Today on the 22nd day of the ninth month of the Lunar calendar is Lha-bab Duchen, one of the most important days in the Buddhist calendar, the grand celebration of Buddha's Lha (divine) bab (descent), marking the descent of the Buddha from the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven (the Heaven belonging to the thirty-three deities). According to sources… Continue reading REMEMBERING THE DAY BUDDHA DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENLY REALMS (LHA-BAB DUCHEN): Buddha’s mother, Queen Māya and his devoted student, Utpalavarṇā
Tag: Buddha’s mother Maya
REMEMBERING THE DAY BUDDHA DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENLY REALMS (LHA-BAB DUCHEN): Buddha’s mother, Queen Māya and his devoted student, Utpalavarṇā
“From women…buddhas come into this world…." “You who have been born from my womb so many times, have now rendered me a recompense. In one birth, from being a slave I became the wife of the king of Benares, but that exaltation was not equal to the privilege I now receive. From the time of… Continue reading REMEMBERING THE DAY BUDDHA DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENLY REALMS (LHA-BAB DUCHEN): Buddha’s mother, Queen Māya and his devoted student, Utpalavarṇā
‘ALL BUDDHAS ARE BORN FROM WOMEN’: Remembering Abhidhamma teachings and Buddha’s mother at a contemporary Buddhist Nālanda in the sacred heart of India
"I tell you, monks, there are two people who are not easy to repay. Which two? Your mother and father. Even if you were to carry your mother on one shoulder and your father on the other shoulder for 100 years, and were to look after them by anointing, massaging, bathing, and rubbing their limbs,… Continue reading ‘ALL BUDDHAS ARE BORN FROM WOMEN’: Remembering Abhidhamma teachings and Buddha’s mother at a contemporary Buddhist Nālanda in the sacred heart of India
BUDDHIST MOTHER’S DAY: RE-TELLING (AND RE-NAMING) ‘LHABAB DUCHEN’: When milk streamed from a mother’s breasts to Buddha’s mouth and Buddha’s great act of repaying mother’s kindness
“From women…buddhas come into this world…." "But when Queen Māyā saw the immense might Of her son, like that of a seer divine, She could not bear the delight it caused her; So she departed to dwell in the divine realms." ---excerpt from Buddhacarita on Queen Māyā's death "I tell you, monks, there are two… Continue reading BUDDHIST MOTHER’S DAY: RE-TELLING (AND RE-NAMING) ‘LHABAB DUCHEN’: When milk streamed from a mother’s breasts to Buddha’s mouth and Buddha’s great act of repaying mother’s kindness
ORIGINS OF SECRET MANTRA (DAY 12). BUDDHA THE RADICAL REVOLUTIONARY AND FEMINIST: WHEN ROYALTY BOWED TO LOWER CASTES AND WOMEN BECAME FULLY-ORDAINED SANGHA (by 17th Karmapa)
"Look at the disciples all together,their energy,their sincere effort.This is homage to the buddhas. Maya gave birth to Gautamafor the sake of us all.She has driven back painof the sick and dying." --Excerpt from Maha Pajapati (Gotami) Theri: A Mother's Blessing" (Thig 6.6) “For the Buddha, Gautama, his chief male disciples were Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, while… Continue reading ORIGINS OF SECRET MANTRA (DAY 12). BUDDHA THE RADICAL REVOLUTIONARY AND FEMINIST: WHEN ROYALTY BOWED TO LOWER CASTES AND WOMEN BECAME FULLY-ORDAINED SANGHA (by 17th Karmapa)
ORIGINS OF SECRET MANTRA (DAY 11): ‘CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION’; FROM PRINCE SIDDHARTHA TO SHAKYAMUNI THE ASCETIC: the early life of Buddha, family lineage, name, locations and practicing austerities in the forest (by 17th Karmapa)
"That ruler of men, sporting with his queen,Enjoyed as it were, Vaishravana’s sovereign might,Free from sin, then, she produced the fruit of her womb,As knowledge does, when united with trance. Before she conceived she saw in a dreamA white elephant kingEntering her body, yet she did notThereby feel any pain." "But when queen Maya saw… Continue reading ORIGINS OF SECRET MANTRA (DAY 11): ‘CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION’; FROM PRINCE SIDDHARTHA TO SHAKYAMUNI THE ASCETIC: the early life of Buddha, family lineage, name, locations and practicing austerities in the forest (by 17th Karmapa)