Celebrating Buddha's birthday during COVID

Screens show devotees gathering via the Zoom application during Vesak Day, an annual celebration of Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death at the Dhammakaya temple amid the coronavirus pandemic in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, May 26, 2021....more

A Buddhist monk wearing a face mask lights candles as screens show devotees gathering via the Zoom application during Vesak Day in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Buddhist monks wearing face masks light candles during Vesak Day in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Screens show devotees gathering via the Zoom application during Vesak Day in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Candles are lit during Vesak Day, an annual celebration of Buddha's birth in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Buddhist monks wearing face masks light candles during Vesak Day in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Buddhist monks wearing face masks light candles during Vesak Day in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

A woman walks carrying a candle inside a temple during the celebrations of Vesak Day in Bangkok, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A person prays in front of a Buddha statue during the celebrations of Vesak Day in Bangkok, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A person carries a candle inside a temple during the celebrations of Vesak Day in Bangkok, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A Buddhist monk wearing a protective mask walks around the Sewu temple during the celebrations of Vesak Day in Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Buddhist monks wearing protective masks walk around the Sewu temple during the celebrations of Vesak Day in Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

A monk touches Buddha's footprint inside a temple during the celebrations of Vesak Day in Bangkok, Thailand, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Indonesian Buddhist monks walk next to Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, during the celebrations of Vesak Day in Magelang, Central Java province, Indonesia, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Buddhist monks wearing protective masks take part on a ritual at the Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, in Magelang, Central Java province, Indonesia, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Indonesian Buddhists wearing protective masks offer prayers at Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world in Magelang, Central Java province, Indonesia, May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan