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Tibetan Saka Dawa Festival |
Saga Dawa is an important Tibetan Buddhist festival, held each year on the full moon day of the fourth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar, to celebrate Sakyamuni's enlightenment.
Since the Saga Dawa festival falls on the holiest month of the Tibetan calendar, it is believed that good deeds and prayers are multiplied thousand fold during this event. So we can see everyone immersed in prayers and trying to appease the gods.
Tibetans believe that a merit is an accumulation of a myriad of merits from previous days, months or years. People refrain from killing animals by liberating them and abstain from eating meats. Sutra chanting, prayer turning, Cham dancing and other religious activities dominate the occasion. Offering sacrifices to the female deity enshrined in the temple on the islet of the Dragon King Pond, boating in the pond and picnicking add more to the festive mood.
The Saga Dawa festival is truly a celebration that encompasses everyone into its fold casting aside all barriers of nationality, religion or color. In fact, being a part of this holy event is such a moving experience that you come back with a deep sense of inner satisfaction that stays with you for a long time., |
| Author/Editor By : HCT |
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