About event:

Please join Chenrezig Institute Sangha and Lay community as we come together to celebrate Chokhor Duchen, known in English as “Turning the Wheel of Dharma,”

This holy day commemorates the anniversary of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching.

It is said that for seven weeks after his enlightenment, the Buddha did not teach. Afterward, Indra and Brahma offered a Dharmachakra and a conch shell and requested Guru Shakyamuni Buddha to teach. Accepting, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma for the first time at Sarnath by teaching the four noble truths.

Schedule for Chokhor Duchen

‍ ‍ Saturday 18 July:

• 7:30am Raising the Big Shakyamuni Buddha Thangka in the Nalanda Masters Garden

• 8:00am                        Setting up Water Bowl offerings in front of the Thangka

• 9:30am                        Prayers in the Nalanda Masters Garden

• 12:00pm                        Lunch (Please book your lunch in advance)

• 6:00pm                        Shakyamuni Buddha Puja (in the Tara Room) followed by Light Offering Ceremony

Please refer to  Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice for merit multiplying days, in particular:

• Taking the eight Mahayana precepts: students can receive the lineage of these precepts from a specially produced video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche granting them, recorded in 2020 at Kopan Monastery. 

• Reciting the Sutra Remembering the Three Jewels.

If you would like to make a prayer request or donation for this Puja, please use the section below.