Jakarta.  Around 10,000 Buddhists gathered on Saturday at the Si Mian Fo Temple in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK), Jakarta, to welcome Bhante Thudong, a group of 38 monks on a 2,500-kilometer spiritual journey from Thailand to Indonesia.

The event marked a significant moment leading up to Vesak, one of the holiest days in the Buddhist calendar, celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

The monks’ journey, known as Thudong, is a traditional pilgrimage marked by simplicity and endurance, with the group walking across Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore before crossing into Indonesia via Batam. Their stop at the Si Min Fo Temple is part of a larger pilgrimage that will culminate at Borobudur Temple in Central Java for the main Vesak celebration.

The welcoming ceremony was a heartwarming display of religious harmony. A 780-meter-long Indonesian flag was unfurled and held aloft by Buddhist devotees, Islamic boarding school students (santri), and members of the Tridharma community. Organizers said the gesture symbolized the strength of religious tolerance in Indonesia.

"We raised the red-and-white flag shoulder to shoulder --santri, Buddhists, and Tridharma followers-- as a symbol of unity and religious harmony in Indonesia. That is also the mission of these Tudong monks, they want to spread peace across the world," said Soegiandi, chairman of the Si Mian Fo Foundation.

The pilgrims were also greeted with pindapatta, a traditional alms-giving ceremony in which devotees offer food and drinks to monks. The offerings collected during the ceremony will later be distributed to those in need, underscoring the social as well as spiritual values of the event.

Following the stop at Si Min Fo Temple, the Thudong monks will continue their journey to Borobudur, where thousands more are expected to gather for the pinnacle of the Vesak celebration on May 15.