The Eight Great Events are eight scenes from the life of Buddha Shakyamuni that became a standard part of his iconography in India and Nepal. The eight events are:
- The birth of the Buddha
- His awakening (enlightenment)
- His first sermon
- A monkey offers him honey
- He tames a wild elephant
- Descending from the Heaven of the Thirty-Gods
- Defeating heretical sects by miraculous displays
- The Buddha’s death (Skt. parinirvana)