FAMOUS pagodas in Yangon, including the Shwedagon Pagoda, were crowded with pilgrims yesterday on the Full Moon Day of Thadingyut (Abhidhamma Day). Yangon Region Chief Minister U Soe Thein and regional ministers also took part in the religious rituals at the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Events organized by the Board of Trustees of the Shwedagon Pagoda at designated locations around the pagoda included alms donations, food charity by well-wishers, the observance of precepts, recitation of prayers, and ceremonies marking Abhidhamma Day and the Buddha Pujaniya Festival. In the evening, under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, worshippers and pilgrims illuminated oil lamps across the entire pagoda platform.
Similarly, at the ceremonies for the Full Moon Day of Thadingyut and Abhidhamma Day held by the trustees of the Botahtaung Pagoda, Kaba Aye Pagoda, the historically renowned Santawshin Kyaikwyne Pagoda, Maha Wizaya Pagoda, Sule Pagoda, Sacred Tooth Relic Pagoda (Yangon), Lokachantha Abhaya Labhamuni Buddha Image on Mindhamma Hill, Ngahtetgyi Pagoda, Chaukhtetkyee Pagoda, Shwephonepwint Pagoda, Eaindawya Pagoda, and Meilamu Pagoda, pilgrims received the Nine Precepts from venerable Sayadaws. In the evening, oil lamps were lit by worshippers in dedication to the Lord Buddha.
Throughout the city, major pagodas were alive with devotees offering alms, water, flowers, and oil lamps to Buddha images and stupas, observing precepts, and reciting Abhidhamma prayers in reverence at pagoda squares. — Zaw Min Latt (MNA)/MKKS
