Saga Dawa also known as the Triple Blessed Festival is one of the most important and holiest Buddhist festivals in Sikkim. It falls on the full moon of the 4th month of the Tibetan calendar which is usually within the end of April and the start of June. Saga Dawa which is Bhutia for Buddha Jayanti celebrates 3 main events of Lord Buddha’s life: his birth, his Enlightenment, and his Nirvana which fall on the same day.
The most significant and spiritual highlight of the Saga Dawa is the colorful and spiritual religious procession in Gangtok where monks carry the Holy Scriptures that contains the teachings of Lord Buddha. The procession is a wonderful sight and soul stirring as the monks chant the spiritual “Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ” mantra and turn the prayer wheel all along during the entire procession.
Saga Dawa is a day for observing religious rites and the Sikkamese Buddhists pray in various monasteries throughout the auspicious month. Butter lamps are usually lit and the ceremony is followed by a colourful procession of monks chanting hymns, playing musical instruments and devotees carrying holy texts, portraits and statues of Lord Buddha. The pageant starts from the Tsuk-La-Khang Monastery and is taken out in Gangtok, as well as in other towns and villages of Sikkim. People gather in the streets to touch their heads with the holy scriptures in order to receive blessings. This is like one magnificent carnival of Sikkim and it is a wonderful time to visit Gangtok, live with the monks and feel the positive and enchanting vibes of the festival.
This period is a wonderful time for promoting good deeds and offering charity to the monasteries. It is believed that the good deeds done during this period get multiplied and bear fruits in the future. Plenty of activities and events are organised during this month with a goal of making the festival successful and wonderful.
History of Saga Dawa Festival
Although Buddha's birth is celebrated in different ways in many regions under distinct names, Saga Dawa has a history of its own. It is said the Mahayana Buddhists of Sikkim have been observing the Saga Dawa festival since many centuries ago. However, the date for celebrating it was officially decided in 1950, during the first conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in Sri Lanka. Since the year, the festival is being celebrated with much enthusiasm on an annual basis.
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