In Tibetan this festival is called Monlam Chenmo, the Great Prayer Festival. It is held in the first Tibetan month, in the days after Losar (Tibetan New Year). It was founded in Lhasa in 1409 by the great teacher Tsongkhapa (Losang Drakpa), founder of the Gelug school.
In old Tibet, the whole country was invited to two weeks of prayer, rituals and teachings, from the new moon to the full moon of the first month. Huge crowds came to Lhasa. Thousands of monks from the three great monasteries of Drepung, Sera and Ganden gathered at the Jokhang Temple to pray and hold ceremonies.
The Origins of Monlam
Tsongkhapa chose this time of year because of a story from the life of the Buddha. Six rival teachers challenged the Buddha to a contest of miracles. For a long time he did not answer them, so people thought he was afraid. Then, in the first fifteen days of the year, he showed a great miracle every day and defeated them.
It is said that during the first Great Prayer Festival in 1409, everyone in Lhasa saw visions of Buddhas and gods filling the sky. People spent the festival as if on retreat: praying, making offerings, teaching, studying and debating.
The Day of Miracles
The full moon day at the end of Monlam is the Day of Miracles, the high point of the festival. Thousands of people, monks and lay people alike, come to pray, look at the large butter sculptures and make offerings to the monks. This tradition is still kept in many Gelug monasteries today.
Purpose of the Festival
Monlam is a time to pray for the long life of the great teachers of every Buddhist tradition, for the Buddha’s teaching to spread, and for world peace. People believe that prayers made together with strong faith remove obstacles to peace and help everyone live in harmony.
In the past, lay Tibetans celebrated from New Year’s Day until the end of Monlam. Pilgrims came from all over Tibet to join the prayers and to give donations to monks and nuns, and many other monasteries held their own prayer sessions.
Travel note: Tibet is often closed to foreign visitors for some weeks around Losar and Monlam. Ask us about the dates for your year before you plan a trip at this time.
