Saga Dawa: Celebrating the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment, and Parinirvana

Saga Dawa, the holiest month in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar, celebrates Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana. The merit of any good deeds that you perform during this month are considered to be multiplied many times over—by as much as two hundred million times.

Join guest speaker Geshe Tashi Dorje, members of the local Nepalese community from Shindupalchhok Tatopani Phulping Katti, and Rubin Museum educator Tashi Chodron in the sixth floor gallery for a close look at the exhibition The Second Buddha: Master of Time, about the life and legends of Buddhist master Padmasambhava. Learn how Padmasambhava and Saga Dawa have been honored throughout the Himalayas, especially in the Nepali village of Phulping Katti. Geshe will talk about his community’s efforts to rebuild Nepali villages after the devastating earthquakes in May 2015, and will lead group chants to cultivate compassion and loving kindness, while dedicating benefits to world peace.

Presented with the Center for Universal Peace

About the Speaker

Geshe Tashi Dorje is the director of the Center for Universal Peace in New York and chant master in the Gelugpa tradition. He was born in a remote village called Phulping Katti on the border of Tibet and Nepal. In 1991 he received the Getsul (Samsrana) ordination blessing from His Eminence Kachen Lobsang Soepa, former abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, and in 1993 he received Bikshu (Gelong) Ordination Blessing from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Ten years later he was awarded the Rigchung degree upon completion of the perfection of wisdom course. In September 2005, he was appointed to be the chant master, the third-highest ranking official of Sera Mey Monastery. Among his many additional honors, he received a doctorate in Buddhism, concentrating in the Five Major Texts from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. In the United States, Geshe la teaches dharma and the Tibetan language to Tibetans, Nepalese, and Westerners.

He has also guided meditations for Awakening Practice in the Rubin’s Shrine Room, performed ritual chantings at Carnegie hall, attended the interfaith breakfast with the mayor of New York City, and participated in the Buddha’s birthday celebration at the United Nations.

Image Credit

Scenes from the Life of Padmasambhava; Bhutan or Tibet; ca. 18th century; Pigments on cloth h. 47.2441 x 98.4252 in. (120 x 250 cm); Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, No. 14091; L195.6.1