![Monks holding candles walk around the Buddha statue at Phutthamonthon, a religious park in Nakhon Pathom.Phutthamonthon to mark Visakha Bucha Day last year. (File photo) Monks holding candles walk around the Buddha statue at Phutthamonthon, a religious park in Nakhon Pathom.Phutthamonthon to mark Visakha Bucha Day last year. (File photo)](https://static.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20230526/c1_2578570_230526064133.jpg)
More than 3,500 monks from 50 countries will take part in a ceremony to mark Vesak, or Visakha Bucha Day, at the beginning of June in Thailand.
At a press briefing yesterday, Phra Brahmapundit, a member of the Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand, said Thailand will once again host the celebration on June 1-2, after a pause brought on by the pandemic.
Speaking in his capacity as the president of the International Council for the Day of Vesak, Phra Brahmapundit said the 18th edition of the celebration will be jointly organised by Maha Chulalongkorn Raja Vidyalaya University, the Sangha Supreme Council and the government.
The theme for this year’s event is Buddha’s wisdom for world crisis management, Phra Brahmapundit said.
On June 1, the event will be launched by the Supreme Patriarch Ariyavongsagatanana, and there will be seminars at Maha Chulalongkorn Raja Vidyalaya University in the afternoon.
On June 2, Buddhist monks and devotees will take part in a celebration at the United Nation’s headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Road. The event will be led by the president of the Privy Council, Surayud Chulanont.
Attendees will join prayers at Phutthamonthon in Nakhon Pathom.
Suttipong Juljarern, the interior permanent secretary, told the press briefing that the ministry will notify governors across Thailand to raise the nation’s flag along with the Buddhist flag to promote Vesak Day.
The Ministry of Interior will ask Thai Buddhists to participate in merit-making activities and refrain from gambling between June 1-7.