Exciting News!
Dear Sangha Members,
We have some exciting news to share with you.
We are happy to introduce our new Resident Lama, Loppön Rapjee Wangchuk. We wish that you all will come and welcome Loppon Rapjee here this month!
Loppön Rapjee Wangchuk is a great source of knowledge and experience in many aspects of Vajrayana Buddhism. He was born in Pemakod, India, where he started his Buddhist education and doing his preliminary practices of Ngöndro at a very young age. He later went to Namdroling, the monastic seat of the 11th Throneholder of the Palyul lineage, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, the late Head of the Nyingma tradition and studied all forms of Vajrayana rituals. He became very proficient and particularly well known for his performance skills in the Palyul masked dances (cham). He later entered shedra in the monastery, a nine-year college of higher Buddhist philosophical studies and graduated with a degree of Loppön (acharya or professor) in 1999. After receiving his title as a Loppön in 2000, he was chosen by H. H. Penor Rinpoche to be his personal attendant. He had served His Holiness with utmost devotion at his fullest capacity for over a decade during which he had the good fortune to receive numerous teachings and empowerments from His Holiness and travelled to many countries to assist in the various ritual practices and lama dances. Loppön Rapjee is an expert in creating Tibetan Sacred Mandalas and has directed many mandala constructions in the Palyul centers. Under the guidance of His Holiness, Loppön Rapjee has been the Tza Lung teacher both in the Annual Summer Program at Palyul Ling Retreat Center in upstate New York, and at the Namdroling Monastery for many years since 2001. He has benefitted many monastic and lay practitioners around the world.
Lhabab Duchen Practice – NOVEMBER 15
Next week, we will have our first in-person Fall practice at our Center with Loppon Rapjee leading the Lhabab Duchen practice. This practice is one of the most sacred days of the Buddhist year which commemorates Buddha Shakyamuni’ s descent from the God realm after travelling there to liberate his mother from cyclic existence. It is considered so auspicious to practice on this day that any merit practiced this day is said to be multiplied 10 million times. Please see description below for more information about Lhabab Duchen and the practice.
EVENT: Lhabab Duchen Practice
NOVEMBER 15th: 7 PM – 8:15 PM
Practice on the Sutra “Recalling the Exalted Three Jewels”
Shakyamuni Liturgy “Treasury of Blessings”
Homages and Offerings to the Arhat Elders.
You can bring offerings of fruits, flowers, incenses or candles. You can find and download the practice book that is going to be used through the link below:
Lhabab Duchen
Lhabab Düchen (Tib. ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་, Wyl. lha babs dus chen) is one of the four Buddhist festivals commemorating four events in the life of the Buddha, according to Tibetan traditions. Lhabab Düchen occurs on the 22nd day of the ninth lunar month according to Tibetan calendar and widely celebrated in Tibet and Bhutan. The festival is also celebrated in other Buddhist Asian countries including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos where it is celebrated a few weeks before the Tibetan and Bhutanese version.
Lhabab Duchen is a Buddhist festival celebrated to observe the Buddha’s descent from the Trāyastriṃśa heaven down to earth.
According to legend, the Buddha ascended the Trāyastriṃśa heaven temporarily at the age of 41, in order to give teachings to benefit the gods in that desire realm, and to repay the kindness of his mother by liberating her from Samsara.
He was exhorted by his disciple and representative Maudgalyayana to return, and after a long debate and under a full moon agreed to return. He returned to earth a week later by a special triple ladder prepared by Viswakarma, the god of machines. This event is considered to be one of the eight great deeds of the Buddha.
On Lhabab Duchen, the effects of positive or negative actions are multiplied ten million times. It is part of Tibetan Buddhist tradition to engage in virtuous activities and prayer on this day.
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