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Upper left-hand corner see small black image of a sitting Buddha:
- Every 8 th day is Medicine Buddha day. In the Medicine Tantras, Shakyamuni describes Medicine Buddha as an enlightened being who has special powers of healing. The special healing blessings of Medicine Buddha may be obtained by reciting his name or mantra. For centuries, Buddhists have been reciting this mantra prayer, to bring an ultimate healing of spiritual disease, as well as cures for everyday problems of the body and mind.
The Medicine Buddha's short mantra:
TAYATHA OM BHEGHANDZE BHEGHANDZE MAHA BHEGHANDZE BHEGHANDZE RADZA SAMUDGATE SOHA
- Every 15 th day is Amitabha Buddha day (Amitofo in Chinese; Hoddpagmed in Tibetan; Amida in Japanese). Shakyamuni Buddha described the vows and deeds of Amitabha Buddha in the Amitabha Sutra. Shakyamuni Buddha said there is a Pure Land to the west which is ruled by the Amitabha Buddha. This pure land is endowed with abundance of wealth and treasures. The residents of this world enjoy great happiness, so this world is also called the Paradise of Extreme Happiness. Followers can gain entrance into this paradise by reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha or the phrase: I seek refuge from Amitabha Buddha. A follower needs to recite the name with single-minded devotion without being distracted by anything for seven days. Amitabha Buddha would appear to the those who succeeded at the end of his/her life and grant him/her entrance into the Paradise of the Extreme Bliss.
- Every 30 th day is Sakyamuni Buddha day (Shijiamounifo in Chinese); he is the founder of Buddhism.
- Ο Means full moon day
- n Means new moon day
- (Image of a wheel), on days marked with this symbol any meritorious or negative deeds performed will be intensified a thousand fold.
- (Image of Guru Padmasambhava), on these days (every 10 th day of each month) it is auspicious to practice Vajrayana (tantric) practices.
- (Dark figure in orb of fire, upper row) On this day one should contemplate the meaning of “emptiness.”
- (Dark figure in orb of fire, lower row) On this day you are will be protected.
- “Days when the Nagas are awake: Naga is a Sanskrit word for snake . In Buddhist writings the term is used for unseen beings associated with water and fluid energy, and also with persons having powerful animal-like qualities or an impressive animal with human qualities. Nagas in Buddhism are also seen as protectors due to the story of when the Buddha was meditating and it began to rain; a Naga came up behind the Buddha and unfolded its seven-headed hood over the Buddha so the rain would not disturb him.
Losar - The Tibetan New Year: Celebrating the year of the Monkey
The official Tibetan New Year, Losar , is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar and it falls around the February new moon.
Calendar
The Tibetan calendar is a unique system which is lunar-based. India also has a lunar calendar, but it is different to the Tibetan and starts the year on a different date. It has only 360 days in the year and a complicated system of using skip-days ( tsi chad-pa ) and extra days ( tsi lhag-pa ). The new moon always starts the month, and the full moon falls on the fifteenth day. As the lunar phase defines a month, every month is 30 days and a year has twelve months. The lunar day is about one minute shorter than a solar day, which is 24.00 hours. To make the calendar correspond with solar days, it occasionally adds a 13 th month.
Each year is ruled by one of the five elements and one of twelve animal signs as in Chinese calendars, but they start the year on different dates and the months have different lengths. So it is very important not to mix Tibetan and Chinese systems together.
Tibetan years follow twelve-year animal cycles. One element rules two years in a row and then changes to the next element, while an animal sign will rule for one year at a time. The 60-year cycle of all combinations of the five elements and twelve animals is called Rab-byung . The Year 2000 was an Iron-Dragon year and the year 2001 is an Iron-Snake year. Year 2002 will be a Water-Horse year. The five elements each rule two animal years in succession.
Wood |
Movement |
Fire |
Heat |
Earth |
Solidity |
Iron |
Emptiness |
Water |
Wetness |
The Twelve Animal Years: The Five Elements:
Rabbit
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Sheep
Monkey
Bird
Dog
Pig
Mouse
Ox
Tiger
The system of animal years already started in the middle of 600 A.D. under the influence of the teachings of a Chinese princess who married the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo. The system of 60 year cycles, Rab-byung , was introduced around the 10 th century and in the 11 th century it was widely used in Tibet . Kalachakra* teachings were blended with Elemental astrology, and when Tibetan scholars made the very first Tibetan calendar they used Rab-byung for counting the years. As Kalachakra teachings were the foundation for chronological calculations, it was decided that the official date of introduction of Kalachakra would be Year One. Year 1027 was a Fire-Rabbit year and from then a Fire-Rabbit year became the first year in Tibetan Rab-byung , while the Chinese 60 year cycle always begins with a Wood-Mouse Year.
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*Kalachakra
The Tibetan astronomical system and calendar making is based on the Sri Kalachakra Tantra (Wheel of Time Tantra), which was translated into Tibetan from Sanskrit in 1027 A.D. This high level Buddhist teaching has three chapters:
1. External Kalachakra.
External Kalachakra presents Tibetan cosmology. It focuses on
the creation of the Universe, the movements of the planets and stars, the five elements and chronological studies. The year is constituted by the Sun's movement trough the astrological signs. When the Sun is entering into Aries it also marks the Kalachakra New Year, which is actually the third month of the Tibetan Calendar. The eclipse of the Sun is explained by Tibetan cosmology in the same way as modern western astronomy i.e. that the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun.
2. Internal Kalachakra.
Internal Kalachakra focuses on chakras (energy centres of the body), its energy channel system and how external forces, such as planets and stars, affect the body.
3. Alternative Kalachakra.
Alternative Kalachakra is about high-level meditation, yoga practice, empowerment teachings, taking of initiation and the visualization of one's own personal deity.
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