaining might be the story of the eagle and the dove.

Before Buddha became the Buddha, he was known as Siddhartha. He was a King who was known for his compassion and love for all creatures. Sakra was the king of the Gods, and decided to test Siddhartha to ensure that he was, indeed, the future Buddha.

Sakra turned himself into a dove. He called upon one of his Gods to turn himself into an eagle. Together, the dove and eagle flew toward the castle. The eagle chased the dove through the palace until they found Siddhartha.

The dove cried, “Please save me! The eagle is going to eat me!”

Siddhartha, loving toward all creatures, stopped the eagle. The eagle then called out, “But I have to eat the dove! Otherwise I will starve to death!”

“Can you eat something other than the dove?” the King asked, trying to be diplomatic and find a solution.

“I have to eat flesh,” the eagle told him. “It is the way I was created. I have no other choice.”

The King then commanded his men to remove a piece of flesh from his body body and feed it to the eagle. By doing so, he reasoned that the dove could go free, and the eagle could still be fed. His men were horrified at the idea, but Siddhartha was the King, so they did as he asked.

Much to their astonishment, the King showed no pain. There was no blood where the wounds were made. The King’s soldiers fed the eagle the exact weight of the dove, and throughout it all, Siddhartha did not flinch.

The selfless nature of the King convinced Sakra and his fellow God that this was indeed the future Buddha. They immediately appeared in their own bodies and restored Siddhartha to full health.

You’ve probably seen statues of the Buddha. They are sold everywhere, from religious stores that specialize in beautiful artifacts, to flea markets where the Buddha statue is obviously plastic and badly painted. But what is the Buddha – or who was the Buddha? And why is he so popular?

The Buddha was born as Prince Siddhatha Gotama. He was born in 623 B.C. during the month of May, near what is now the border between India and Nepal. His parents, the King and Queen, were delighted with their son, and the whole Kingdom rejoiced at his birth.

Though he was brought up in a royal household and taught all the necessary lessons of a future King, Siddhatha felt lost in his own world. Though he was married to a beautiful woman and had the entire kingdom at his command, he wanted something more. There was a spiritual yearning inside him, begging to get out.

On the day his wife had their first and only son, Siddhatha realized he would become too attached to his child, and he would never find the enlightenment he sought. He chose to leave them in the palace and strike out on his own, on a quest for spiritual answers. At this point, he was 29 years of age.

Siddhatha followed great spiritual teachers, but soon reached the limits of what they could teach him. He moved on to more and more powerful teachers until it seemed there was nothing left to learn, but he was still feeling lost. He finally set about meditation and the path to enlightenment on his own, sometimes even flirting with death to accomplish his goal. Finally, on the eve of his 35th birthday, he finally achieved true understanding, or nirvana.

Siddhatha, the Buddha, went on to teach for 45 years. He ordained thousands of monks during that time, he even helped his wife and son, Rahula, achieve enlightenment as he had done. His teachings were the beginning of Buddhism.

Buddhism was founded over two thousand years ago in India by a man named Buddha Shakyamuni. Born as a royal price, Buddha lived in the palace until he was 29, at which point he chose a different path. His meditations led him to six years in study, and he finally obtained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India. During his lifetime he would give over 84,000 teachings.

Buddha believed that all problems of the human race grew out of confused and negative states of mind, and that a peaceful or positive state of mind would alleviate all the woes. His teachings focused on overcoming the negatives, such as jealousy, anger, discontent, ignorance, and worry, and instead focusing on the positive, such as love, compassion, devotion, and learning.

Meditation is the cornerstone of the Buddhism religion. Meditating is meant to cleanse the mind of all the negatives and enable the follower to turn to the positives. It involves understanding our mental state, resolving to change it, and following through. Basic meditation is wonderful for everyone, regardless of religious belief – but in order to go further into the Buddhism religion and meditation, one must have faith in the three jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Followers of Buddhism believe in karma, which is often summed up in the old saying, “What goes around, comes around.” What you do to others, and how you treat them, comes back to you at a later point in life, whether it was good or bad. Good deeds breed more good, while evil deeds lead to terrible karma.

A person’s karma leads to the rebirth they will experience. Buddhists believe that the body and the mind are separate entities, and that as the body declines and dies, the mind remains strong and working. The karma you achieved during your first life leads you to your reward in the next. Good karma leads a person to come back as a human or a god, while bad karma leads a person to come back as an animal or other lower being. A perfect attainment of enlightenment, however, allows the follower to choose his or her own rebirth.

Though Buddha did not rule out the possibility of a supreme being, and in fact has been idealized himself with numerous statues, carvings and the like, the religion of Buddhism turns to what is within the person and uses that as the basis of the belief.

Regardless of religious belief, however, the basic tenants of Buddihism – love, compassion, caring for others, understanding of self, and seeking to be virtuous in every activity, every day – are beautiful teachings for anyone to use to their benefit.