In Pictures: Vesak Day celebrations
Devotees across Asia commemorate Buddha’s birthday.
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Buddhist devotees releasing lanterns in front of Borobudur Temple, the world's largest Buddhist monument and a Unesco World Heritage Site, in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, on May 12, 2025, as they commemorate Vesak Day.
PHOTO: AFP
A 60m x 12m canvas of a thangka, a Tibetan Buddhist painting, is held up for devotees to walk under it to receive blessings and good luck from the Buddha for the coming year, during the Vesak Day celebrations at the Enlightened Heart Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Ipoh, state of Perak, Malaysia, on May 12, 2025.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
About 8,000 devotees took part in the “Three Steps, One Bow” Buddhist ceremony at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Singapore on May 11. The ceremony sees participants bowing once every three steps, in a spiritual journey that fosters humility, mindfulness and gratitude.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Ms Jo Chia cradles her two-year-old dog, Taffy, as they receive a blessing from a sangha of the Thekchen Choling temple during Vesak Day celebrations at the open field next to Serangoon MRT station on May 12, 2025.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
A man prays at the Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 12, 2025, as Buddhists celebrate Vesak Day.
PHOTO: AFP
Visitors watching hot air balloons being launched during Vesak Day celebrations at Ngawen Temple complex in Muntilan, Central Java, Indonesia, on May 12, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
Buddhist monks taking part in Vesak Day, in celebration of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing, at Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java province, Indonesia, on May 12, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
People visiting the statue of Gautama Buddha to offer prayers during the Buddha Jayanti, or Buddha Purnima, also known as Vesak Day, at the Global Vipassana Pagoda in Mumbai, India, on May 12, 2025.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
A Buddhist monk prays during the Buddha Jayanti, or Buddha Purnima, also known as Vesak Day, celebrations organised by the Maha Bodhi Society in Bangalore, India, on May 12, 2025.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
People looking at Vesak Day illuminations and decorations during Vesak Day celebrations in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 12, 2025.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Buddhist monks attending Vesak Day celebrations at Wat Dhammakaya Buddhist temple in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, Thailand, on May 11, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
