Buddhists celebrate Prabarana Purnima

Buddhists in Bangladesh celebrated Prabarana Purnima, one of their major religious festivals, on Sunday with prayers, religious rituals and colourful festivities, seeking peace, harmony and universal friendship among all living beings.

The festival marks the end of the three-month-long Buddhist Lent, known as Vassa, observed by Buddhist monks.

On the occasion, Buddhists fly lighted balloons made of thin paper, also called Phanus Baji, in the evening.

When the Buddha renounced the world, he cut his hair and threw it into the air, saying: “If my aim and mission of renunciation are fruitful, this tress of hair will go upwards, and if my object and ambition become fruitless, it will fall on the ground.”�"UNB