Month of Merits:- SAKA DAWA

 

We are delighted to share some images of nuns from Jangchub Choeling and lay people from Mundgod participating in a fasting retreat during the auspicious occasion of Saka Dawa at the main temple of  Jangchub Choeling Nunnery.

Saka Dawa commemorates the holiest and most sacred days in the Tibetan calendar, falling in the fourth month. The special activities during Saka Dawa culminate on the full moon of the 15th lunar day, which this year falls on May 23rd, 2024. This time is associated with three major events in the life of Buddha Shakyamuni: his birth, enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana.

The NYUNGNÉ practice is traced back to Bhikṣuṇī Pelmo, who lived about a thousand years ago. After she became a renunciate, she is supposed to have suffered from leprosy, which she eventually cured with rigorous and committed worship of Avalokiteśvara and the recitation of the mantras associated with Avalokiteśvara.

The practice normally lasts for three days. On the first day, the participants take the vow to observe the eight precepts. They cultivate the thought of Bodhicitta and compassion to undertake the nyungné vow and retreat. Thus, the vow is taken with an altruistic intention to reach enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings and to purify the impurities of all sentient beings.

On the first day, participants have a good meal for lunch by midday. As part of the ritual, they avoid foods like garlic and onions. After lunch on the first day, they cannot eat any solid food but can drink liquids, including tea and juices. On the second day, participants fast the entire day without any food or drink, even avoiding swallowing saliva. They also avoid conversation, both verbal and physical, and instead focus on reciting mantras and prayers. On the morning of the third day, the practitioners end their fast and silence by consuming sacred water.