Lhabab Düchen (Tibetan: ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན།) — the “Festival of the Descent from Heaven” — falls on the 22nd day of the ninth Tibetan lunar month. It celebrates the Buddha’s return to our world after teaching the Dharma in the heaven realms.
In the Fire Horse Year (2153) Lhabab Düchen falls on Sunday, 1 November 2026.
The Buddha’s Descent
It is recounted that the Buddha ascended to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Trāyastriṃśa) to repay the kindness of his mother, Queen Mayadevi, who had been reborn there — teaching the Dharma to her and to the gods for three months. At the close of the rains he descended once more to earth, an event honoured ever since as Lhabab Düchen.
One of the Four Great Holy Days
Lhabab Düchen is one of the four great Düchen of the Tibetan Buddhist calendar — together with Chötrul Düchen, Saka Dawa Düchen, and Chökhor Düchen. On these days the effects of all actions, positive and negative, are said to be multiplied many millions of times, making them especially powerful occasions for prayer, purification, and generosity.
How to Take Part
At Segyu Gaden Phodrang we mark this day with prayers and offerings. You are warmly invited to offer butter lamps, flowers, and dedications, or to sponsor a puja so that our monks may dedicate the merit for you and for all beings. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates on this year’s observance.