ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན། (ल्हाबब दुईछेन्) देव आवतरण
(The Buddha’s Descent from the Heavenly Realms)
The Buddha ascended to the heavenly realms at the age of 41, seven years after attaining enlightenment.One week after the birth of Prince Siddhartha, Queen Mayadevi passed away and was reborn in heaven. Using his divine eye, the Buddha saw that his mother had reincarnated among Brahma, Indra, and countless other deities in heavenly realms and decided to give religious discourses in the Ananda Dev Udhyan to attain enlightenment.
Upon ascending, the Buddha took many qualified monks with him to the heavenly realms, where he remained for only three months.After his ascent, two of the Buddha’s devotees, King Bimbisara and King Prasenajit, travelled to Shrawosti. They inquired about the Buddha’s whereabouts from the son of Arya Maudgaly, who was the son of the current Gumba leader. The son replied that the Buddha had ascended to heavenly realms.
Upon hearing this news, the kings asked Arya Maudgaly’s son to request that the Buddha descend back to earth soon. Immediately, the son conveyed the kings’ message to the Buddha. The Buddha replied that he would descend to Apjari Udhyan in Kasinagar in seven days time.
Hearing this news, the residents of Kasinagar decorated their gardens with precious gold, offerings, and flowers. They also performed many pujas in preparation for the Buddha’s descent.In contrast, the gods and goddesses who resided in the heavens were saddened by the knowledge of the Buddha’s imminent departure. Knowing this, the Buddha calmly comforted them, explaining through his sermons that he had to return to earth to continue his teaching.
Indra, upon hearing the news, ordered Bishwakarma (the architect of the gods) to construct a special ladder for the Buddha’s descent. Bishwakarma completed three ladders within seven days: one decorated with rare gems for the Buddha, one decorated with gold for Brahma, and one decorated with silver for Indra.
When the Buddha finally descended from the heavens back to earth, he was showered with flowers, colourful lights, incense, and sandalwood by all the gods and goddesses. Meanwhile, the Kings and residents of Nagar welcomed him with musical melodies and prayers.
To mark and remember this day, the Kings and people on earth built a stupa named “देवलोकावतरण स्तूप” (Devlokavataran Stupa). From that day forward, Buddhists celebrated this event annually.
It is believed that during this auspicious day, those who donate money, perform pujas, and practice fasting can obtain twice as many merits for their next life—a principle mentioned by the Buddha himself.
By Khenrinpoche Shirlama Guru
