Indonesians celebrate Vesak at world’s largest Buddhist temple

More than 1,000 Buddhists from across the archipelago gathered at the world’s largest Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java, to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Siddharta Gautama Buddha. Monday night’s celebrations included prayers and meditations, the collection of holy water and the release of flying lanterns symbolising the abandonment of negativity. Only those who received an invitation and a double dose of Covid-19 vaccine were allowed to enter the vast Borobudur complex to participate in the ceremonies. Indonesian Buddhists make up less than one percent of the country’s more than 270 million people. Built in the ninth century, the Borobudur temple was abandoned when the Hindu kingdoms on the island of Java declined and the majority of Javanese began to convert to Islam. It has undergone a major restoration and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.