Celebrating the Saga Dawa Düchen

 

Lhomon Education students and teachers celebrated the 'Saga Dawa Düchen' in our humble ways. Why do we have to celebrate it? What is the significance of it? Well, generally Saga Dawa Düchen is the month in which the anniversary of Buddha Śākyamuni's birth, enlightenment and parinirvāṇa took place. All these important occasions happened on the fourth month of the lunar calendar, so it is considered the most auspicious month of the year for Buddhists. For us, it is known as bumgyur Dawa (the month of merits), which means “merits multiplied by a hundred thousand times. Merit has paramount importance in our culture. We believe that it influences our ability to realize the truth taught by the Buddha. Besides, it influences our worldly activities such as determining one’s life, wealth, accomplishing tasks etc. It is a big deal.

Most importantly, we need to understand that, we celebrate the occasion because to commemorate our own real identity, the uncontrived Buddha, the authentic nature of our mind that is within us. This is the most important celebration of all the celebrations in the world, including our birthday. So, Saga Dawa Düchen gives us this opportunity to celebrate the historical Buddha and the Buddha within us. So, making this connection is all about genuinely celebrating the Düchen.

But how do we make this connection? Well, for us, we did several activities to make that connection: we talked about the historical Buddha and his teachings; we gazed at his statue and its parts; we recited mantras and prayers; we offered flower and light; we offered bath offering to the Buddha, and practised the meditation. All these activities are bridges and means to connect between historical Buddha and the Buddha within us.

Here are a few thoughts and views shared by our young students as they celebrated the day. Sonam Phuntso, 12, said, “We are asked to bring flowers to the temple and make offerings to the Buddha.”

Sangay Thinlay, 10, said, “I learned that we have to refrain from harming others and eating meats during the Vesak month.” He added, “We offer bath to the Buddha so that we accumulate merits.”

Ngawang Jamphel, 13, another student said, “If we don’t have anything to offer, it is ok to pick a tree leaf and make an offering to the Buddha.”

Thus, such celebration is a very important activity for our students and teachers.