Program of the Celebration of the Birth, Enlightenment, and Passing into Mahaparinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni

On May 23, with a great festive celebration, the faithful of Kalmykia will mark the Day of the Birth, Enlightenment, and Passing into Mahaparinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni.

✅By tradition, the main Buddhist holiday will begin with the taking of the one-day Mahayana vows. There are eight of them: abstaining from killing, stealing, lying, adultery; abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and intoxicants; from sitting on a “high” throne; abstaining from singing songs, playing musical instruments, and dancing; abstaining from adornments and the use of cosmetics and perfume; as well as abstaining from taking food in the afternoon. These rules of moral discipline are taken for 24 hours. They will be bestowed by a monk of the Central Khurul — Geshe Lobsang Changchub. It begins at 4:00 a.m.

✅At 9:00 a.m., a solemn prayer service will begin in the prayer hall of “The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni.” The clergy will offer their prayers to the Great Teacher.

✅On this day, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., an exhibition of sacred relics for contemplation and veneration will be open in the prayer hall: the Sharira of Buddha Shakyamuni and a sprout of the Bodhi tree.

✅And at 15:00, in the prayer hall of the Central Khurul, the venerable Geshe Lharampa Jagba Gyatso will hold a lecture 

on the foundations of Buddhism and the taking of the vows of Refuge.

✅At 17:00, the celebrations will continue with the hanging of a large thangka of Buddha Shakyamuni on the facade of the khurul (on the northern side); the monks will perform the ritual of ablution and consecration