The day on which Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and passed away (also known as parinirvana) is celebrated as Sakadawa Day by Tibetan Buddhist traditions and Vesak Day by other Buddhists traditions. Both of these systems use the lunar calendar to calculate the day of commemoration and are often recognized on different days. However, this year both days fall on May 23rd.
Onsite at Jewel Heart Ann Arbor or online via Zoom.
Only the Vesak Day Talk will be available to stream later.
Free and open to all.
Commemorating Sakadawa Day
There is great merit in taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts for 24 hours on Sakadawa Day. The precepts are taken at dawn before the local area’s sunrise. Demo Rinpoche will give the precepts in-person at the Jewel Heart Ann Arbor Center promptly at 5:45am ET. Both the Center and the Zoom link will open at 5:30am to allow participants to be ready by 5:45am. Taking the Eight Mahanayana Precepts for the first time requires in-person transmission from a qualified person. Resources are available here.
Free Vesak Day Public Talk: Farewell to Samsara
Demo Rinpoche realized that most of the world recognizes Vesak Day and began a tradition of giving a free public talk to commemorate it. This year’s talk, entitled Farewell to Samsara, will discuss the specific life experiences that enabled Buddha to recognize the true situation of the continuous cycle of existence known as samsara and the steps to escape it. Buddha’s life experiences serve as an example and inspiration to all his followers.
About Demo Rinpoche
Access a selected Sundays with Gelek Rimpoche teaching from The Gelek Rimpoche Archive for free
For context and background of the Vesak Day teaching, here is a link to selected teachings from The Gelek Rimpoche Archive that Gelek Rimpoche held in 2015. You should also note the Archive contains many other teachings Gelek Rimpoche gave over the years but we think this is a good one to start with.
From the Archive - 2015 Sundays with Gelek Rimpoche
