Saka Dawa Celebration
Saka Dawa celebrates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana (when a buddha passes away and leaves his or her earthly body). On this day, Buddhists around the world engage in many prayers and practices, make extensive offerings to teachers and holy objects, and perform charitable activities. This occasion is an excellent opportunity for beneficial thoughts, speech, and actions, and to dedicate ourselves to practice and study.
The karmic results of everything we do on this day are multiplied by 100 million, according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, as cited in the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.
We encourage you to make a special offering on your altar: fruit, sweets, or flowers, which will create an abundance of positive energy.
Since the month of Saka Dawa is an auspicious time to create merit, we invite you to make an offering to help sustain Shantideva Center. The practice of generosity strengthens our karmic connections to the teachings and our teachers, now and in the future. It also serves as the cause for our own future prosperity and opens the heart to our interconnectedness.
PRACTICES:
- The Heart Sutra (via FPMT store)
- Sutra for Remembering the Three Jewels (PDF)
- King of Prayers (via FPMT store)
- Chanting the Names of Manjushri (via FPMT store)
- Shantideva Center Dedication Prayers Desktop Friendly Version (PDF) , Mobile Friendly Version (PDF)
- Dedication Prayers
- Long Life Prayer for H.H. Dalai Lama
- Swift Return Prayer for Lama Zopa Rinpoche (FPMT v.3), by H.H. Dalai Lama
PRAYER REQUESTS:
You are welcome to request a dedication. Please email by June 10, 2025 to prayers@shantidevanyc.org and indicate “Saka Dawa Prayers” in the subject line.
Today, just like any other day, is a perfect opportunity to engage more earnestly in one’s practice. May the Buddhadharma flourish and spread forth to all sentient beings in the ten directions!
Recordings
Recordings for Saka Dawa 2025 with Ven. Robina Courtin will be available soon.
Below is a playlist: Saka Dawa 2024 with Ven. Robina Courtin; Saka Dawa 2022 with Ven. Amy Miller.
To jump to a particular session, click the playlist icon (near the top-right corner) of the video frame to select video.
About the Teachers
Venerable Robina Courtin has worked full-time for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s organization, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, since her ordination in the late 1970s. Over the years she has served as editorial director of Wisdom Publications, editor of Mandala Magazine, executive director of Liberation Prison Project, and as a touring teacher of Buddhism. Her life and work with prisoners have been featured in the documentary films Chasing Buddha and Key to Freedom. Venerable Robina is known for her straightforward and energetic teaching style, helping people discover the potential of their own minds with clear explanations about Tibetan Buddhism and how to apply it to their lives.
Visit her website at https://www.robinacourtin.com.
Venerable Amy Miller has been teaching extensively since 1992 and was ordained as a Buddhist nun in June 2000 by the great Tibetan master, Venerable Choden Rinpoche. She has previously directed several FPMT centers and projects for decades and has completed a seven-month solitary retreat. Her teaching style emphasizes a practical approach to integrating Buddhist philosophy into everyday life. She is happy to help people connect with meditation and mindfulness in an effort to gain a refreshing perspective on normally stressful living. Venerable teaches and leads retreats and pilgrimages around the world. Her teaching schedule and other information can be found at www.AmyMiller.com.
