NEWS

New Year Refuge: A Global Celebration of the Buddha

By Craig Lewis

Buddhistdoor Global | 2020-12-31 |

As 2020 draws to a close and we look to the new year—perhaps with relief, or with hope for new opportunities for positive change—organizations founded by the renowned Bhutanese lama, filmmaker, and author Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche have planned a global online event, On His Lotus Seat: A Celebration of the Buddha, as an opportunity to revisit the foundation of the Buddhadharma: refuge in the Three Jewels, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

The global gathering has been organized by Bhumisparsha (a project of Siddhartha’s Intent India), 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, and The Kumarajiva Project (a Khyentse Foundation initiative).

“This year has been a particularly challenging one, and it continues to test the resilience of many around the world,” co-organizer Siddartha’s Intent said in an announcement. “As friends and family enter into successive waves of coronavirus-induced uncertainty and sufferings, it is with the genuine hope that it will contribute to the resilience, health, and well-being of everyone everywhere that we wish to bring you an inspiring reminder to simply touch the earth.”

The one-hour event will feature creative offerings honoring the Buddha, including musical performances, short films, plus a bilingual sutra recitation of Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels, which was recently translated into English by 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha and into Chinese by The Kumarajiva Project.

This special New Year event has been schedule twice to accommodate participants in all time zones:

Friday, 1 January, 2pm and Saturday, 2 January 2am (Aukland)
Friday, 1 January, 12pm and Saturday, 2 January 12am (Canberra)
Friday, 1 January, 10am and 10pm (Seoul, Tokyo)
Friday, 1 January, 9am and 9pm (Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei)
Friday, 1 January, 8am and 8pm (Bangkok, Jakarta)
Friday, 1 January, 6:30am and 6:30pm (New Delhi)
Friday, 1 January, 4am and 4pm (Moscow)
Friday, 1 January, 2am and 2pm (Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm)
Friday, 1 January, 1am and 1pm (London)
Thursday, 31 January, 8pm and Friday, 1 January, 8am (Montréal, New York)
Thursday, 31 January, 5pm and Friday, 1 January, 5am (Los Angeles, Vancouver)

To attend this virtual event, please follow either of the two links below:

9am [GMT/UTC+8]: YouTube Live

9pm [GMT/UTC+8]: YouTube Live

For those participating in the recitation of Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels, the text may be downloaded from the following links:

English Chinese

“We hope that this live event can help evoke a contemplative state of mind as we emerge from a particularly challenging year,” Pema Abraham, Communications Director at 84000, told Buddhistdoor Global. “We aspire to create situations where ancient wisdom can be expressed through modes of contemporary culture. In this way, and working together, we hope to revitalize rather than memorialize Buddha’s teaching for future generation.”

Born in Bhutan in 1961, and now based in Himachal Pradesh, India, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is the son of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and was a close student of the Nyingma master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91). He is recognized as the third incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, founder of the Khyentse lineage, and the immediate incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893–1959). His projects and initiatives include Siddhartha’s Intent, an international collective of Buddhist groups supporting Rinpoche’s Buddhadharma activities by organizing teachings and retreats, distributing and archiving recorded teachings, and transcribing, editing, and translating manuscripts and practice texts; Khyentse Foundation, which promotes the Buddha’s teaching and supports all traditions of Buddhist study and practice; 84000, a non-profit global initiative to translate the words of the Buddha and make them available to all; Lotus Outreach, which directs a wide range of projects to help refugees; and more recently The Lhomon Society, which promotes sustainable development in Bhutan through education.

See more

Siddartha’s Intent
Siddhartha’s Intent India
Bhumisparsha: Touching the Earth (Siddhartha’s Intent India)
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
Khyentse Foundation
The Kumarajiva Project (English)
The Kumarajiva Project (Traditional Chinese)
The Kumarajiva Project (Simplified Chinese)