The Day of Three Feats of Buddha Shakyamuni is "vegetarian day" in Tuva

On 17 May, masses and prayers will be performed in all the temples of Tuva, associated with the celebration of Day of Three Feats of Buddha Shakyamuni. As the abbot of the main "Tsechenling" temple, Tenzin Chimba (Buyan Bashki) informed the Savetibet.ru portal, this year Buddhist clergy turned to Tuvan Buddhists with a special request to dedicate this day to performing good deeds. Beside that,  Buddhist monks and priests, who are members of the Buddhist association of Tuva, proposed to the residents of the republic to renounce eating of meat on this day.

" For nomadic people (Tuvans, Kalmyks, Buryats, Mongols, and Tibetans) meat eating is a tradition that is very difficult to renounce, said Buyan Bashki. - However, we appeal to make this day a vegetarian one, so that as few as possible living creatures suffer on this day, and people can accumulate spiritual merit in this way."

The 15^th day of the 4^th month in Lunar calendar is considered to be the most significant day of the year. According to the biography of the Buddha Shakyamuni, it was precisely this day in different years that the founder of  Buddhism was born, reached full Enlightenment, and again in old age on the same day departed for Parinirvana.

Traditionally, Buddhists try to send this day in prayer, they visit temples, donate offerings to monks and give small offerings to the needy. The merit from any good deed performed on this day, is infinitely multiplied.

In Buryatia and Tuva, this holiday is observed on 17 May, but in Tibet, Tibetan community in exile, and Kalmykia, where they use the calculations of Tibetan medicine institute in Dharamsala, the holiday will be celebrated one month later this year.