About Buddha's Birthday

This project aims to inspire and educate people about the historic birth of the
Sākyamuni Buddha and, in doing so, integrate Buddhist wisdom within a modern
context. The Buddha’s Birthday Education Project (BBEP) documents the spread
of Buddhism along the Silk Road and charts the migration and localisation of the
religion from its origins in northern India, along the Silk Road and onwards to
many parts of Asia and, subsequently, into the West. The project also
acknowledges that our forefathers recognised the importance of the Buddha and
therefore have celebrated his birthday in many different ways. As the canonical
records are not easily accessible, this project team has transformed them into
artworks, music and multimedia applications. Our localisation work takes the
perspective of today’s audience. The aim of the BBEP is to explain and give
context to rituals that may appear foreign to people who have not grown up with
the Buddhist tradition. We hope that BBEP may be a stepping stone towards
embracing happiness and peace in multicultural and multi-faith societies
worldwide.