Lhabab Düchen

October 27, 2021

The Tibetan Buddhist festival day of Lhabab Düchen marks Shakyamuni Buddha’s return to earth from the God Realm of the Thirty-Three, after teaching Dharma for several months to the gods, including his mother Mayadevi, who had died a week after Buddha’s birth and been reborn there.

To celebrate this meritorious occasion Tushita will be offering a special program – you’re most welcome to join us!

Drop in for either session! No registration needed and by donation.

Program on Zoom & Facebook

Both sessions in celebration of Lhabab Düchen – light offerings and Serkong Rinpoche’s teachings – will be live-streamed via Zoom and Tushita’s Facebook Page so, if you can, make sure to follow either space during this day.

The times shown below are in Indian Standard Time, and linked to a Time Zone Converter for your convenience. We recognize that for many outside of India these times may not work. In that case,  we recommend accessing the session recordings.

Schedule

2:30 – 3:45 pm – Light Offering Ceremony with Venerable Drolma

A unique opportunity to sponsor your own butter lamp offering with your special dedication offered on this meritorious day! Click here to sponsor a butter lamp.

4:00 – 5:30 pm – Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche’s Teaching

Topic: Enjoying Life Without Attachment

We are extremely honoured and delighted that Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche has again kindly accepted our request to give online teachings for Tushita, this time on two days, 26 & 27 October, including the very auspicious day of Lhabab Düchen.

Here is a download link to the brief but encompassing Lam Rim text by Je Tsongkhapa, which Rinpoche may reference – The Three Principal Aspects of the Path.

6:30 – 8:00 pm – Insight Into Emptiness with Venerable Drolma

This intermediate online course is already in progress, but one can still register for the video recordings.

And remember! On the auspicious day of Lhabab Düchen karmic results are multiplied by one hundred million times!!!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recommended practices for this special day:
https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/sakadawa/

Video: Lama Zopa Rinpoche Offering the 8 Mahayana Precepts

Lama Zopa Rinpoche taking precepts from the altar before giving precepts, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, May 25, 2020.
Screenshot of YouTube video.

Students wishing to take the eight Mahayana precepts on the merit multiplying days may watch a specially created video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering the precepts. 

During his recent videos from Kopan Monastery, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a three-hour teaching in which he offered the eight Mahayana precepts with commentary, giving special permission to receive the lineage of the eight Mahayana precepts from Rinpoche to anyone who wishes to do so.

The opportunity to receive precepts from Lama Zopa Rinpoche is precious. In order to fully receive the lineage, it is necessary to actually take the precepts. To help facilitate this, we’ve created an hour-long version of the video of Rinpoche offering the precepts specifically for students to watch, take the precepts, and receive the lineage.

When giving his teaching on the precepts, Rinpoche emphasizes how fortunate we are to have met the Mahayana teachings, and to learn and practice Dharma. However, we don’t take advantage of the opportunities we have. Rinpoche explains that we get taken away by wave upon wave of attachment, ignorance, and anger, and that we are completely under their control, so much so that our human life is wasted. Therefore, every day, every hour, every minute, and every second, it is so important for us to use our perfect human rebirth to practice Dharma.

“Taking the eight Mahayana precepts is a way to make life meaningful, to take its essence all day and night, by taking vows,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche has taught. “It is so simple. It is just for one day. Just for one day. It makes it so easy.”

The eight Mahayana precepts can be taken on any day of the year, but their karmic effects are particularly powerful on merit multiplying days. The Tibetan Buddhist festival day of Lhabab Düchen marks Shakyamuni Buddha’s Descent from Tushita and is one of the four great holidays of the Tibetan calendar. Any actions done on this day, both auspicious and harmful, are magnified in their power. Karmic results are multiplied by one hundred million, as cited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic. With so much merit being generated, please remember to also rejoice!

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s and take the eight Mahayana precepts:
https://youtu.be/RUM_lVmU09M

The eight Mahayana precepts are taken from early morning until sunrise the next day. Therefore, this video is meant to be watched early in the morning, before dawn. Together with Rinpoche, you will go through the Ritual for Taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts.

To receive the lineage, it is necessary to repeat the words of the following prayers after Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

  • Prayer for Taking the Precepts
  • Commitment Prayer to Keep the Precepts
  • Mantra of Pure Morality
  • Prayer to Keep Pure Morality

Please be aware that by taking the lineage of the eight Mahayana precepts from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Rinpoche will become one of your gurus.

Links to resources for this video:

Learn about Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recommended practices for the fifteenth day of Saka Dawa:
https://fpmt.org/edu-news/recommended-practices-for-the-fifteenth-day-of-saka-dawa-june-5/

Find more advice and video teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche from Kopan Monastery during the COVID-19 crisis and also links to videos in translation, transcripts, MP3s, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/

Practice advice from our teachers, Dharma study-from-home opportunities, and more can be found on the page “Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.