A ceremony to water banyan trees dedicated to sacred Bo trees took place on the platform of the Shwedagon Pagoda on the morning of full moon day of Kason, 11 May, according to the Pagoda Board of Trustees.

The ceremony was jointly organized by the Yangon Region government and the Shwedagon Pagoda Board of Trustees.

It was reported that members of the board, members of religious associations and staff of the board offered dawn meals, fruits, flowers, water, oil lights and joss sticks to the Buddha Image in the prayer hall on the southern platform at dawn. They also donated dawn meals to Ovadacariya Sayadaws at the ancient Buddha images’ prayer hall.

At 7 am, a ceremony to pour water on a banyan tree dedicated to the sacred Bo tree was held at the northeast corner of the platform, attended by Ovadacariya Sayadaws of the Pagoda Board of Trustees, Chief Minister of Yangon Region U Soe Thein, Commander of Yangon Command Brig-Gen Pyae Sone Lin, regional ministers, members of the board and staff.

They donated offertories to Ovadacariya Sayadaws. On the occasion, Ovadacariya Sayadaw of the board, Ovadacariya Sayadaw of Tipitakadhara Selection Board Aggamaha Pandita Aggamaha Ganthavacaka Pandita Presiding Patron of Pali Tekkatho Nyaungdon Monastery Bhaddanta Narada Bhivamsa (Hla Yadana Sayadaw) delivered a sermon, and the congregation shared merits gained.

Ovadacariya Sayadaws and attendees to the ceremony powered water on the banyan tree at the northeast corner of the platform and recited religious verses.

Htun Htun/TTA

#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar