“They all sat silently looking only at the Victor. Then the Lord, in the later part of the night, turned the wheel of Dharma, promulgating the twelvefold repetition of the middle path abandoning the two extremes, including the names of the four truths, the choices they involve, their recognition, abandonment, realization, and meditation, and the eightfold path that follows. And from that melodious speech, all the various disciples heard the words they needed to hear to be tamed, receiving the teachings of all three Vehicles according to their inclinations.” –Tse Chokling Yongdzin Yeshe Gyaltsen, “Shakyamuni Buddha Through Tibetan Eyes,” translated by Robert Thurman, Essential Tibetan Buddhism

After his enlightenment under the bodhi tree, Shakyamuni Buddha rested in the profundity of that experience for seven weeks. Only after supplication from innumerable bodhisattvas and the great deity Brahma did the Buddha agree to teach what he had realized to his dedicated disciples. Thus, the Buddha set the wheel of Dharma in motion by sharing the precious Dharma jewel!

Chokhor Duchen is the Tibetan Buddhist holiday that marks this great occasion, the Buddha’s very first teaching at Deer Park in Sarnath, India. On this auspicious day, karmic results (both positive and negative) are multiplied by one hundred million, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche is fond of sharing from the Vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic. Make the most of this astounding karmic opportunity by joining an evening of practice and prayers!

Chokhor Duchen also marks FPMT’s International Sangha Day and provides an opportunity for the lay and monastic communities to come together in recognition of our interdependence. It is especially meritorious to make offerings to our teachers and the sangha on this holy day.