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.