In Buddhism, the traditional gesture of reverence to the Triple Gem is to place the palms of both hands together and raise them high in front, usually up to the level of the forehead. In order to express deep veneration, a Buddhist may bow or prostrate before the image of the Buddha, members of the Sangha and the masters of the Teaching. When a Buddhist prostrates before an image, he acknowledges the fact that the Buddha has attained the perfect and supreme Enlightenment. Such an act helps the Buddhist to overcome egoistic feelings and he becomes more ready to listen to the Teaching of the Buddha. The four holy sites as places of pilgrimage for Buddhists are Lumbini where the Buddha was born, Bodh Gaya where the Buddha was enlightened under the Bodhi tree, Sarnath where the Buddha gave his first teaching of the Dharma and Kusinagara where the Buddha passed away.
Buddhist festivals are always joyful occasions.
Every May, on the night of the full moon, Buddhists all over the world celebrate Vesak for the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha such a long time ago. Also the laypeople may participate in chanting and meditation and listening to sermons. In Thai villages people get ready during the day. They clean their houses and hang up garlands of flowers. The men take clean sand from the river bank and spread it over the temple courtyard, where everyone walks with bare feet.