Places of worship were hit particularly hard during the pandemic, as social distancing mandates have prevented people from gathering to practice their religion and celebrate important holidays. This is especially true for the Buddhist practitioners at the Dhammakaya Temple on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, where Thai Buddhists celebrate one of their most important holidays: Makha Bucha Day.
This celebration normally brings tens of thousands of believers to the temple each year to pray and light lanterns. However, this year looked a little different in light of COVID-19, with the temple forced to limit the in-person participants to a select group of 1,000 devotees. Undeterred by the barrier of distance between the temple and followers, volunteers created an event on Zoom where devotees could attend the celebration virtually.
With the help of over 3,000 volunteers around the world, some 273,000 attendees from more than 65 countries participated in at least one session during the celebration. Dhammakaya Temple also recently hosted another virtual event to celebrate Earth Day under the campaign, “Cleanse the Mind, Cleanse the World by Meditation”, creating another beautiful and inspiring ceremony for attendees to enjoy from a distance.
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