Create Merit While Celebrating Choekhor Duchen

Choekhor Duchen, Twitter.

Friday, July 24, 2020, is Chokhor Duchen, the day people around the world will commemorate the anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha's first teaching.

Chokhor Duchen is a merit multiplying day. The merit received for any positive actions done on July 24 will be multiplied. This week, I have been sharing some opportunities to create merit:

Help Pay Dharamsala Animal Rescue Staff Salaries on Chokhor Duchen

Help Supply Volunteers with Dog Food for Street Dogs in Nepal on Chokhor Duchen

Make Offerings to Tibetan Buddhist Nuns on Chokhor Duchen

There are many programs scheduled for Chokhor Duchen. Participation in these programs is another opportunity to create merit. Here are just a few of the programs taking place on Friday, July 24.

Tibet House New Delhi

Geshe Dorji Damdul will lead the taking of the Aspirational Bodhisattva Pledge and will give a teaching on Four Noble Truths with Emphasis on the Truth of Cessation of Suffering.

Choekhor Duchen, Tibet House New Delhi e-newsletter.

The Event

The Tibet House New Delhi poster says, "Celebrating Choekhor Duechen (The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma) led by Ven. Geshe Dorji Damdul, Director, Tibet House, New Delhi.

"All are welcome.

"10:30 AM - 12:00 PM IST: Aspirational Bodhisattva Pledge
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM IST: Four Noble Truths with Emphasis on the Truth of Cessation of Suffering"

Schedule

July 24, 2020

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM IST
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM IST

(July 23 from 10:00 PM - 11:30 PM PT and on July 24 from 1:30 AM - 3:00 AM PT)

Watch the Livestream

To watch Live - Tibet House Facebook

Geshema Tenzin Deden, Gompa Services Facebook.

Jamyang Choling Institute

A pre-recorded teaching from Geshema Tenzin Deden, given in English and recorded at Jamyang Choling Nunnery and Institute in Himachal Pradesh, India, will be made available for viewing on the Gompa Services website.

The Event

The Gompa Services website says, "On the auspicious occasion of Chokhor Duchen (the anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching on the Four Noble Truths), we are pleased to announce a free webcast on July 24th, 2020 of a teaching titled ‘The Significance of Chokhor Duchen and the Four Noble Truths’ by Geshema Tenzin Deden at Jamyang Choling Nunnery and Institute, Dharamsala, India. The teaching is given in English.

"Geshema Tenzin Deden is a teacher and senior nun at Jamyang Choling Nunnery and Institute. Originally from Kanam, Kinnaur, she received her monastic ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the age of twenty in Bodhgaya. Since 1989, she has been engaging in the rigorous study of Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan language, and other courses at the Jamyang Choling Institute. After completing seventeen years of study of the five major texts, she participated in the Geshema degree program, which was formed under the kind guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 2016, she completed her study of Buddhist Philosophy and was amongst the first batch to receive the Geshema degree.

The Schedule

The Gompa Services website says, "Pre-recorded live, the teaching will be available to view on July 24th, 2020. The webcast will then remain available for you to view at any time of your choosing until August 17th, 2020.

Watch the Video

The Gompa Services website says, "This is a free webcast but registration is needed to view the webcast.

"To register, please go to www.gompaservices.com and sign in to your Gompa account and select Special Events / See details of all events and webcasts; then select the event (from the list in date order, or by selecting Jamyang Choling Nunnery and Institute from the monastery / nunnery list). If you do not have a Gompa account, you can create a free account at www.gompaservices.com/NewToGompa.

"Registration and viewing will be available until August 17th, 2020. At the time you register there will also be the opportunity to make a voluntary offering in support of Jamyang Choling Nunnery and Institute."

International Mahayana Institute

The International Mahayana Institute is the FPMT organization's community of monks and nuns. Join their twenty-four hour Global Big Heart Sutrathon.

The Event

Monks and nuns will lead recitations of the Heart Sutra for twenty-four hours, taking turns. Each session will last one hour and there will be two monastics per session. At the end of each session the monastics will check the YouTube chat to see if there are any questions for the monastics.

The Schedule

The Global Big Heart Sutrathon will last for twenty-four hours on India time.

July 24, 2020

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM IST

(July 23 from 11:30 AM PT until July 24 at 11:30 AM PT)

Watch the Livestream

Watch the twenty-four hour livestream on the Chenrezig Institute Australia YouTube channel.

Follow along by using the text, available for free from FPMT in various languages: English, Chinese, Catalan, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, Tushita Meditation Centre Facebook.

Tushita Meditation Centre

Tushita Meditation Centre, a retreat center in Himachal Pradesh, India that I have visited is offering a number of programs for Choekhor Duchen.

The Events

The Tushita e-newsletter I received said, "We are extremely honored and delighted that Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche accepted our request to give His first online teaching for Tushita on the very auspicious occasion of Chökhor Düchen."

