Buddha’s Descent from Tushita

Today we celebrate the holy day of Buddha’s Descent from Tushita Heaven. Merit created on this day is greatly multiplied, so it’s a perfect opportunity to re-focus our Dharma practice and altruistic intention.

I feel a deep connection to Gautama Buddha as well as profound gratitude for his teachings and for the example of his life,” wrote His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron in their book Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. “Lhabab Duchen is a good time to feel gratitude to Buddha for what he did, and to the whole lineage of teachers down to our own teachers, who preserved these teachings so that we could come into contact with them.

Traditionally, any acts of positive or negative karma are multiplied “ten million times.” For this reason it is auspicious to act virtuously, to give generously, to attend pujas and perform sadhanas. The simplest symbolic act might be a simple offering of the light of a candle or butter lamp.

Lhabab Duchen celebrates one of the “Eight Great Deeds”

Buddha’s descent from Tushita Heaven marks one of the Eight Great Deeds of the Enlightened One. Traditionally, Buddha ascended to the Tushita heaven (Heaven of the 33) for three months to give teachings to the gods in the desire realm — to repay the kindness of his mother Mahamaya, who had taken rebirth as one fo the gods. The festival marks the auspicious day Buddha descended from the Tushita God Realm.