Thousands turn up to celebrate Wesak Day despite bad weather

KUALA LUMPUR: Wesak day celebrations in the city was marred by torrential rains, but that did not stop thousands of devotees from commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.
The Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Brickfields was a hive of activity with thousands of devotees.
Like previous years, the highlight of the celebrations in Kuala Lumpur will be a 12km procession that will begin and end at the temple.
Some devotees came from as far as Penang and Malacca to follow the chariot procession taking place at night.
Some made their way inside the temple to pray and light oil lamps.
It is believed that the oil lamp chases away darkness and symbolises lighting up life.
The candles are shaped as lotus flowers as the flowers grow in murky water and signify that despite the messy world, Buddha blooms from it.
Meanwhile, in PENANG, thousands of Buddhist devotees thronged the Mahindrama Buddhist Temple at Jalan Kampar and also the Malaysian Buddhist Association in Jalan Pangkor.
At the Mahindrama Buddhist Temple, devotees converged at the holy site to witness for themselves a relic which was brought from Sri Lanka, that is believed to belong to Buddha himself.
Many of the devotees were seen patiently waiting their turn to offer prayers and pray at the temple's main shrine.
At the Malaysian Buddhist Association in Jalan Pangkor, devotees were already at the temple from as early as 6am despite torrential rain that caused some low lying areas in the state to be submerged in flood waters.
In his Wesak day message, newly minted Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said mutual respect is one of the key elements of a diverse society like Malaysia.
He said Penang as a melting pot of diversity, is a success story of how people can live together, support one another and progress to be among the top cities in the world.