May 26 marks Saga Dawa Düchen, or the “great occasions” of the Buddha Shakyamuni’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana, all said to have occurred on the full moon in the fourth lunar month, Saga Dawa.  The month goes from May 12 to June 10, 2021, and is considered the most important in the Tibetan Buddhist lunar calendar.

Saga Dawa is known as the month of merits, and is also sometimes called bumgyur dawa, which means “merits multiplied by a hundred thousand times.” Tibetan Buddhists worldwide make extra efforts to practice Dharma, generosity, and compassion in order to accumulate greater virtuous merits and purify negative karma. Along with remembering Buddha and his activities, the main point of the festival is to pray. We pray for the long life of the gurus of all traditions, for the survival and spreading of Buddha’s teachings in the minds of all sentient beings, and for world peace. Tibetan Buddhists traditionally go to monasteries and temples to pray during the Saga Dawa Festival.
While KSK remains closed, it is an even more important and beneficial time to do practices in your own home or with family, and in this way connect with Buddhists all over the world making prayers for peace and the enlightenment of all sentient beings.  The Lamas encourage you to do the practices you know and dedicate the merit to the well-being and enlightenment of all, to the end of the pandemicand to peace throughout the world.