Saga Dawa Duchen:
The Puja of Paying Homage and Making Offering to Lord Buddha and the 16 Arhats
This puja is to invoke the blessings of the Victorious Ones and their sons to bring forth auspiciousness and happiness for all.
The thangka of Lord Buddha Sakyamuni surrounded by the 16 Arhats (Tib. Neten Chudruk གནས་བརྟན་བཅུ་དྲུག་) and an assembly of bodhisattvas, Dharma protectors and the four great kings.
To benefit the future beings after his Mahaparinirvana, Buddha Shakyamuni personally selected the Sixteen Arhats from among his disciples and requested them to remain in the world to protect the Dharma. At the time of parinirvana, they vowed to remain in the world to protect and preserve the Dharma until the arrival of the forthcoming Buddha Maitreya. Merely visualizing Lord Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by the Sixteen Arhats and an assembly of bodhisattvas generates great merit and blessing to realize the profound insight of the Buddha’s teachings.
Paying homage and making offerings to the Sixteen Arhats pleases all the Victorious Ones and invokes immense blessings. All obstacles on the path to enlightenment will be pacified. One will be endowed with the perfect outer and inner conditions to practice Dharma. The ability and capacity to study, understand and realize the scriptures will also be heightened.
May the faultless teaching of the Buddha flourish and spread in all directions!
May the supreme holders of the teachings remain for hundreds of kalpas!
May virtue and excellence pervade throughout the world!
And may the benefits of self and others be spontaneously accomplished!
The Auspicious Saga Dawa Duchen:
According to the Drukpa Kargyu texts, the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar is an especially sacred day, commemorating the six major life events of Lord Buddha: Queen Maya’s miraculous conception; Lord Buddha's extraordinary birth; Prince Siddartha cut off his hair to renounce worldly life as a bhikkhu; his victory over all Maras; his attainment of perfect enlightenment, and his passing into Maha Parinirvana. All these six events took place on the full-moon-day of Saga Dawa – the Saga Dawa Duchen.
Choegon Rinpoche has set this day as Dechen Choekhor Mahavihara’s Open Day to inspire the nearby communities on Lord Buddha’s teachings and the monastic lives of Dechen Choekhor’s sangha. Vegetarian meals will be served to all participants.
All are urged to abstain from negative deeds and strive to endeavor in merits and wisdom accumulation. All virtue and wrongdoing have 100 million times multiplying effect.
Should you wish to find out more details about this puja, please write to us: web@dechenchoekhor.org
Thank you!