Saka Dawa, also known as Vesak, Vishakha, Buddha Jayanti,Buddha Purnima, and Buddha Day, is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana (passing away) of the Buddha. Traditionally, during the month of Saka Dawa, practitioners work to attain merit (good karma) gained through study, practice, reciting sutras and mantras, engaging in pilgrimages, circumambulating monasteries and holy sites, and by performing acts of altruism and generosity. SBT, following the Western calendar, celebrates Saka Dawa throughout the month of June, with a strong emphasis placed on the last week, culminating in our ‘Day of Observance online retreat and celebration’ on the final Sunday of June. For SBT, Saka Dawa is a time to focus deeply on our spiritual growth and awakening, through joyful study, practice, and engaging with sangha.

Venerable Tenzin Tarpa is the founder and director of SBT – The Secular Buddhist Tradition. A fully ordained Buddhist monk and student of The Dalai Lama, Venerable Tarpa is a teacher, author, and philosopher with nearly three decades in Buddhist studies, including a decade in Buddhist monasteries in India.

SBT – the Secular Buddhist Tradition, is an international spiritual community dedicated to Secular Buddhism and the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. SBT presents the Buddha’s teachings as neither a religion nor exotic belief system, sharing a practical presentation focused on the positive life-affirming message of the Buddha, while emphasizing and prioritizing those aspects that we deem most credible, illuminating, and effective. The aim of SBT is to inform and guide without sharing presumptions of what to believe.

Learn more about SBT and Venerable Tarpa at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://SBTonline.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#buddhism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #secularbuddhism⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #meditation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#mindfulness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#happiness⁠⁠⁠ #Dalailama #spirituality ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