Temple of Zoom: 200,000 Thai Buddhists mark holy day via video link

Buddhist monks hold candles during a ceremony to commemorate Makha Bucha Day at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple, following the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, February 26, 2021. Picture taken with long exposure. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

BANGKOK (Reuters) - More than 200,000 Buddhist devotees gathered via Zoom video link on Friday to attend an annual prayer and lantern ritual held in Thailand to mark Makha Bucha Day, one of the religion's holiest holidays.

The ritual began with a prayer in Pali, the language of ancient Buddhist scriptures, from a podium inside a sacred stupa after which hundreds of saffron-robed monks lit a sea of lanterns amid chanting.