Monlam Pavillion
Bodhgaya

22 January 2024

This was the second part of the ritual concerning the Kangyur, the collection of the sutras, the sacred words of Buddha Shakyamuni, which have been translated into Tibetan.

After the 103 volumes had been processed around the Mahabodhi Stupa, they were brought back to the Monlam Pavillion and distributed to the monks who were waiting outside the pavilion. Their duty was to unwrap them and distribute pages to anyone who could read Tibetan, both lay and monastic.

Inside the Monlam Pavillion, the rinpoches, tulkus and khenpos took their seats on the stage, and gelongs returning from the Mahabodhi Stupa assumed their seats on the cushions in the wings either side of the Monlam stage. Steadily the congregation swelled with monks, nuns and laypeople who had been to witness the procession at the Mahabodhi Stupa. When Tai Situ Rinpoche arrived back, he was heralded by gyalings onto the stage, and took his place at the head of the assembly.

Monlam CEO Lama Chodrak welcomed several VIP guests from the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee to this session:  Secretary Dr (Smt.) Mahashweta Maharathi, Chief Bhikku Dhammadhiroo, and two of the committee members.

A 37-feature mandala offering began the session, followed by the Praise of the Twelve Deeds [of Shakyamuni Buddha]. Tea was served and the tea consecration and offering made. Then everyone settled down to read their apportioned sheets of text. Over the course of an hour or so, the assembly read through the entire series of Kangyur volumes, and then the monks collected the pages back in and carefully bound up each volume in its golden silk cloth.

According to the Tibetan tradition, there is great merit generated by reading the Kangyur, by sponsoring monastics to read it, or by printing it. These actions eliminate obstacles and accumulate the causes for positive conditions.

This marathon reading of the Buddhist scriptures is a long-standing practice in Buddhism and can be found in other Buddhist traditions also. For nearly twenty years an annual reading of the Tripitaka (Three Baskets of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings) , lasting ten days, has been held at the Mahabodhi Stupa in Bodhgaya.
The morning session concluded with a recitation of the Aspiration for the Teachings to Flourish, dedicating the merit accumulated by reading the Kangyur to the happiness and benefit of all sentient beings.