KUANTAN: Thousands of devotees and visitors from across race and religion thronged the Pahang Buddhist Association temple in Jalan Bukit Ubi here for the Wesak Day festivity for the first time after two years of muted celebration.

       A host of activities including the bathing of Buddha statues, an offering session to Triratna, Heart Sutra writing contests, Dharma talks and Buddhist hymns was lined up for the devotees.

       A vegetarian lunch was also served to those present.

       As had been their tradition before the pandemic, planning officer G. Murugan, 48, went to offer prayers to Buddha with his family members.

       “The seven of us are just so happy to be able to come back to the temple to celebrate Wesak Day together after two years.

       “We can just feel the peace and love in this place on this special occasion.

       “We feel blessed, especially after the two years of pandemic.

       “I would also like to praise the temple staff for handling the crowd well and for a well-organised event. I like the activities they have organised too,” he said.

       Quantity surveyor Angie Ng, 41, said being out in public for a religious event was good exposure, especially for children, after being mostly stuck indoors for the past two years.

       However, she said this had to be balanced with some risk mitigation such as maintaining mask-wearing while indoors since Covid-19 was still around.

       Self-employed D. Sugumaran, 59, felt there were fewer devotees who showed up at this year’s event compared with pre-pandemic times.

       “Perhaps there is still hesitation and caution, considering that the restrictions were only lifted not too long ago and this being the first public celebration,” he said.