Dzamling Chisang or Universal Prayer Day on the 15th day of the fifth month in Tibetan Calendar

Dzamling Chisang or Universal Prayer Day, which occurs on the 15th day of the fifth month in Tibetan Calendar, is an important Tibetan festival. Tibetan people will put on costumes all to celebrate this day by climbing to the tops of nearby mountains to burn incense and hang prayer flags there. People will wish good harvests and a good health when they are burning incense.

Dzamling Chisang or Universal Prayer Day

There is a legend about the origin of this Universal Prayer Day. It is said that there were ghosts coming to disturb the walls when building the Samye Monastery. In order to make sure the Samye Monastery can be built successfully, a sacrificial ceremony of burning incense had been performed on the 13 days of May in Tibetan calendar. After that, those ghosts were gone and the construction of Samye Monastery went smoothly. So, it is the origin of this festival. And there is another saying about this festival. In ancient times, when Tibetan men returned from expeditions or hunting, the tribal leaders, the elderly, women and children would gather outside the village and burn cypresses and herbs to expel dirty things on their bodies. Thus, burning incense is considered as a way of cleansing. On the other hand, this festival is also celebrated to commemorate Guru Rinpoche's sugjugation of the local deities.

Many Dharma actions will be performed today. Local people will go to the tops of mountains to burn as much incense as possible. And they will hang prayer flags with mantras on trees, which will benefit all human beings by the wind.

Dzamling Chisang or Universal Prayer Day