Drop of Essential Nectar: fasting and purification retreat for Buddha’s enlightenment day

Nyungnay Purifying Ritual Practice

Celebrating Buddha’s Enlightenment Day

Each year on April 15th Kadampa Buddhists around the world commemorate the day when Buddha Shakyamuni demonstrated the attainment of enlightenment (in the year 589 BCE).

This is an extremely important day in the Buddhist calendar because our actions are 100,000 times more powerful than on other days.

By engaging in this special purification and fasting retreats in conjunction with Eleven-faced Avalokiteshvara, you will:

• purify negative karma of body, speech, and mind
• pacify strong delusions such as desirous attachment and hatred
• receive powerful blessings to improve our experience of love, compassion, and bodhichitta

YOU NEED TO FIRST TAKE THE MAHAYANA PRECEPTS EACH DAY AT 6:30 AM ONLINE HERE 

Schedule:

Sunday – April 14

6:30 – Precepts (online)

12pm – Drop of Essential Nectar prayers (in person and online)

Monday – April 15

6:30 – Precepts (online)

You are encouraged to do additional retreat sessions at home.

An email with detailed practice will be sent to the registrants.

BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTENMENT DAY

Taking the Mahayana Precepts

A PURE DAY
The essence of the practice is to take eight precepts and to keep them purely for a period of twenty-four hours. Attendants should avoid wearing jewelry or perfume that day or eating breakfast. During the session, everyone will make promises to keep throughout the day, including avoiding eating after lunch. We first need to receive these precepts from a qualified Preceptor, and then we can take them on our own as often as we wish. Instructions on both these methods are included in this sadhana. If we wish to take the essence of this precious human life we should strive to engage in this practice as often as we can.

An explanation of the practice:
When we take the eight Mahayana precepts, we explicitly promise to abstain for twenty-four hours from eight actions:

1. Killing
2. Stealing
3. Sexual activity
4. Lying
5. Taking intoxicants
6. Eating after lunch
7. Sitting on high or luxurious thrones or seats
8. Wearing ornaments, perfume, etc, and singing and dancing, etc.

These eight, however, are merely symbolic, for in reality we promise to abstain from all non-virtuous actions for twenty-four hours. Taking and keeping these precepts is a special purification practice.

Buddha realized that all living beings’ suffering comes from their previous negative karma, and so he taught special practices to purify it.

We all want to be happy – living in a pure environment with pure friends, pure enjoyments, and so on – but this is unattainable for as long as we have negative karma in our minds. Therefore, we need to rely upon Buddha’s skillful method for purifying our negative karma. This practice is very simple, and it lasts for only a day at a time; but it leads to very great results.

This event is FREE. Everyone welcome.