Professing Faith:
Story of the Tibetan Buddhist festival of Lhabab Duchen
Gregory Elder 11/02/16
Redlands Daily Facts
While the rest of the
world goes on its way with the usual secular and religious holy
days of November — Veterans Day, All Saints, All Souls, the Day of
the Dead and Thanksgiving — our friends in the Tibetan tradition of
Buddhism have a wonderful festival this month known as Lhabab
Duchen.
It traditionally falls
on the 22nd day of the ninth lunar month on the ancient Tibetan
calendar.
This year it will fall on
our secular calendar’s Nov. 22. It’s a great and powerful day for
good deeds and it is held in special reverence in Tibet. This year
it lands only two days before our Thanksgiving.
Tibetan Buddhists are part
of the larger Mahayana Buddhist traditions, which elevates the
Buddha to a cosmic level and places special veneration on the life
and spiritual good deeds of the Buddha. Tibetans celebrate four
such days, each focused on an important part of the Buddha’s life
and work.
To understand the
significance of Lhabab Duchen, perhaps a little bit of Buddhist
back story is necessary. In the sixth century B.C., an Indian
nobleman named Siddhartha Gautama engaged on a spiritual quest in
which he sought the meaning of human life in general, and in
particular he wished to find the path to freedom from
reincarnation. After many days of spiritual struggle and
meditation, he became the Buddha, or the Enlightened One, who had
found this dharma, or teaching. This much is accepted by most
Buddhists.
Tibetan Buddhists add to
the story, saying that in his 41st year of life, the Buddha
ascended to the 33rd heaven, where the gods reside.
Lhabab Duchen is the day
when the Buddha returned to the earth after visiting that 33rd
level of the heavens. While on that exalted level, the Enlightened
One gave spiritual teachings to the gods. He also honored his
mother by freeing her from Samsara, or the wretched cycle of
endless rebirth based on karma, which Buddhists and Hindus regard
as the difficult fate of mankind.
While the gods are at this
high level, there is also desire present. Since desire is the force
that dooms all to rebirth, the Buddha preached to the gods to
assist them.
From a Western perspective
it is worth noting that this wonderful story places the Buddha’s
mother so highly that she resides with the gods themselves, and the
Buddha is superior to the deities, which says a great deal about
how highly he is regarded.
While in that high place,
the Buddha also encountered one of his closest followers whom he
had taught while on earth, a disciple named Maudgalyayana. This
arhat, or perfected soul, had been murdered on earth by robbers,
but his spiritual status was so exalted that he was free from
rebirth. While the Buddha was in the 33rd heaven, Maudgalyayana had
previously been preaching to the dead on how to escape the chains
of karma. Now, out of compassion, he called on the Buddha to return
to his earthly mission, so that he could share his teachings with
men and women.
After a considerable
debate, the Buddha agreed to return to the earth at the next full
moon. When this occurred, Vishvakarma, whom Tibetans regard as the
god of machines, created a triple ladder made of beryl, gold and
silver, on which the Buddha descended back to the earth to continue
his mission.
This return is regarded as
one of the eight greatest deeds of the Buddha by Tibetans, and it
was done out of compassion for humanity. It is this descent back to
our troubled world which is celebrated on Lhabab Duchen.
Tibetan Buddhists regard
Lhabab Duchen as “Buddha multiplying day.” This means that any
compassionate or righteous action performed on this day is
multiplied by 10 million in its spiritual power. On this day in
actual history and modern times, pilgrims will visit Buddhist
monasteries, particularly at Lhasa, which they regard most
sacred.
Pilgrims will there
prostrate themselves on the ground before the sacred images and
burn incense to the gods, and some will paint ladders on the rocks
nearby. The monks will chant special prayers, which are listened to
by the faithful with considerable devotion.
For those cynics who think
your professor just makes all this stuff up, you can watch the
monks chanting for Lhabab Duchen at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvG1mqTj0L4.
Compassionate acts can be
done across the world, such as lighting sacred lamps, because when
the Buddha was in the heavens the faithful lighted light awaiting
his return.
Reciting prayers is very
important because special benefits accrue to those who recite the
“Sutra of Remembering the Three Jewels,” a basic creed, which
includes the words, “In nirvana where all suffering is transcended
he does not abide; his abode is in the very summit of perfection,
residing in that place where he perceives all living beings. Such
are the sublime qualities that are the greatness of the Buddha,
Victorious, Virtuous, and Transcendent.”
Most of all, the Tibetans
believe that being generous with alms for the poor brings
particular good karma and blessings.
In the West, perhaps we
might smile at the simple belief that on one special day, all good
deeds are 10 million times more valuable than those done on any
other day.
But to some wretched soul
who receives an urgently need gift of alms or act of compassion,
perhaps the righteous act is worth infinitely more than words can
say.