“With chariot and horses, four I came,
Made visible by supranormal power,
And worshipped, wonder working, at his feet,
The wondrous Buddha, Sovereign of the World.”
-Utpalavarṇā , the first person to greet the Buddha on his Descent from the Heavens
- BUDDHIST MOTHER’S DAY: RE-TELLING (AND RE-NAMING) ‘LHABAB DUCHEN’: When milk streamed from a mother’s breasts to Buddha’ mouth and Buddha’s great act of repaying mother’s kindness, about the Buddha’s mother Māya, and her often ignored life and contribution.
- ALL BUDDHAS ARE BORN FROM WOMEN’: Remembering Abhidhamma teachings and Buddha’s mother at a contemporary Buddhist Nālanda in the sacred heart of India here. A talk I gave about the Buddha’s mother, Māya, in 2022 at a leading university in Noida, India.
- The power of a woman’s devotion: Utpalavarṇā, the first to greet Buddha’s Descent from the Heavens (Lhabab Duchen), about the first person (woman) to greet the Buddha on his descent from the divine realms.
Music? Of course, ‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS6n2Hx9Ykk) and ‘Woman’ by John Lennon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvR16OrfuII) ‘Woman, let me try to explain, I never meant to cause you sorrow or pain, let me tell you again and again and again, I love you, now and forever…….after all, I’m forever in your debt!”
Today, may we all remember Lhadzeg and/or Lhabab Duchen, and the incredible acts of Buddha in ascending to the divine realms to repay his mother’s great kindness and bring her (and others) to arhatship. We could even call it the Buddhist Mother’s Day!
Written and originally published by Adele Tomlin in 2021 and 2022.