The Schedule

6:30 AM – 8:00 AM IST – The Path of Joy – Online Course with Venerable Amy Miller

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM IST – Guided Meditation with Venerable Drolma & Light Offering Ceremony with Sangha. (Live on Zoom and Facebook)

An unique opportunity to have your own butter lamp with your special dedication offered on this meritorious day! Click here to sponsor a butter lamp

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM IST – Medicine Buddha Puja – Led by Venerable Drolma (Live on Zoom and Facebook)

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM IST – Life of the Buddha (Watchparty on Facebook)

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM IST – Reading of Sutra of Golden Light – Led by Ven. Gyalmo (Live on Zoom and Facebook)

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM IST – Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche – How to Study and Practice (Live on Zoom and Facebook)

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM IST – The Path of Joy – Online Course with Venerable Amy Miller

Watch the Livestream

"This teaching with Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche is open to everyone and registration is not required. For the live stream of Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche's teaching please join us on Zoom or visit our Facebook Page.

"Most of the remainder of the program will be live streamed to all of you through this Zoom Meeting and on our Facebook Page so make sure to follow that space during this day."

Yangsi Rinpoche, www.maitripa.org.

Maitripa College

Maitripa College president Yangsi Rinpoche will lead a Guru Puja.

The Event

The Maitripa College website says, "Join the global Maitripa College Community online on Chokhor Duchen. Chokhor Duchen, or Wheel Turning Day, is a traditional Buddhist celebration day, in which we commemorate the Buddha’s first teaching (Turning the Wheel of Dharma). This is also a day of celebration of the tradition of ordained monastics (the traditional ‘sangha’) in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition."

The Schedule

July 24, 2020

12:00 PM PT

Join the Zoom Meeting

Everyone wishing to join must register in advance to attend the puja.

Join a Two-Week Live Course Taught by Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche

Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, www.iltk.org.

Serkong Tesnshab Rinpoche is teaching a two-week long online course "Dependent Arising and Emptiness." Organized by Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy, the course will be offered in English, Italian, and Spanish. I'm looking forward to it.

The Schedule

May 17-30, 2020

Sunday, May 17 1:00AM-3:00 AM PT
Monday, May 18 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Tuesday, May 19 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Thursday, May 21 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Friday, May 22 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Saturday, May 23 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Sunday, May 24 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Monday, May 25 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Tuesday, May 26 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Thursday, May 28 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Friday, May 29 3:30-5:30 AM PT
Saturday, May 30 1:00AM-3:00 AM PT

Classes will be held six days a week. There is no class on Wednesdays.

If the timings of the live classes are inconvenient then do not worry. The classes will be recorded and uploaded daily to the e-learning platform used by the course. They will remain accessible for the duration of the course.

The Topic
Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche will teach on dependent arising and emptiness on the basis of Prasannapadā (Clear Words) by Acharya Chandrakirti. This text is a commentary on Arya Nagarjuna's text Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way).

According to the Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa website, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama advised us to approach the study and our daily practice of The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way on the basis four of the twenty-seven chapters of the root text.

"In line with this advice, Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche will follow the sequence indicated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Namely, he will start with Chapter 26 “The Analysis of the Twelve Branches of Existence,” continue with Chapters 18 “The Analysis of Self ” and Chapter 24 “The Analysis of the Four Noble Truths," and conclude with Chapter 22 “The Analysis of the Tathagata."

May 17-30, 2020 online course, www.iltk.org.

Register for the Course
The Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa website says, "You can join this Zoom webinar on our e-learning platform, which enables interactive and dynamic exchange between participants. This webinar is offered free of charge. All donations are welcome. To make a donation, please use one of the methods described below."

To register, go to the Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa website and create a free user account. Next, on the homepage select "Teachings with Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche." Then on the registration page select "free SIGN UP."

Log into the Course
To later log into the course go to the free user account login page. Enter the username and password you created when you registered for the course. Then click on "Dependant Arising and Emptiness: Serkong Rinpoche live teachings." Next, scroll down the page and click on the blue colored text that says "go to live streaming."

Preliminary Teachings
At the request of Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa has made available recordings of classes taught in Italian and English by Fabrizio Pallotti and Atisha Mathur in February 2020. The purpose is to introduce and clarify the logical structure of the content of the text, and meditations related to it.

Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche
Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche II

At the age of two, Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche II (1984 – present) pointed at the photo of the recently deceased assistant tutor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and said, “That’s me!” Recognized as the reincarnation of the former Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche, the young tulku received his initial Buddhist training at Ganden Jangtse Monastery in South India. After deciding to continue his work for the benefit of Dharma as a layman, he completed his education at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala. On the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he completed an intensive two-year English course in Canada, and he continues his higher Buddhist training.

Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche I

Kyabje Tsenshab Serkong Tugse Rinpoche was born on 28 July 1914 in the area of Loka in southern Tibet. His father was one of the most outstanding masters of the last century, the great Serkong Dorjechang, the incarnation of Marpa the Translator, his mother the incarnation of Marpa’s wife Dagmema, and Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche the incarnation of Marpa’s son, Darma Dode.

Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche studied with masters from all four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. He studied at the Ganden Jangtse Monastic University and received his Geshe Lharampa degree after fourteen years of study. He then spent nine years at Gyume Tantric College. Once he successfully completed all exams, he became the Master of Discipline. In 1948, he was appointed one of the seven Tsenshabs or master debate partners of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche served His Holiness in this capacity for the rest of his life. He also imparted to His Holiness many lineages, initiations and oral transmissions. He accompanied His Holiness to China in 1954 and came in exile to India in 1959.

Continue reading the biography of Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche I on www.iltk.org.