Saga Dawa
Saga Dawa Festival--the Birth of the Buddha ( 15th day of the
4th lunar month)
God
in haven is believed to descend to the mortal world on this day.
Incense is burnt in large scales and picnicking is enjoyed in
the public parks.
The 15th day of the fourth month on the Tibetan calendar is said
to be the birthday of Sakyamuni, and the day when he died and
attained Nirvana. During this period, hundreds of thousands of
people turn their prayer wheels on the street in Lhasa, and then
paddle boats in the Dragon King Pool, and sing and dance in the
afternoon.
Saga Dawa Festival on April 15 marks the birth, transcendence
and death of Sakyamuni. Pilgrims and secular folks will visit
Lhasa and the festival is observed by turning prayer wheels, having
vegetarian lunch and a picnic by the Dragon King Pond. Folk entertainers
will perform Tibetan tradition; they will pay their homage to
Buddha, observe a vegetarian rule, refrain from killing domestic
animals and give out alms during the month.
The most important festival for Tibetan Buddhism, the 'Saka Dawa
Festival' commemorates Shakyamuni's Buddhahood and the death of
his mortal body. At every monastery sutras are recited and 'Cham'
dances are performed. It is said that good deeds in the month
of this festival deserve 300 fold in return and this leads many
people to donate large sums to the religious orders, monasteries
and to the beggars that gather at this time of year.
As the holiest in Tibet, there memorable occasions coincide on
this day, Buddha's birth and Buddha's enlightenment. Almost every
person within Lhasa join in circumambulations round the city and
spend their late afternoon on picnic at " Dzongyab Lukhang"
park at the foot of Potala.
