Lhabab Duechen

Lhabab Duechen (Dzongkha: ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན; Wylie: lha babs dus chen, "the great occasion of the divine descent") is one of the four major Buddhist festivals of the year in the Tibetan and Bhutanese calendars. It commemorates the Buddha's return from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Trāyastriṃśa) to the human realm after spending three months teaching the Dharma to his mother, Mayadevi, and the gods of that realm.

The festival falls on the 22nd day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar, which generally corresponds to October or November in the Gregorian calendar. It is observed across the Tibetan Buddhist world, including Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladakh and the Mongolian regions, and is a recognised public holiday in Bhutan.

The narrative

According to the canonical account preserved in the Kangyur and elaborated in commentarial literature, the Buddha ascended to Trāyastriṃśa heaven at the age of 45 to repay the kindness of his mother, who had died seven days after his birth and had been reborn as a deva. He taught her and the assembled gods continuously for three months. At the urging of his disciple Maudgalyayana he agreed to return to the human realm.

The descent itself is the iconographic focus of the festival. The gods Indra and Brahma are said to have manifested a triple ladder of gold, crystal and lapis lazuli, on which the Buddha descended to Sankassa in the kingdom of King Prasenajit. The descent on the celestial ladder is counted among the Eight Great Events in the Life of the Buddha and is depicted in thangkas and murals across the Himalayan world.^[1]

Observance in Bhutan

In Bhutan, Lhabab Duechen is one of the days on which the merit of virtuous action is held to be multiplied many times over, and lay Buddhists make special efforts to engage in offerings, prostrations and circumambulation of stupas and temples. Monasteries and lhakhangs hold special pujas, and households light butter lamps at home altars. Government offices, schools and most businesses close for the day.

The festival is one of the four düchen, or great occasions, in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar, alongside Chotrul Duechen (the Festival of Miracles in the first month), Saga Dawa Duechen (commemorating the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and parinirvana, in the fourth month) and Chokhor Duechen (the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, in the sixth month). Together these mark the principal events in the life of the Buddha as recognised in the Mahayana tradition.

Public holiday status

Lhabab Duechen has been designated a public holiday in Bhutan since the introduction of the modern civil-service calendar. The Royal Civil Service Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publish an annual schedule of public holidays in which Lhabab Duechen, the Blessed Rainy Day, the Descending Day of Lord Buddha and other Buddhist observances are listed alongside the National Day, the Coronation of the Druk Gyalpo and Birth Anniversary of His Majesty.^[2]

The exact Gregorian date shifts each year because Bhutan follows the lunar calendar for religious observances. The Pang Lhabsol, the Tibetan-style oracle ceremonies and the lay observance of Lhabab Duechen all use this lunar reckoning, with calendars published annually by the Zhung Dratshang and the Pangrizampa Astrology College.

References

1. Lhabab Duchen — Wikipedia
2. Public holidays in Bhutan — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade
3. Lhabab Düchen — Rigpa Wiki
4. Wendy Garling, Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life, Boulder: Shambhala, 2016.
5. Lhabab Duchen coverage — Kuensel
6. Lhabab Duchen coverage — Bhutan Broadcasting Service