"Nomin Kürdin Düütsng"

This is one of the twelve great deeds of the Buddha - the First Turning of the Wheel of the Teaching. Today, festive events were held in all Buddhist temples.

This day was also solemnly celebrated in the main Buddhist temple of Kalmykia.

Traditionally, this holy day began with a ritual procession around the khurul carrying a statue of the Buddha of the future - Maitreya. 

Since ancient times we have called this circumambulation “Määdrin ergts”. The monastic Sangha, headed by the Shajin Lama of Kalmykia Geshe Tenzin Choydak, offered their prayers praising and honoring the Buddha of the Future, for according to the sacred texts it is he who will come into our world after Buddha Shakyamuni. The believers of the republic always take an active part in the procession, carrying Buddhist texts on their shoulders. This circumambulation symbolizes the eternal turning of the Wheel of Dharma. Incidentally, during this ritual the procession stops at the four cardinal directions, where it performs a ceremony of purification and ablution. It is believed that in this way all the participants of Määdrin ergts create favorable karmic conditions for obtaining rebirth during the time of Buddha Maitreya and his continued turning of the Wheel of the Teaching.

After the ritual procession, a festive prayer service was held in the “Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni”. As the Shajin Lama of Kalmykia noted, this day is very significant for every Buddhist: “The Teaching, bestowed more than 2500 years ago, is alive even now, instructing us to direct our actions of body, speech and mind for the benefit of all living beings. It is important for us to practice the Dharma and, of course, to teach this to our children.”