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Chökhor Düchen
(First turning of the Dharma Wheel)
Chökhor Duchen is celebrated every year on the 4th day of the 6th lunar month of the Tibetan calendar. This year Chökhor Duchen falls on 9 and 10 July and 8th August (according to the Tibetan calendar Chökhor Düchen falls over 2 months and in the 1st month over 2 days).
Chökhor Düchen is one of the days considered as very auspicious in the Buddhist calendar and commemorates the day Buddha first taught the Dharma at Deer Park, Sarnath, India. It was at this first turning of the Dharma wheel that he taught the Four Noble Truths. Any virtuous acts and practices on this day are considered to be of vast benefit and merit.
During these auspicious days take time to reflect upon the teachings of Buddha and rejoice in the merit of enlightened activity.
Traditional texts explain that after the Buddha realized awakening beneath the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, he spent seven weeks there engaged in a series of contemplations. At first, he was reluctant to teach, concerned that people would not understand his message. After being requested to teach he journeyed to the Deer Park at Isipatana. We now know the site as Sarnath, and it sits about 8 kilometers from Varanasi in northern India.