The Monthly Offering Days (Ten-Day Offerings) of Amitabha Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism

 

In the Tibetan Buddhist (Vajrayana) tradition, specific days in each Tibetan month are considered the "Ten-Day Offerings" (Tibetan: ཚེས་བཅུ, tshe bcu) for a particular deity. These days are considered the deity's "descent day" or "day of increased merit." Practicing, making offerings, reciting mantras, and chanting Buddha's name on these days brings far greater merit than on ordinary days.

 

The Ten-Day Offerings to Amitabha Buddha are **the 10th and 25th of each Tibetan month** (the 10th being the most important):

 

**The 10th of each month**: Considered the "main offering day" (primary ten-day offering) for Amitabha Buddha, the principal deity of the Pure Land of Bliss. Practicing Amitabha Buddha's teachings on this day brings particularly great merit.

 

- **25th of each month:** The Ten-Day Offering to Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche). However, because Guru Rinpoche has a very deep Pure Land lineage connection with Amitabha Buddha (Guru Rinpoche is considered an emanation of Amitabha Buddha), many monasteries and practitioners also practice Amitabha Buddha on this day.

 

Especially in the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug schools, the 10th of each month is widely regarded as "Amitabha Day," and many monasteries hold the following activities on this day:

 

- Amitabha smoke offering and butter sculpture offering

 

- Reciting the Amitabha Sutra and the "Sukhavati Aspiration Prayer"

 

- Reciting the Amitabha mantra (ཨ་མི་དེ་ཝ་ཧྲཱིཿ / Om Ami Dewa Hrih)

 

- Practicing the "Phowa" (rebirth practice) or the Sukhavati Dharma assembly

 

The Origin of Amitabha Belief in Tibetan Buddhism

 

The Pure Land practice of Amitabha (Tibetan: འོད་དཔག་མེད་, Wöpame) entered Tibet mainly through the following stages and key figures:

 

1. **8th Century: The Period of Padmasambhava (Trisong Detsen)**

 

Padmasambhava is considered an emanation (speech emanation) of Amitabha Buddha. When he, along with King Trisong Detsen and Shantarakshita, established the first monastery in Tibet with all three jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) at Samye Monastery, he brought the Amitabha Pure Land belief to Tibet.

 

Padmasambhava left behind many terma (hidden treasure teachings) related to Amitabha Buddha, such as the "Prayer for Sukhavati" (Tibetan: བདེ་སྨོན་, Bde-smon), which remains a daily prayer for rebirth in Sukhavati among Tibetans.

 

**2. 11th Century: The New Translation Period and Atisha**

 

Atisha (982–1054), while primarily teaching the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, also vigorously promoted the Pure Land teachings. He once said, "In the Dharma-ending Age, sentient beings have shallow capacities; relying solely on Amitabha Buddha's forty-eight vows makes rebirth in the Pure Land the easiest path."

 

3. **After the 14th Century: Widespread Emphasis Across Schools**

 

- Karma Pakshi (Kalomba) of the Kagyu school wrote the famous commentary on the *Sukhavati Aspiration Prayer*.

 

- Longchen Rabjampa (Longchenpa) of the Nyingma school integrated the Amitabha Buddha teachings into Dzogchen.

 

- Tsongkhapa of the Gelug school, in his *Lamrim Chenmo* (Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment), specifically listed reciting Amitabha Buddha's name for rebirth in the Pure Land as one of the most important practices for beginners.

 

- The First Panchen Lama, Khedrup Je, specifically expounded on the Phowa practice (transfer of consciousness to rebirth in Sukhavati) in his *Lamrim Chenmo*.

 

The Profound Influence of Amitabha Buddha on Tibetan Buddhism

 

1. **The Most Common Method for At the Time of Death and Rebirth**

 

In Tibet, almost all Tibetans (both lay and monastic) rely primarily on Amitabha Buddha and the Phowa practice (transfer of consciousness) at the time of death. Many eminent monks and virtuous masters, upon their passing, would sit facing west (towards the Pure Land of Amitabha), reciting the name or mantra of Amitabha Buddha.

 

2. **The Sukhavati Aspiration Prayer Becomes a Daily Must**

 

The Sukhavati Aspiration Prayer (Zhīměi Chögyāna Aspiration Prayer), composed by Guru Rinpoche, Trisong Detsen, and Shantarakshita, is the first thing Tibetans do upon waking each morning. It is recited daily in almost every household and monastery, praying for "unobstructed death and rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha."

 

3. **SBP. **Becomes an Important Component of Tibetan Buddhism's "Common Preliminary Practices"**

 

In the "Common Preliminary Practices" (Ngöndro) of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, reciting the Buddha's name one million times or the Amitabha Buddha mantra one million times is a mandatory practice.

 

4. **Inseparable from Deity Yoga**

 

Tibetan Buddhism considers Amitabha Buddha not only as the Pure Land deity of "other-power," but also as the Red Sambhogakaya Buddha (indistinguishable from Avalokiteshvara, Samantabhadra, etc.). Therefore, practicing Amitabha Buddha is also regarded as the most profound Vajrayana deity yoga.

 

In summary, in Tibetan Buddhism, Amitabha Buddha is not only the principal deity of salvation in "other Pure Lands," but also regarded as the "luminous mind" of all Buddhas of the three times. Offerings and practices on the 10th (and 25th) of each month are among the most widespread and important Buddhist activities in Tibet, and remain deeply integrated into the lives and deaths of every Tibetan to this day.