Buddha Day Celebrations in Photos

Alan Taylor
May 20, 2019
20 Photos
In Focus

Buddhists around the world recently celebrated Vesak, or Buddha Day, a festival that marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha, observed on the full moon in May or June. Devotees, monks, and nuns gathered in temples and sacred areas to pray and rededicate themselves to the teachings of Buddha. Vesak is observed in varying ways from country to country, and some of these can be seen below in photographs from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Cambodia, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, and more.

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Buddhist nuns pray during a ceremony at the Tam Chuc Pagoda in Ha Nam province, Vietnam, on May 13, 2019, ahead of Vesak celebrations. #

Nhac Nguyen / AFP / Getty

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An aerial photograph shows a giant Buddha statue under construction at the Khai Nguyen Pagoda in Son Tay, on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 18, 2019, the eve of Vesak. #

Manan Vatsyayana / AFP / Getty

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Buddhists carry candles in a long-exposure photo as they pray during Vesak at a temple in Chonburi province, Thailand, on May 18, 2019. #

Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters

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A Buddhist monk sits by the lake at the Tam Chuc Pagoda in Ha Nam province, Vietnam, on May 13, 2019. #

Nhac Nguyen / AFP / Getty

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Buddhist devotees pour water on the Maha-Bodhi Tree at the Shwedagon Pagoda during Buddha's birthday in Yangon, Myanmar, on May 18, 2019. #

Sai Aung Main / AFP / Getty

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Buddhist devotees visit the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, on May 18, 2019, during Buddha's birthday. #

Sai Aung Main / AFP / Getty

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Buddhist devotees unfurl a 25-year-old, 196-foot-long sacred thangka during Vesak, or Buddha Day, festival celebrations at the Enlightened Heart Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Ipoh, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 19, 2019. #

Mohd Rasfan / AFP / Getty

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Buddhist priests wearing traditional costumes perform rituals along with other devotees during the Buddha Day festival in Ipoh, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 19, 2019. #

Mohd Rasfan / AFP / Getty

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A Buddhist devotee carries a prayer lamp during Buddha Day festival celebrations at the Enlightened Heart Tibetan Buddhist Temple near Kuala Lumpur on May 19, 2019. #

Mohd Rasfan / AFP / Getty

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Monks wearing straw hats and holding alms bowls walk toward Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on May 12, 2019. Monks received alms from believers and tourists along the street in Hangzhou during Buddha's-birthday celebrations. #

Wang Jianchun / VCG via Getty

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Fire burns a Buddha statue during a ceremony on Vesak in Mojokerto, East Java province, Indonesia, on May 19, 2019. #

Zabur Karuru / Antara Foto Agency / Reuters

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An ardent devotee prays at a temple on Buddha's birthday in Petaling Jaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 19, 2019. #

Annice Lyn / AP

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Buddhist monks prepare at the Mendut temple during celebrations for Vesak in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, on May 18, 2019. #

Ulet Ifansasti / Getty

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Buddhist followers pray at the Borobudur Temple during celebrations of Vesak in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, on May 19, 2019. #

Ulet Ifansasti / Getty

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Buddhist devotees release lanterns into the air as a symbol of peace to honor Buddha's birthday at Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, on May 19, 2019. #

Oka Hamied / AFP / Getty

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A Buddhist monk prays during a ceremony for Vesak at the Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Indonesia, on May 18, 2019. #

Hendra Nurdiyansyah / Antara Foto Agency / Reuters

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Buddhist devotees worship at the Kelaniya Temple on Vesak in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 18, 2019. #

Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters

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A Buddhist monk sits near the Boudhanath stupa while waiting for alms on the birth anniversary of Buddha in Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 18, 2019. #

Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters

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Cambodian Buddhist monks carry an urn, which allegedly contains the remains of one of Buddha's bones, during the Visak Bochea Buddhist celebration at a pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on May 18, 2019. #

Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP / Getty

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A Buddhist devotee offers prayers at the Swayambhunath stupa during a festival to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Buddha in Kathmandu on May 18, 2019. #

Prakash Mathema / AFP / Getty

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