Buddha descends from god realm
Today, Friday 29 October 2010, is Lhabab Düchen, one of the four special days in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It falls on the 22nd day of the ninth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar, and marks the anniversary of Buddha Shakyamuni’s descent from the god realm to earth. The Buddha’s mother, Queen Mayadevi, had died six days after his birth. When Buddha became enlightened, he saw that his mother had been reborn in the desire god realm known as The Heaven of Thirty-Three (Skt. Trayatrimsha) as a result of her pride. At the age of 41, Buddha manifested in this god realm in order to give teachings to benefit the gods there and to repay the kindness of his mother by liberating her from conditioned existence through spending the three summer months of that year teaching her the Dharma. He was then exhorted to return by Maugalyayana, his close Arhat student, and after a long debate managed to return.
Inauguration of the Lhabab Chorten in Valle de Bravo
It is said that the gods created a stairway made of beryl, gold, and silver which the Buddha descended. He arrived in the town of Kashi (modern-day Varanasi). This is considered to be one of the eight great deeds of the Buddha, marked by one of the eight kinds of stupas entitled “Stupa of Descent from the God Realm” (Tib. Lhabab Chorten). Commemorating this occasion, this style of stupa, decorated with “stairways” in each of the four directions, was first erected at Kashi. In March 2006 the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje visited Mexico and inaugurated a stupa of this type in Valle de Bravo outside Mexico City.
“Düchen” means “great occasion” and like Saga Dawa Duchen, this is a “ten million multiplier” day, multiplying the effects of all positive and negative actions 10 million times! It is therefore considered very useful to engage in positive activities today!
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