Ask a Buddhist: What is the ‘Day of Miracles’?
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Commentary by Ven. Thubten Chonyi | FāVS News
The Day of Miracles is one of the four main holy days in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar. It celebrates the time when a group of ascetics challenged the Buddha to a contest of miracles at Sravasti, India.
Although the Buddha did not want to show his miraculous powers, as this was the only way to subdue these ascetics and help them to develop faith in the Buddhadharma, he performed magnificent miracles each day for 15 days, outshining all opponents. The whole story is described in this post.
As a result, the ascetics as well as a huge assembly of humans and devas adopted the Buddhist doctrine, practiced it and gained spiritual attainments. Subsequent generations continue to be inspired by the Buddha’s demonstration of his extraordinary qualities.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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Thank you for this interesting introduction to new (for me) holiday. The miracle contest reminds me of similar contests in Hebrew scriptures between followers of Baal and followers of Yahweh, and in “The Journey West” between Buddhist and Daoist monks.