Join us for our Saka Dawa merit festival and fundraiser
We are fast approaching the auspicious merit-multiplying day of Saka Dawa—the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar—which commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana.
Saka Dawa is one of the four great holy days of the Tibetan calendar, each of which celebrates an anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha’s display of extraordinary powerful deeds for sentient beings’ sake. It is a day when karmic results are multiplied by 300 million times as it commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s three major life events.
You are warmly invited to join us in 3 powerful merit making activities!
- 24-hour Prayer Wheel Turn-a-Thon
- Eight Mahayana Precepts led by Ven. Angie
- Medicine Buddha Puja led by Ven. Angie
24-hour Prayer Wheel Turn-a-Thon (from 3pm May 30 to 3pm May 31)
The turn-a-thon will be a donation-based fundraiser to help cover the operating costs of Vajrapani Institute’s annual Family Camp, which we subsidize each year to keep it more accessible for families. For decades, Family Camp has offered parents and children a meaningful opportunity to explore practices for cultivating happy, contented minds, while learning practical tools for navigating life with greater kindness, resilience, and emotional balance.
Participate in TWO different ways! Be a SPINNER or a SPONSOR.
To sponsor a half hour of spinning by an in-person participant, please register and donate any amount in the Sponsor a Spinner section on the Registration page.
Our recently completed Prayer Wheel contains over 3 quadrillion Mani mantras, making it, as far as we know, the prayer wheel with the most mantras in the world—thanks to new nanofilm technology. Traditionally, each spin is said to create the merit of having recited all the mantras inside. With so many mantras contained in the wheel, and with the merit-multiplying power of this special day, this is an extraordinary opportunity to create positive energy, purification, and benefit for all beings.
To sign up as an in-person Prayer Wheel Spinner, please add your name to one or more 30-minute time slots HERE. For the smoothest experience, we recommend using a desktop or laptop computer. Mobile users may need to open the sheet in the Google Sheets app.
I don’t want to participate but I want to make merit by sponsoring and donating. How do I do that?
Great news—there are three easy and meaningful ways to donate!
- Sponsor a butter lamp offering
- Sponsor a spinner
- Turn-a-thon donation
Simply register to get started!
Read more about our Prayer Wheel
Eight Mahayana Precepts led by Ven. Angie (5:15-6am PT – May 31)
Observing the eight Mahayana precepts on Saka Dawa is a powerful way to generate merit and strengthen one’s commitment to ethical living. The zoom link will be sent to you after you have registered on this page.
Medicine Buddha Puja led by Ven. Angie (10:15-11:15am PT – May 31)
The Medicine Buddha Puja invokes the healing energy of all enlightened beings, bringing purification and blessings on physical, mental, and spiritual levels. It is especially beneficial for those who are ill, experiencing difficulties, or who have recently passed away. REGISTER HERE to be taken to OCBC as the event will be hosted by our Bay Area sister center.
