Nov. 21, 2016 -- Lhabab Duchen Festival or Buddha Sakyamuni’s Descent Day occurs on the 22nd day of the 9th month in Tibetan calendar. It is a Buddhist festival to celebrate Buddha’s descent from the Heaven of Thirty-Three back to earth. Strictly speaking, it might be more appropriate to call it Buddha Sakyamuni’s Descent Day. In many religious festivals in Tibet, the Losar Festival in the 1st month, the Saga Dawa Festival in the 4th month, the Chokor Duchen Festival on the 4th day of the 6th month and the Buddha Sakyamuni’s Descent Day on the 22nd of the 9th month are four great Tibetan Buddhist festivals commemorating the Buddha.
Buddha Sakyamuni, (565 BC - 486 BC), formerly known as Gautama·Siddhartha, was born in Kapilavastu (in Nepal). He is the son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. Legend has it that in a wonderful night of the full moon, Queen Maya dreamt that she walked on air and bathed in the Heaven Lake. A white elephant touched her with clouds entering her body, and later the Queen was pregnant. Time flied, and the Queen was about to give birth in spring with singing birds and fragrant flowers. According to local customs, the Queen should give birth in her family, so she said goodbye to the King and left for home with her servants. During a rest in Lumbini garden, Queen Maya gave birth to a prince from her armpit under an Ashoka tree. Queen Maya died seven days later, and the prince was brought up by his mother's sister, Maha Pajapati.
The remembrance of mother filled Sakyamuni with sadness. Later, he learned that Queen Maya was reborn in the Heaven of Tusita which was also called the Heaven of Thirty-Three, and she resided in the inner court, Mandala. Sakyamuni missed his mother so much that he soared into the Heaven of Thirty-Three and reunited with his mother. He preached to the Buddhist gods and had a very happy time here. However, without his guidance and instruction, people on earth felt like losing sunshine in the daytime and light in the night. So Jie Sai King sent Maudgalya^yana, a disciple of Buddha, to request Buddha Sakyamuni to come back. Concerned about people’s wish for his return, Buddha Sakyamuni came back down a heaven ladder, and the day was named Buddha Sakyamuni’s Descent Day.
When Buddhism was introduced to Tibet, Buddha Sakyamuni’s Descent Day also came to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Tibetan people paint temples and dwellings white to welcome Buddha. Every year, from the 9th month in Tibetan calendar, people from Xue village start to work in the Palace. They pour pots of the mixture of carclazyte and glue onto the outer wall of the Potala Palace, making it a completely new outlook. Besides, all temples including the Drepung Monastery and the Sera Monastery, tall buildings in the city and farm houses in the village are all painted white. I was shocked by the large-scale national movement of decoration when I saw it in Tibet. The elder told me that Tibetan people worship white color. They think that it is a symbol of felicity and goodliness, and all the nice things in Tibet are white such as the snow mountains, the cloud, the wool, the Zanba and the Khatag. Also, to paint buildings white shows their sincere goodness. They believe Buddha Sakyamuni will be determined to come back when he sees the white world.
According to traditions, the Gyuto and Gyumey in Lhasa offer a thousand butter lamps in front of the statue of Buddha in the Jokhang Temple, the Ramoche Temple and the Potala Palace on Buddha Sakyamuni’s Descent Day to show their gratitude. The ordinary people also light a butter lamp and offer sacrifices in front of the statue of Buddha, and give food to the homeless and beggars. All people in festival costumes sing and dance to welcome Buddha Sakyamuni and thank him for his favor to the people.
By: Tian Guangshan Jia Puyu Liu Qiang
