DURIAN Satuditha food offering and plant growing festival will be held at Taung Pula mountain pagoda in Watwun village-tract, PyinOoLwin township, near Peik Chin Myaung, which attracts about 1000 pilgrims every day, Ashin Pyinnya Bawga (Taung Pula) told The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).

The durian feast was held last year for the first time, with only about 1,000 pieces donated, but this year’s event will be held on 25 May starting from 9:30 am and will offer 3,000 to 5,000 durians together with a tree-growing activity.

“Last year, durian Satuditha was held for the first time. It wasn’t awe-inspiring. As we regularly held a daily Satuditha with meals, some durian farm owners called me to sell at an affordable price to donate. Then, a durian feast was held unexpectedly. But last year’s event was quite successful. It attracted many more pilgrims. So, we plan to continue to hold durian Satuditha this year as a tradition. This year, we will also hold a tree-growing event,” he said.

The day on which durian Satuditha was held last year broke the record by surpassing the number of pilgrims on full moon days of Thadingyut, Waso and Tazaungdine. The inclusion of the tree growing event this year aims to promote love for trees, high regard for trees and voluntary participation in it, the Sayadaw said.

In addition, the entertainment programme with performers also attracts attention, and many Yangon-based travel operators are now arranging pilgrimage tours.

“Some Yangon-based operators said they were planning a timely pilgrimage during our durian feast. Some will stay overnight. We will remind ourselves of the habit of taking the cleanliness and clear tidiness around the mountain seriously with paintings and posters before the festival. We also remind the people to grow trees. A dhamma discourse was given together with the festival last year. We will hold a separate Dhamma discourse this year,” the Sayadaw told The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).

Taung Pula is accessible 24 hours a day and receives around 1000 guests daily, while free meals are provided from morning till evening to the pilgrims on weekends, full moon days and new -moon days.

Taung Pula mountain is a famous tourist attraction site in PyinOoLwin, with many resort areas where you can enjoy natural landscapes and a sea of clouds.

MT/ZN

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