Choekhor Duchen celebrates Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching at Deer Park, Sarnath, India.
For the first seven weeks after his Enlightenment, Buddha Shakyamuni did not teach. After he had attained enlightenment he went in search of his five former friends who were still pursuing ascetic practices. He told them he had finally found the Enlightenment they had been seeking.

At first they were not confident but they listened. Encouraged by Indra and Brahma, the Buddha then gave his first teachings on the Four Noble Truths.

The Four Noble Truths have remained the basis of all traditions of Buddhism. The Buddha talked all through the night and when morning came, these first five students took refuge in the Three Jewels; the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

Together with the Buddha, they became the first members of the Sangha, the community of practitioners who follow the teachings of the Buddha. Choekhor Düchen commemorates this first sermon and is called the Festival of the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, one of the four major holidays of the Buddhist Calendar.