When
The Kagyu Monlam will take place during Saga Dawa, the most auspicious month in the Tibetan calendar, where the anniversary of Lord Buddha’s Birth, His Enlightenment and Parinirvana all occur. The UK Kagyu Monlam usually begins on the morning of the 4th day of Saga Dawa and finishes in the evening of the 10th day, Guru Rinpoche day. Exact dates and times will be confirmed later.
Saga Dawa Refuge Ceremony
A few days after the Kagyu Monlam, on the auspicious 15th day of Saga Dawa (20th May 2027), the anniversary of Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment and Parinirvana, our Abbot, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche will give Refuge to anyone wishing to enter the Buddhist Path. Please send an email to reception@samyeling.org if you would like to take refuge on this day.
About Kagyu Monlam
The Kagyu Monlam is a major international prayer festival held annually in Bodhgaya, India, where people gather to listen to Buddhist teachings and to pray for peace and harmony and the well-being and happiness of the world. It is now also held annually in other countries all over the world on a smaller scale and this will be the seventh time it is being held in the UK.
Full details of this year’s UK Kagyu Monlam are yet to be confirmed and will follow later.
History
Though the Kagyu Monlam belongs fully to the contemporary world, its roots lie in 15th-century Tibet, where the 7th Karmapa, Chödrak Gyatso, established the tradition of great prayer gatherings. People from all over Tibet assembled annually to pray for the benefit of all sentient beings. In India, the Monlam tradition began in 1983, when two great lamas in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Kalu Rinpoche and Bokar Rinpoche, began holding annual prayer gatherings at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya.After the 17th Karmapa assumed responsibility for the festival in 2004, he brought in many innovations, creating the international festival that exists today.
