Benchen News Letter
PDF Pages 46-48
| First month | 1st to 3rd | official losar (new year) celebrations and beginning of a one-month holiday for the monks. |
| 11th and 12th | Monlam prayer. |
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| Second month | 6th to 10th | White Tara practice ( Dolma ngoe drub kun tsol) in the mornings and Tseringma (the protector of Milarepa) in the afternoons. |
| Third month | 8th to 15th | Kalachakra drubpa. 3 days for he ground-blessing puja and sand mandala construction and 5 days of kalachakra drubpa, after which the sand mandala is taken to the river. |
| 23rd 25th | Chod practice (Chod tsok Yonten kunjung) |
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| Fourth month | 3rd to 5th | Shingkyong Kangdoe puja (special dharma protector of Benchen monastery) |
| Fifth month | 9th to 15th | Chakra Sambhava drubpa (first 2 days ground blessing and sand mandala construction and 5 days of drubpa, including the selfinitiation and fire puja) |
| Sixth month | 4th to 10th | Hevajra (gur rigdu) puja (ground blessing, sand mandala construction and drubpa. |
| 14th | Start of the summer retreat (yarne), which continues for 11/2 months. |
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| Seventh month | 7th to 9th | Rain of Wisdom (kagyu gurtsho) prayer recitation. |
| 21st to 25th | Vairochana practice (kunrig drubpa) |
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| 30th | Last day of the summer retreat |
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| Eighth month | 9th to 15th | Red Chenrezig (gyalwa gyatsho), including ground-blessing, construction of the sand mandala, self initiation and fire puja. |
| Ninth month | 4th to 10th | 9-deity Hevajra (gyedor lhagu), including ground-blessing, construction of the sand mandala, self initiation and fire puja. |
| 30th | Start of the Vajra Kilaya drubchen, which finishes on the 11th of the 10 month. This puja is done every other year, alternating with the Guru RInpoche drubchen, and was held in 2006. This includes the ground-breaking puja with a lama dance, mandala construction, initiation, concluding with two days of lama dances held in the courtyard. |
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| Tenth month | 3rd to 10th | Guru Rinpoche drubchen. This puja is held on alternate years with the Vajra Kilaya puja and will take place this year (2007). It concludes with two days of lama dances held in the courtyard. |
| 13th to 15th | Padma Vajra drubpa and the Bardo drubpa, the puja of the peaceful and wrathful deities. These pujas are held on alternate years. |
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| Eleventh month | 24th to 30th | Dorje Drolo, the wrath aspect of Guru Rinpoche, and the 4-armed Mahakala (gonpo chagshipa). These pujas are held on alternate years. |
| Twelfth month | 22nd to 30th | Mahakala puja (gondrup gutor chenmo). This puja concludes with two days of lama dances, the receiving of the accomplishment blessings and the smoke offering puja. |
H.E. Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche’s birthday is celebrated on the 19th of November and V.V. Tenga Rinpoche’s birthday is celebrated on the 4th day of the 6th month of the Tibetan Lunar Calander. |
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