Celebrating Saga Dawa

Join the Venerable Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche, a senior Tibetan Buddhist teacher and meditation master, with Rubin Museum educator Tashi Chodron in the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room to learn more about Saga Dawa, the holiest month in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar.

Saga Dawa

Saga Dawa celebrates Shakyamuni Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment, and Maha Parinirvana (passing away). The merit of any good deeds that you perform during this month are multiplied many times over—by as many as a hundred million times.

Because their power is multiplied, mantras are repeated many times over during Saga Dawa, with Tibetan Buddhists in the Himalayas traditionally reciting the six-syllable mantra om mani padme hum, which is the mantra of Chenregzi “Avalokiteshvara,” the Bodhisattva of Compassion, whose compassionate activity is boundless. This mantra relieves suffering through sight and hearing and can be recited, carved into stone, and written on prayer flags. It can also be inscribed on prayer wheels—ritual objects believed to release the power of the mantra when turned—which are explored in the Rubin’s exhibition The Power of Intention: Reinventing the (Prayer) Wheel.

In this presentation, Rinpoche will explain the meaning of the six-syllable mantra and describe its benefits. He will also teach a visualization of Avalokitesvara and play the mantra on his flute to deepen the experience. Along with violinist Alex Kalayjian, one of his students, and chant master Lama Ugyen Tenzin, Rinpoche will lead group chants to cultivate compassion and loving kindness, while dedicating the benefits of these chants to world peace.

This program is presented in partnership with Zuni Mountain Stupa.

About the Speaker

The Venerable Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and meditation master. Rinpoche is a holder of the lineage of Rigdzin Pema Lingpa, one of the Five Great Kingly Tertons (Treasure Revealers) of the Nyingma tradition. Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche was recognized as such by both H.H. the 16th Karmapa and H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje), the former Supreme Head of the Nyingma Lineage.

Over the past 30 years, Rinpoche’s Dharma activity has taken him to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Taiwan, Mexico, and the United States. His teachings and translations in the West have been of great benefit to many people.

Rinpoche established the Vairotsana Foundation in California and New Mexico to continue these activities and is now creating a special temple in Tularosa, New Mexico, to address the dangers and sufferings of our times.