The monks in the mist – and the festival of the moon
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Mist hung low over the jungle surrounding the Borobudur temple in Indonesia as thousands of the country's Buddhists celebrated the annual Vesak festival.
Known to some as the "Buddha's birthday", the holy day also marks the enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha, on whose teachings the religion was founded, and is observed under a full moon by Buddhists across Asia.
In Indonesia, pilgrims walk between three temples, from Mendut to Pawon and, finally, Borobudur, where they line up in preparation to receive alms from members of the public. Indonesia is the world's largest muslim nation; just two per cent of the population is recorded as Buddhist, but in a country of 240 million people, the religion has sizeable representation.
Borobudur, at Magelang in central Indonesia, is the country's most popular tourist attraction. It was built in the 9th century before being abandoned in the 14th century following the shift towards Islam. It was reclaimed from the jungle and restored when Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, was lead to the temple in 1814.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments