Today, November 20, 2016, marks the 22nd day of the 9th lunar month, a major anniversary in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha. Last week we marked the 15th day of the 9th lunar month as the day when he decided to descend from the heavens of Tushita (paradise of the 33 gods), in which he had remained for 3 months in order to give teachings to beings in that state of perception. The heavens, in Buddhism, are to be understood as a spiritual state, or vibratory state.
Shakyamuni Buddha ascended into the heavens of Tushita to teach his mother who died 7 days after his birth. Through the insight developed by recognising the nature of mind, he saw that his mother had been reborn in the heavens of Indra and that there were many beings near her who had the virtuous roots that could enable them to be delivered from Samsara. In order to show his gratitude to his mother and to benefit these virtuous beings, the Buddha made a three-month retreat to this world of perceptions in order to deliver the teaching of Abhidharma, which deals with cosmology, psychological analysis, classification of phenomena and metaphysics.
It was on the 22nd day of the 9th lunar month that Shakyamuni Buddha made the descent from Tushita to return to teach the disciples of our present state of perception. This day is known as Lhabab Duchen, the festival of Lhabab Duchen, and marks one of the four major events in the Buddha's life.
On this 22nd day of the 9th lunar month, it is said that all actions, whether positive or negative, will be multiplied by 100 million times. It is therefore important on this day to practice and pay attention to one's actions during the day (actions of the body, speech and mind).
This day is beneficial for practising on the nature of mind that the Buddha recognised and from which he delivered the teaching allowing access to it.
On this day we therefore generate gratitude for the opportunity to be in contact with his teachings and also for all the people who have contributed to it: our family through our birth, our karma and imprints, our contact with the teaching, the masters, and of course, the Buddha.
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