Kathmandu — About 10,000 lights illuminated Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu on Wednesday night as more than 1,000 people gathered for a candlelight vigil honoring victims of Nepal’s recent devastating floods and landslides.
Organized by the U.S.-based InLight Foundation, the vigil brought together people from different sections of Nepali society to remember those who lost their lives, express solidarity with bereaved families and pray for communities affected by the disaster.
Nearly 100 volunteers helped arrange the lights around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, creating a sea of candlelight around the Great Stupa. Participants held candles and oil lamps, observed moments of silence and offered prayers. Some wrote messages of hope, while others wrote the names of relatives and friends lost in the disaster on cards and placed them beside the lights.
Volunteers also created large images of the Nepali flag and a heart on the ground, surrounded by flowers, candles, oil lamps and national flags.
The event was attended by Khyentse Rinpoche, chairman of the InLight Foundation; Geshe Thupten Jinpa, president of the Buddhist Federation of Nepal; Sunil Sharma, officiating director of the Nepal Tourism Board; representatives of the Boudhanath Stupa Development Committee, media and the public.
Speaking at the vigil, Reiki Kurumi, founder of the Healing International System of Spiritual Development, said the gathering was an opportunity to pause after the disaster, remember those who died and care for those still suffering.
During the ceremony, Master Jiumei presented a Chinese calligraphy work of the Heart Sutra to Geshe Tenzin Khyimba, president of the Nepal Buddhist Federation, symbolizing respect and Nepal-China cultural exchange.
Participants later walked around the stupa carrying lights and chanting prayers. A similar prayer and light-offering event was also held at Lumbini, extending the message of remembrance and peace.
The vigil was followed by concrete humanitarian action. Jiumei and colleagues donated to the Nepal Red Cross Society and provided relief supplies to families who lost their homes in the disaster on Thursday.
From lighting candles in memory of the dead to providing assistance to survivors, the initiative sought to turn prayer into action — remembrance into compassion, and compassion into help.
