Buddhists worldwide have been reciting the
Sanghāta Sūtra regularly over the past four years. To view locations
around the world where the presence of the sutra has been established
through recitation and copying, view the Global Sanghata
Satellite Map, by
clicking here.
On particularly auspicious days each year, Sanghata Sutra practitioners
around the world put special effort into reciting the sutra
together.
Since so many people recited on these days in so many locations, those
days became days of global Sanghata recitation. To allow time to plan
ahead for such activities, we are here announcing days in 2007
when the Sanghata community worldwide is invited to join to recite ths
amazing and transformative sutra.
Since very few of us live near large Dharma communities, reciting
together in our own homes or Dharma centers on days of global
recitation gives us as an opportunity to come together with our much
larger Sanghata community, to join our energy and our voices with those
of other Sanghata friends, no matter how distant. The merit
that
is generated by group activities far exceeds that of indivudal
activities, and global recitations are an occasion to gather either
physically with your local community or simply join with others who are
reciting around the planet on the same day. As you
recite, you can do so with an awareness that many others are
reciting with you, all sending forth the sound of the words of the
Buddha around this planet.
Everyone who recites it on these days (and any other, of course!) is
invited to report back at www.sanghatasutra.net/report.html
so the map can be marked with all the places the Sanghata has
been established. This gives all of us the opportunity to increase our
merit by rejoicing in what others have done!
March 3 - Day of Miracles, Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse
(Saturday) - On this full moon day, there will be a total lunar
eclipse, only one of two in the year. Although it is explained
that on lunar eclipse days, merit is multiplied by 1,000, this is also
the Day of Miracles, commemorating Buddha's elaborate display of his
powers to dispel the doubts of people in Shravasti. Thus the effects of
virtuous actions on this day may be understtod to be exponentially
greater. The peak of this total eclipse will be at 23:20 Greenwich mean
time. To convert GMT to your local time, click here. For details on the visibility of the eclipse, click here.
May 2 - Theravadin Vesak, Kalachakra Anniversary
(Wednesday) - This day is celebrated throughout the Theravada world as
the anniversary of Buddha's birth, enlightenment and parinirvana. This
year, the day coincides with the anniversary of the Buddha's teaching
of the Kalachakra, marking this as a particularly inclusive day to mark
virtuous activites across Buddhist traditions. This is also a full moon
day! As you recite today, you can do so rejoicing in the knowledge that
Dharma brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and elsewhere
are energetically engaging in virtue.
July 18 - Turning of the Wheel of Dharma
(Wednesday) - By teaching sutras such as the Sanghata,
Buddha's first turned the wheel of Dharma 2,5000 years ago, to set in
motion the transmission of the teachings on compassion and peace that
still benefit us so greatly today. This year you are invited to
join to repay that kindness by keeping that wheel turning by
lending your voice to reciting the Buddha's own words!
November 1 - Descent from Heaven; All-Saints Day
(Thursday) Buddha descends from heaven, where he had been offering
Dharma teachings to his mother. Because the Buddha's mother had passed
away shortly after his birth, he was unable to fulfill his commiment to
repay his mother's kindness by teach her Dharma after his enlightenment
on earth, and so went to heaven to do so. Merits are said to be
multiplied greatly on this day. This is also All Saints' Day, a
Christian holiday widely associated with prayers for those who have
deceased. In many countries, people visit their relatives's graves to
offer lights and flowers on this day. Since Buddha was also
seeking to benefit his deceased mother, the coincidence of these two
holidays makes this a wonderful day to recite for those who have passed
away this year.
Past Global Recitation Days
March 14 - Sutra Recited on Vulture's Peak Itself (Day
of Miracles)
(Tuesday) On this day, the Sanghata was
recited again on the very spot where in India where it was first
uttered by
the Buddha, at Vulture’s Peak itself, in Raja-griha. A group of
pilgrims from Puerto Rico joined by the translator of the
Sanghata into English, brought the words of the Buddha back to the very
place from which they were first released on this earth. The group
recited verses from the sutra in Sanskrit, Tibetan and English,
and then the entire
sutra in Spanish, while the English translator recited in Sanskrit.
The Indian caretaker who tends the small shrine at Vulture's Peak told
some of the pilgrims that in the seventeen years he had been tending
that shrine, no gropu had ever stayed as long as ours! Most of the
group had received the oral
transmission of the Sanghata from Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche, making their
recitations particularly potent. Although we recited during the late
morning hours, approximately 9 am to noon, Indian time, the sun was
already blazing hot overhead. This highly
auspicious date marked the Day of Miracles. Making this day
particularly auspicious, it was a full moon day on which a lunar
eclipse
took place. This was marked in Buddhist calendars as a day for
precepts, doing posadha (sojong) and Medicine Buddha pujas.
Group of pilgrims sets motivation before reciting on Vulture's Peak - March 14, 2006
June 11 - Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment and
Mahaparinirvana.
(Sunday) This is a full moon day, and according to some
Buddhist traditions also the
birthday of the Buddha. This is marked in Buddhist calendars as a day
for taking precepts, and performing Medicine Buddha pujas.
January 14, 2006 - Complete English Translation Released
This was the first ever recitation of the new English translation
in its completed form. Saturday was also a full moon day, making this a
most suitable time to allow the fullness of the Sanghata to shine in
our lives and in our world, and ;to mark the appearance of the
completed translation. People were invited to recite in any of the 12
different languages that
Sanghata is now available in, making this a day when the
Buddha's teachings were given voice in many places and in many
lanugages. To see the locations of people who
reported reciting on this day, click
here. (Note, again, that this view shows only the 25 most
recently
reported activities. )
October 17, 2005 - Website Launch
This website had its official launch on October 17, a full
moon day with a lunar eclipse. People recited in
at least 82 locations (only counting those who reported their
recitations) in Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North
and South America, and was recited in nine different languages.
On this highly auspicious day, members of te Sanghata community in
Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, the UK,
Israel, Botswana, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Argentina, El
Salvador, Colombia, across the US, Puerto Rico and twelve cities in
Mexico recited the Sanghata Sutra! To see the locations of people who
reported reciting on this day, click
here. (Note: This view shows only the 25 most recently
reported activities. To
view the next set of 25 sites,
click on 'next' just under the map. It's easy to miss, but
it's there.)
November 12 - Buddha Descends from Heaven
Para amigos de habla hispana - For Spanish-speakers
