Waisak Day
A
major festival in the Buddhist Calendar, Waisak day celebrates the
birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha Siddharta Gautama. Borobudur is
a central meeting point for Buddhists from all over Indonesia, and
around the world on this auspicious day held every year, on a full moon
in either April or May each year.
Each
year one of a series of Buddhist organisations take the lead in the
festivities, which include a procession from Mendut temple through to
Pawon temple and then Borobudur. Depending on the organiser of the year,
the emphasis is slightly different, but it is always colourful and
filled with festivity and food
The around 15,000 participants stretch for over a kilometre on the walk to
Borobudur, where they settle before a dias with Borobudur as a backdrop.
Borobudur, where they settle before a dias with Borobudur as a backdrop.
The
thousands sit and join together in repeating mantras, is a powerful and
humbling experience. Then a meditation begins, with a complete silence.
Intense.
