Sacred day

A Buddhist monk prays before a statue inside a stupa at Borobudur Temple, the world’s largest Buddhist monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Magelang, Central Java, on May 10, 2025, ahead of Waisak or Vesak Day. Vesak is the most sacred day for Buddhists, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, all traditionally believed to have occurred on the full moon day of the Vesakha month in the ancient Indian lunar calendar.