Lhabab Duchen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lha Bab Düchen (Tib. ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་, Wyl. ''lha babs'' (divine descent) ''dus chen'' (great time)) is one of the four major
Buddhist festival This is a list of holidays and festivals celebrated within the Buddhist tradition. Holidays *Vesak: The Buddha's birthday is known as Vesak and is one of the major festivals of the year. It is celebrated on the first full moon day in May, or the ...
s commemorating four events in the life of
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
. Lha Bab Düchen occurs on the 22nd day of the 9th Tibetan lunar month and celebrates Buddha's return to the human realm after teaching his mother for three months in the God's realm. It is widely celebrated in Buddhist Asian countries including
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
,
Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, where the celebration corresponds to local calendars. Lha Bab Duchen is an annual
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
festival celebrated to observe the Buddha's return from the God's realm, known as
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
's realm of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Also called Trāyastriṃśa heaven, he went there to repay his mother
Mayadevi Rati (, ) is the Hindu goddess of love, carnal desire, lust, passion, and sexual pleasure. Usually described as the daughter of ''Prajapati'' Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, the chief consort and the assistant of Kama (Kamadeva), the go ...
's kindnesses by preaching to her and to the gods. Mayadevi attained
arhatship In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
.Wendy Garling, ''Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life'', Boulder: Shambhala Publications, 2016, pgs 328. According to events in the Buddha's life, the Buddha had ascended the Gods realm at the age of 45 in order to give teachings to his mother, who had been reborn in
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
's God realm. His ascent was accomplished by the lowering of the mountain summits to lift him to the teaching place. The
Kangyur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur and the Tengyur. The ''Kangyur'' or ''Kanjur'' is Buddha's recorded teachings (or the 'Translation of ...
describes his seat "''as a gleaming white stone surrounded by a beautiful grove of trees''". He taught continuously for three months to repay her kindnesses, while also benefiting the gods in that realm. The Buddha was then exhorted by his disciple and representative
Maudgalyayana Maudgalyāyana (), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana or by his birth name Kolita, was one of Gautama Buddha, the Buddha's closest disciples. Described as a contemporary of disciples such as Subhuti, Śāriputra ('), and Mahākāśyapa (), he i ...
to return to the human realm, and after a long debate under a full moon the Buddha agreed to return. He returned to the human realm a week later, after descending a celestial ladder surrounded by rainbows and celestial devotees. The special triple ladder was manifested by the gods
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
and
Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...
,Rigpa Shedra, "Lhabab Duchen", 18 November 2019 and the Buddha landed at
Sankassa Sankissa (also ''Sankasia'', ''Sankassa'' and ''Sankasya'') is an ancient city in India renown for the descent of Gautama Buddha from the Tushita heavens where he taught his mother before landing at Sankissa. Considered among the eight great ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, which is counted among the Eight Great Places in the Buddha's life. Other sources credit Viswakarma, the Hindu-Buddhist god of machines, with the ladder. According to the ''Mahamaya Sutra'', awaiting his arrival in Sankassa were King Prasenajit and the Buddha's sangha. The Buddha's descent on the celestial ladder is considered one of ''
The Eight Great Events in the Life of Buddha The Eight Great Events (''aṣṭamahāpratihārya'') are a set of episodes in the life of the Buddha, Gautama Buddha that by the time of the Pala Empire of North India around the 9th century had become established as the standard group Life of ...
''.British Museum
/ref> On Lha Bab 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.


See also

*
Abhidhamma Day Abhidhamma Day (), also known as Abhidhamma Divas in India, is a Theravada Buddhist tradition celebrated primarily in MyanmarReligious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations' J. Gordon ...


Notes

During this day, positive or negative actions are multiplied 100 million times.


References

*http://www.fpmtabc.org/prayers_mmdays.php *https://fpmt.org/media/resources/dharma-dates/ and select November *Buddhist Art News https://web.archive.org/web/20160304214148/https://buddhistartnews.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/lhabab-duchen-the-day-buddha-descended-from-tushita-heavens/ *Legge, James, tran. A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886; reprint, New York: Dover Publications Inc.,1965. Chapter XVII.


External links


Professing Faith: Story of the Tibetan Buddhist festival of Lhabab Duchen
Public holidays in Bhutan Tibetan Buddhist festivals Festivals in India Tibetan Buddhist art and culture November observances Observances set by the Tibetan calendar {{Tibet-stub