Chokhor Duchen - Tues August 5

Anniversary of Buddha's First Teaching. The second of the major Tibetan Buddhist festivals marking the four important events in the life of of Shakyamuni Buddha is Chokhor Duchen or the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, which celebrates the Buddha's first sermon after he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.

For seven weeks the Buddha did not teach and then, for the benefit of sentient beings, he went to nearby Sarnath and gave the first teaching known as 'The Four Noble Truths'.

This special day is considered very auspicious in the Buddhist calendar, and the results of actions are said to be vastly magnified in their potency. Hence during this day we should try to direct the powerful energy towards practising Dharma.

Within the FPMT we celebrate International Sangha day on this auspicious Buddha Day and for more about this please refer to the newsletter.