Special Days in the Kadampa Calendar
Special Monthly Practices
8th - Tara Day
Tara is a female Buddha, a manifestation of the ultimate wisdom of all the Buddhas who protects us from internal and external obstacles. The Kadampa tradition has a special relationship with Buddha Tara and on the 8th day of each month Kadampa centres do Tara practice for the sake of all living beings.
10th & 25th - Tsog Days
On these two days Kadampa centres remember the kindness of their Spiritual Guide by performing the Offering to the Spiritual Guide puja. It is also an occasion for Tantric practitioners to renew commitments and avert obstacles by making a special offering known as the ‘tsog offering’.
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15th - Precepts Day
This day is an opportunity to strengthen our moral discipline by engaging in a special purification practice called A Pure Life, which involves taking and keeping the eight Mahayana precepts for a day.
29th - Dharma Protector Day
The Dharma Protector of the New Kadampa Tradition is Dorje Shugden, an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri. His function is to protect us from obstacles that impede our spiritual progress and provide all the necessary conditions for our practice. On this day we make special offerings and requests to the Wisdom Dharma Protector.
NKT Events and Festivals
First Saturday in April - NKT-IKBU Day
Each year, the first Saturday in April is set aside to commemorate the founding of NKT-IKBU by Venerable Geshe Kelsang in 1991. The occasion is marked by special events, pujas and dedications at Kadampa centres worldwide.
First Saturday in November - International Temples Day
On the first Saturday in November Kadampa centres worldwide celebrate the International Temples Project. Special events are held to raise funds for the project, and prayers are made for the success and flourishing of the project and to dedicate the project to world peace
May - Oct: International Festivals
Each year NKT-IKBU organizes three international Dharma Festivals where people from all over the world gather to receive special teachings and empowerments and enjoy a meaningful spiritual holiday.
Four Great Celebrations
April 15th - Buddha’s Enlightenment Day Celebration
On this day we celebrate the occasion when Buddha Shakyamuni showed the manner of accomplishing the ultimate goal of living beings – the attainment of enlightenment – at Bodh Gaya, India in 589 BC. With this auspicious deed he demonstrated how each one of us can overcome all internal and external obstacles and hindrances and become an enlightened being.
June 4th - Buddha’s Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day Celebration
On this day we celebrate the occasion when, at the request of Brahma and Indra, Buddha Shakyamuni gave his first Dharma teachings in this world. Through his great kindness in giving these and subsequent teachings the people of this world have an opportunity to follow the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment.
September 22nd - Buddha’s Return from Heaven Day Celebration
On this day we celebrate the occasion when Buddha Shakyamuni returned to this world having visited the god realm known as the Heaven of the Thirty-three, where his mother had been reborn after she died. Buddha repaid the kindness of his mother by guiding her and the gods in that realm along the spiritual path to a state of permanent inner peace and happiness. It is an occasion to celebrate Buddha’s great kindness and compassion.
October 25th - Je Tsongkhapa’s Enlightenment Day Celebration
On this day we celebrate the life and deeds of the great Buddhist Master Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the new Kadampa tradition. We remember Je Tsongkhapa’s great kindness and dedicate all our virtuous actions so that his Dharma will flourish throughout the world and provide many living beings with the opportunity to attain liberation and full enlightenment.
Special Retreat Month
Within the New Kadampa Tradition, January 3rd - 31st is a special time for retreat. During this time many Kadampa Centres organize retreats on Lamrim and on Heruka and Vajrayogini, as this time is especially powerful for receiving the blessings of Heruka and Vajrayogini, the principal Tantric Deities of this tradition. The two tsog days within this month are particularly important. The first, January 10th, is a special day of Vajrayogini, and the second, January 25th, is a special day of Heruka.