Upcoming Retreats

Suggested donation – $20.00 - $108.00

Chokhor Duchen Celebration – First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma

Geshe Tenzin Legtsok and Venerable Angie Muir

July 28, 2025

Join Geshe Tenzin Legtsok and Ven. Angie for Chokhor Duchen – First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma

June 28th, 5:30- 8:30 AM PST

Online Only

Chokhor Duchen, one of the four annual holy days of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, takes place this year on July 28th. On these holy days of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, the power of any meritorious action is multiplied by 100 million, as taught in the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

Known in English as “Turning the Wheel of Dharma,” Chokhor Duchen commemorates the anniversary of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching. It is said that for seven weeks after his enlightenment, the Buddha did not teach. Afterward, Indra and Brahma offered a dharmachakra and a conch shell, and requested Guru Shakyamuni Buddha to teach. Accepting, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma for the first time at Sarnath in his teaching on the four noble truths.

 

Practice Advice

Specific practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for merit-multiplying days can be found on the fpmt.org website on our “Practice on the Four Great Holy Days” page.

Specific practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for merit-multiplying days include:

 

In addition, Rinpoche recommended doing Shakyamuni Buddha Puja. A beautiful and deeply inspirational puja, the text was recently reformatted with hyperlinks for smooth navigation so that individuals can easily do the core practice and any additional ones as their time allows.

 

Vajrapani Offerings Schedule: Online Only

5:30-6:00 AM: Geshe Legtsok- 8 Mahayana Precepts

6:00-6:30 AM: Geshe Legtsok- Prostrations to the 35 Buddhas

6:30-7:00 AM: Tea Break

7:00-8:30 AM: Ven. Angie- Shakyamuni Buddha Puja

 

Zoom participation is free but donations are incredibly appreciated on this Merit Multiplying day. Vajrapani is a non-profit and relies on the generosity of its donors to continue to offer precious teachings and a sacred space for deep retreat. We are deeply grateful for your continued support.

 

About Vajrapani Institute

Vajrapani Institute for Wisdom Culture was one of the first Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Centers in America.  Vajrapani aims to provide a friendly and conducive environment for people of all nationalities to learn and put into practice the teachings of the Buddha, and connect with other Dharma practitioners.  Located on 70 acres of secluded land within the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz mountains, Vajrapani Institute has been an immersive space for people of all backgrounds to find and deepen their spiritual practices, with the main goal of bridging the gap between the head and heart of practice.

 

Teachers

Geshe Tenzin Legtsok
Geshe Tenzin Legtsok has been ordained as a Buddhist monk since 2001 and is the first American to complete the twenty-year Geshe Studies Program in classic Indian Buddhist treatises and their Tibetan commentaries at Sera Jey Monastic University in South India, following the tradition of ancient Nalanda University. In 2025, he completed the traditional study of tantra at Gyumed Tantric Monastery. With over two decades of study and practice under the guidance of great masters, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Legtsok brings profound insights into the application of Buddhist teachings. Born in Virginia,…
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Venerable Angie Muir
Born in Scotland, in 1970, she obtained a Bachelors Degree in 1992.   Feeling disillusioned with her prospective career path and life ahead of her, she left Scotland and combined travelling with work in Asia for 3 years until in 1995 she felt a calling to go to India to explore meditation and find her life path. Within a few months “I had the incredible fortune due to some previous karma” to discover Tibetan Buddhism, meet her main spiritual teacher Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche (of almost 30 years) and become ordained.   Venerable Angie has been a buddhist nun for…
Learn more about Venerable Angie Muir