The Shajin Lama of Kalmykia Bestowed Vows on the Faithful on the First Day of Urs Sar

Today is the first day of the sacred month of Urs Sar. Many of the faithful greeted it within the walls of “The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni.” For them, the Shajin Lama of Kalmykia, Geshe Tenzin Choydak, bestowed vows at 7:00 a.m. Having made a prostration before Buddha Shakyamuni, those gathered took the tser — they gave up the consumption of meat, fish, and eggs, and the use of alcohol and smoking. Each determined for themselves the period of abstinence.

As Geshe Tenzin Choydak, who conducted the ceremony in the Kalmyk language, noted, it is important to understand the true reason for one's actions. For example, by giving up the consumption of meat, fish, and eggs, a person learns love and compassion for all living beings. By giving up smoking and alcohol, one improves one's own health and that of the people around them.

“In general, this is about self-discipline and the ability to understand that one can easily live without that which harms the human body and clouds the mind. If you also perform spiritual practices during this period and accumulate buyn, this will create the causes for our well-being,” the Shajin Lama said, addressing the faithful