Taking One-Day Vows on Such a Sacred Day — for the Benefit of All
Today is not just a “matsg ödr,” the 15th lunar day, but a great Buddhist holiday dedicated to the Day of the Display of Buddha Shakyamuni's Miraculous Powers. And it is very important on this day to perform as many virtuous acts and deeds as possible.
From early morning, many believers gathered at the main Buddhist temple of Kalmykia to take the one-day Mahayana vows.
A monk of the Central Khurul, the Venerable Geshe Lobsang Changchub, told those gathered about the infinite benefit of taking the vows, about the importance of cultivating diligence within oneself and the aspiration to keep the vows pure. The teacher reminded the believers that there are eight of them, including: refraining from killing, lying, stealing, sexual misconduct, consuming alcohol and other intoxicating substances, sitting on high seats, using perfumes and wearing ornaments, as well as refraining from eating in the afternoon.
“Today I take these one-day vows and will keep them until the next dawn, in order to attain the state of Buddhahood, for the benefit and happiness of all living beings” — it is precisely with such motivation that we should take these vows, the Venerable Geshe Changchub noted in his address to the believers. He also drew the attention of those gathered to the fact that virtue performed on this day grows to incredible proportions. And the merit of offering a single butter lamp on this day surpasses the merit of offering hundreds and thousands of lamps at other times.
