A video meeting was held in Thailand with more than 200,000 participants. Buddhists today celebrated Magha Puja, an important anniversary. Normally, hundreds of thousands of worshipers gather on this day at the Dhammakaya Temple in a suburb of the capital Bangkok.
Because mass physical meetings are now not possible due to corona, people were given the opportunity to call in via Zoom. A screen with a length of 280 meters had been placed on which all callers could be seen. Only a thousand monks in white robes were on site.
The ritual began with a prayer in Pali, the language in which ancient Buddhist texts are written. Then there was a ceremony where the monks held up lanterns and sang.
‘Expressing Respect’
According to a temple administrator, a video connection is a good alternative: “Today’s technology allows us to connect people through Zoom so that believers can participate online,” said Pha Sanitwong Wuttisangwo.
Most callers were from Thailand, but there were also participants from other countries.
On Magha Puja it is commemorated that about 2500 years ago some 1250 followers of Buddha gathered in a monastery. Magha is a month in the lunar calendar of ancient India. Puja means “to show respect”.
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