The Buddhist community in Bangladesh has announced it will downsize an upcoming religious feast to express solidarity with Rohingya Muslim refugees.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled ethnic violence in majority-Buddhist Myanmar during recent weeks.
There are fears that, as in the past, the small Buddhist population of majority-Muslim Bangladesh could be subjected to revenge attacks over the persecution of Muslim Rohingya by Myanmar Buddhists.
The United Forum of Buddhists in Bangladesh said that Probarana Purnima, the second largest annual Buddhist feast, would be conducted on a smaller scale than usual in order to save money to help Rohingya refugees.
Ashoke Barua, the group’s chief coordinator, said the move is also aimed at highlighting atrocities against Rohingyas in Myanmar.
Ceremony
Barua said the festival this year, which falls on October 5, would curtail a popular ceremony in which Buddhists send into the sky colourful paper lanterns as a symbol of enlightenment.
He noted that Buddhists in Bangladesh have sent a “memorandum” to the Myanmar government calling for the protection of Rohingya in Rakhine State.
“No sane Buddhist can support what is being done to Rohingya in Myanmar,” Barua said.
“Lord Buddha preached peace and humanity, but what they are doing is completely the opposite.”
Probarana Purnima marks the end of a three-month long seclusion of monks inside their monasteries for self-edification and atonement.