ceremonies at mindrolling monastery vajrasattva drubchen th day of st lunar month the vajrasattva drubchen is a seven day ceremony based on the minling dorsem or mindrolling vajrasattva ritual minling dorsem is part of the vajrasattva cycle of teachings discovered by chogyal terdag lingpa the drubchen is held every year for seven days beginning on the th day of the st lunar month this grand ceremony is performed to purify the negativities of all sentient beings particularly of the deceased on the th day of the st lunar month sangha gathers to perform a special ceremony for those who have died within the previous year kagyed drubchen th day of st lunar month beginning the th day of the st lunar month the drubchen is a ten day ceremony it is based on the kagyed de sang du pa terma that is one of the treasure teachings discovered by the renowned terton nyang ral nyima woezer and later revived by terdag lingpa when terdag lingpa was about to pass into parinirvana it is said that he asked his disciples and sangha members not to weep but to realize the truth of impermanence he then instructed them that if they had devotion for him and truly wanted to benefit beings they should do the kagyed ceremony each year this he said would benefit the dharma and all sentient beings in accordance with the instructions of the great bodhisattva from that time on the kagyed drubchen has been held every year now being performed at the mindrolling monastery in india the final day of the ceremony is on the nd day of the nd lunar month which is the parinirvana day of terdag lingpa there are lama dances in the evenings of each day s ceremony the drubchen ends in the evening of the rd day of the nd lunar month with the ritual of bgodrub lenchog the receiving of siddhis ceremony and marme monlam butter lamp ceremony these are open to the public tsechu drubchen th day of nd lunar month since the heat in india makes it impossible for the dances in this ceremony to be performed in the th lunar month as they were in tibet this drubchen is held for three days beginning on the th day of the nd lunar month the tsechu drubchen marks the birth of guru padmasambhava and is done in accordance with the terma lama sangha which was discovered by the great treasure master guru chowang and later revived by terdag lingpa on the th day of the nd lunar month a full day s lama dance is performed in accordance with the ritual of lama sangdu these lama dances are renowned for their blessings and are the foremost examples of the lama dances in tibet in their original form many people come from all over to receive the blessings of this great ritual on the next day his holiness mindrolling trichen would bestow a long life empowerment to the public in order to dispel the obstacles and difficulties in the coming year the tradition has been observed down to the present day since the tsechu drubchen was performed in mindrolling it has been an opportunity both for everyone to receive the blessings of the mindrolling trichen and for the coming together of the monastic and lay sangha saga dawa drubchen th day of th month this drubchen held on the th day of the th lunar month marks the birth enlightenment and mahaparinirvana of shakyamuni buddha one of the most important occasions throughtout the buddhist world special prayers rituals and butter lamp offerings are made during the ceremony tel da tsechu th day of th lunar month this auspicious ceremony marks the birth of the guru mahaguru padmasambhava this drubchen is performed for three days in accordance with the lama sangdu text from the th to the th day of the th lunar month suring the drubhcen secial feast practices are done and the tsog feast offerings is distributed to the general community yarne the summer retreat th day of th lunar month to th day of the th lunar month this is the rain retreat for one and a half months from the th day of the th lunar month to the th day of th lunar month the retreat is held in accordance with the instructions of the buddha in the vinayana sutra directingall monks to observe certain restrictions and engage themselves in meditation and practices for the period khenpos and lopons give teachings each day and so jong or confessions are offered by the sangha during this retreat many butter lamps are offered and pujas are done during the retreat on the evening of the th the last day of the retreat selected monks give teachings and expound the dharma to the community the retreat is usually followed by a day holiday break for the monks drubchen for the nine dharmapalas th day of th lunar month