Sravasti Abbey, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and community in Newport, Washington State, has announced that it will host “In the Presence of the Tathagata,” the first complete English-language recitation of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, from 27–31 May, concluding on the auspicious day of Saga Dawa Duchen.
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines—newly translated and published by 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, a nonprofit initiative founded by the renowned Bhutanese lama, author, and filmmaker Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche—is among the oldest Mahayana Buddhist scriptures and the earliest text of the Prajnaparamita, dating to around the first century CE.
The text focuses on bodhisattva conduct and the attainment of transcendent wisdom. Its teachings on wisdom and the nature of reality have shaped traditional Buddhist philosophy, meditation practice, and devotional life, notably within Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
“Participants of the sutra resounding will recite the 32-chapter sutra in three daily sessions, culminating on Saga Dawa Duchen. . . .” Ven. Thubten Chonyi, a bhikshuni at Sravasti Abbey, shared with BDG. “All sessions of the resounding will be live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook, along with scrolling text to invite worldwide participation in this historic event.”
Saga Dawa (Skt: Vaishakha), the fourth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar, is the most important Buddhist religious and cultural event of the year. The name is derived from the clan name of Shakyamuni Buddha. The occasion is also known in Tibetan as Bumgyur Dawa, “the 100,000-multiplying month,” as karma from all skillful and unskillful actions is believed to be multiplied 100,000 times. This year, Saga Dawa runs from 17 May–15 June, with Saga Dawa Duchen, the single most important day of the year for Tibetan Buddhists, commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and final passing into parinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha, falling on 31 May, the full moon day. The occasion is also known around the world as Buddha Purnima and Vesak in other Buddhist traditions and following different calendars.
“Monastics and lay reciters are welcomed. The sutra will be read aloud in unison in three two-hour sessions daily,” Sravasti Abbey remarked. “In this time of global confusion and manifest suffering, let the wisdom of the Eight Thousand and the incalculable merit of reciting it resound throughout all lands.” (Sravasti Abbey)
Click here for full details and to register for in-person or online attendance
“The resounding at Sravasti Abbey offers a rare opportunity to encounter one of Buddhism’s most profound scriptures—not as text on a page, but as living speech—and to be part of its first complete recitation in the English language,” said Ven. Konchog Norbu, copy editor at 84000, who will lead the recitation. “As the text itself notes, there is an established tradition of simply reading or reciting the sutra respectfully, allowing its words to bring about their subtle effect without analysis.”
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a long-term undertaking to translate and publish all surviving canonical texts preserved in the Classical Tibetan language—70,000 pages of the Kangyur (the translated words of the Buddha) in 25 years and 161,800 pages of the Tengyur (the translated commentaries on the Buddha’s teachings by the great Indian Buddhist masters and scholars) in 100 years. According to 84000, less than 5 per cent of the canon had hitherto been translated into a modern language, and due to a rapid decline in the knowledge of Classical Tibetan and in the number of qualified scholars, the world is in danger of losing an irreplaceable cultural and spiritual wisdom legacy.
“The resounding also serves as a consecration of Sravasti Abbey’s new Buddha Hall, a milestone in the establishment of Buddhism in the West,” Sravasti Abbey added. “That a community of Western monastics will recite this ancient sutra in English, in a monastery that is built for a global audience, is itself a quiet landmark in the transmission of Buddhism.”
Sravasti Abbey is the first Tibetan monastery for Western monastics in the US. The American bhikshuni Ven. Thubten Chodron founded the abbey in 2003. His Holiness the Dalai Lama named the abbey after the capital city of the ancient kingdom of Kosala, where the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, spent most of his life and gave most of his teachings after attaining enlightenment. Female and male monastics study and practice together at the abbey, with spiritual support and social engagement as key aspects of monastic life.
Born in California in 1950, Ven. Thubten Chodron was ordained as Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977 and received full ordination in the Gelug tradition in 1986. She has studied under His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, and Lama Thubten Yeshe. A revered Dharma teacher, Ven. Chodron is renowned for her warm, practical, and humorous explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue.
See more
Sravasti Abbey
In the Presence of the Tathagata: A Monastic Resounding of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Sravasti Abbey)
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (84000)
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