You could hear the chimes of temple bells all day, especially at dawn of the full moon day, transporting you to a serene land of meditation.

The chimes echo the chants of the mercy of Buddhism -- mercy of Buddha, Dhamma (preaching) and Sanga (priesthood) in which Buddhists thrive on.

Tomorrow marks the dawn of the day, which reminds all Buddhists of the birth, enlightenment and death of Lord Buddha.

Buddhists the world over will observe Buddha Purnima or Vesak. The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Vatican City writes in a message: "We Christians and Buddhists, cannot close our eyes in the face of these tragic situations. As religious believers, we must turn our gaze to the needs of children. Mobilise our forces and resources to alleviate the sufferings of children and in a special way reach out to those in poorer countries. Our scriptures mention children in a number of places, encouraging us to develop a childlike spirit. I believe that something similar can be found in the texts of Buddhism."

The Buddhist community in Bangladesh will celebrate the occasion observing religious rites and social and cultural events.

"We usually cleanse ourselves and go to temple in the morning, carrying with us our puja (offering)," said Susanta Barua. "Our pooja includes flowers, fruits, plain cooked rice, candles, incense sticks, which are arranged on plates and offered to Lord Buddha. We pray that we too would someday attain nirvana," he added.

"We recall how Prince Siddharta renounced his family at the age of 29, travelled and meditated in search of the truth," Ajanta said. "We teach our children the precepts of Buddhism in phases, the five precepts -- panchasil, eight precepts -- atashil and 10 precepts -- dasashil," she added.

"I love to go to temple. It is such a nice place," said four-year-old Moumita. "When I go back to temple in the evening, I listen to the monks preaching Buddha's life,"

The temples are full of life in the morning as well as in the evening. Colourful lanterns and mandaps (pandals) adorn the temple premises.

Monks in their preaching take the opportunity to enlighten all on the heart of the teachings of the Buddha in the Four Noble Truths, namely, Dukkha or Suffering, the Origin and the cause of suffering, the End or Cessation of suffering, and the Path, which leads to the cessation of all sufferings.

Sri Lanka, a predominant Buddhist country, like Nepal, Myanmar and Indonesia, celebrates Buddha purnima or Vesak in the same fashion. Buddhists adorned in white, carrying yellow, white or red temple flowers are offered at the foot of the Buddha, bringing serenity and calmness.

The evening is a time of glamour. Streets are lit with colourful lanterns. Large pandals depicting stories of Gautama's search for Nirvana, with each segment outlined in coloured lights glistening in various designs, are found almost every where.

The festivities in this part continue till the next full moon day.