Visakha Bucha Day
Last Friday was Visakha Bucha day - one of the holiest days in Buddhism. It commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death/passing into nirvana of the Buddha. All over Thailand (and the rest of the Buddhist world) people went to temples to worship and make merit. This holiday is celebrated with special activities at the temples, sermons, readings of the Buddha's teaching, chanting, and in the evening there are candle-lit processions. I visited a local temple during the day (but did not go back for the evening's activities). The temple had a festival-like atmosphere - lots of food vendors and crowds of people enjoying themselves. There were also plenty of people begging for alms - counting on the generosity of the merit-makers. Here are a few of the pictures...
Putting gold leaf on a Buddha image
Offering incense and praying a prayer that is printed on the sign.
This small group was reading along with the monk. Dressing in white is a sign of Buddhist devotion.
This monk was chanting and sprinkling the listeners with holy water.
-Tom