Malaysia Celebrates Vesak Day with Float Parade, Showcasing Religious Harmony

Central News Agency, Kuala Lumpur, June 1. The Joint Vesak Celebration Committee (JWCC) of Malaysia held a Vesak Day float parade last night. Devotees from countries including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, and India participated, sharing the solemn and peaceful atmosphere of the festival under the glow of chanting and brilliant float lights. Vesak Day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and is an annual event for the Malaysian Buddhist community. With the arrival of Vesak, temples in Penang, Klang, Johor Bahru, and other places have held bathing-the-Buddha ceremonies, fairs, and cultural performances. This year's float parade was themed "Information Interconnectivity, Wisdom Coexistence," with about 20,000 devotees participating. The Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, was bustling with devotees last night, with many families gathering to wait for the float procession to depart. The parade started from the temple, passed through Little India and the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur, and returned to the starting point, covering a total distance of about 12 kilometers. About 30 elaborately decorated floats moved slowly through the streets, standing out in the night. Buddhists from different countries wore traditional costumes, chanting and praying along the way, attracting many tourists to stop and watch. The float parade was opened by Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook. He stated that the significance of Vesak Day is to remind Buddhists to practice kindness and altruism. Although the ethnic and religious beliefs of Malaysia's various groups are different, they share similar values and should cherish social harmony, build a diverse and mutually respectful society, and avoid allowing anyone to use racial or religious differences to create confrontation and destroy social unity. In addition, more than 10,000 devotees gathered at Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen Temple yesterday to participate in the bathing-the-Buddha ceremony. Venerable Jue Cheng, Chief Abbot of the Fo Guang Shan Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia region, pointed out that although everyone's religious beliefs are different, they should uphold an attitude of mutual respect and tolerance, which is also the coexistence, prosperity, and peace emphasized by Mahayana Buddhism. Pu Cheng-min, Deputy Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, who was invited to attend the event, stated that from Taiwan to Malaysia, Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen Temple is not only a religious holy site but has also become a core platform for education, culture, and tourism, demonstrating the important significance of actively promoting multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-religious harmony.