A triple celebration took place at the Central Khurul of Kalmykia
Today, at “The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni,” three great events were celebrated at once. The first of them is the Descent of Buddha Shakyamuni from the heaven of the Thirty-three Deities (Lhabab Duchen).
The festive celebrations began at 04:30 in the morning with the taking of the Eight Mahayana Precepts. Geshe Janchub bestowed the precepts upon all who wished. People who took the precepts must not, over the course of the day, perform eight deeds, among which are: refraining from killing, lying, stealing, adultery, the use of alcohol and other intoxicating substances, sitting on high seats, the use of perfumes, and the wearing of adornments.
According to legend, on this day Buddha Shakyamuni returned from the heaven of the Thirty-three Deities, where he had bestowed the Teaching upon his mother Mahamaya. This holiday can also be considered a day of honoring mothers, since the Buddha’s deed toward his mother, who passed away early, shows the importance of a grateful attitude of children toward their mothers. For according to the Buddhist conception of rebirth, everyone in the cycle of samsara could have been our mother.
On the eve, the volunteers and monks of the khurul decorated the Dugan (the large prayer hall), cleaned it, set out offerings, and carried out other preparatory work. In keeping with the good tradition that has already taken shape, on the eve of the festive prayer service the volunteers and staff of the khurul assembled food packages for socially vulnerable families. This time the packages were sent to the social services department of the Ketchenerovsky District.
This year “Lhabab Duchen” coincided with the birthday of the Shajin Lama of Kalmykia, Telo Tulku Rinpoche. On behalf of the monastic community and all the faithful, the abbot of the khurul, Andzha Gelong, congratulated the Head of the Buddhists of Kalmykia. The monks offered Rinpoche a mandala and the symbols of speech, body, and mind, and also read long-life prayers composed by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and His Eminence Bogdo Gegen IX for the Shajin Lama. Representatives of the “Tilopa” Buddhist center also congratulated the Supreme Lama of Kalmykia with wishes of long life; they held a tsog dedicated to the birthday of the Shajin Lama.
On this same day, representatives of the “Bilgin Dala” foundation presented to the Central Khurul, as a gift, a copy of the “Lamrim Chenmo” (The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) in todo bichig. According to the senior administrator Yonten Gelong, in the near future a group of scholars and translators will begin work on rendering the text into modern Kalmyk, and it will become available to all the residents of Kalmykia.
Upon completion of the prayer service, all the faithful were treated to Kalmyk tea, bortsyk, and a festive cake.
