Today is Lhabab Duchen

Today is Lhabab Duchen. We celebrate Shakyamuni Buddha’s coming back to earth to teach us. He spent several months in the Heaven of 33 Celestial Realm teaching his mother and other Arya Bodhisattvas (highly realized beings who have mastered both Bodhicitta – Universal Compassion – and the wisdom realizing emptiness. On this day we celebrate Shakyamuni’s return out of compassion to teach and guide us. Today is one of the four most important days in the Buddhist calendar. The others are: displays miracles, to preserve the Buddhadharma by philosophically defeating Hindu scholars (during those times in India the stakes in these debates were high, as the losers were required to adopt the winner’s philosophical tradition); Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment; and Shakyamuni Buddha’s subsequent 46 years of teaching, beginning at Rishi Bantani (Deer Park), Varanasi. The best you can avoid harm to others and to yourself, and wherever possible try to have positive beneficial thoughts and actions. Today is a marvelous day to study, reflect, meditate, and put into action the teachings of the Buddha.