By Lam Rinchen Choezang
Ven. Rinchen Choezang is the abbot of Buddha Dordenma Kuensel Phodrang, home to Bhutan’s largest, most breathtaking statue of the Buddha and one of the headquarters of the Central Monastic Body (Zhung Dratshang).
On this most sacred and auspicious month of Choetrul Dawa, which is also known as the “Month of Miracles” to the Bhutanese people, the team of Buddha Dordenma Kuensel Phodrang will be conducting the Yönchap Bum Choed: the 100,000 Water Bowls Offering (also known in shorthand as Bum-yön). The event is running from 24 February to 3 March. This has been made possible with the generous support and sponsorship of devoted donors and volunteers. Over the course of eight days, we will offer 100,000 water bowls, lining them beautifully along the major structures of Buddha Dordenma, including our famous and iconic large statue of Buddha Shakyamuni.
When conducting the Yönchap ritual, bowls (usually with an ornate or religious design) are arranged in a straight line with a gap of a grain’s width, representing mindfulness and the path to enlightenment. They are filled fresh, usually in the morning, and emptied in the evening. You can perform this ceremony on any scale, even at your home’s shrine with just a few bowls. But the Yönchap Bum Choed is a specialized practice that involves offering 100,000 bowls of water and must be performed over several days. At Buddha Dordenma, our filling of the bowls will be accompanied by prayers for world peace, to remove obstacles, and for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.
Although water offerings had been part of Himalayan Buddhist practice as early as the 8th century, the tradition of yönchap is believed to have spread more widely in the 11th century, following the arrival of the Indian master Atisha in Tibet. Observing the pristine springs and rivers of the region, Atisha advised that in the Himalayas, pure water alone was sufficient as an offering material. From that time onward, the custom of presenting water each morning became a common devotional practice.
Our meritorious offering at Buddha Dordenma, like all Yönchap Bum Choed ceremonies, is dedicated to world peace and harmony, to the flourishing of compassion and wisdom, and to the well-being of society, the globe, and all sentient beings. May the profound blessings of this sacred month multiply this virtue countless times! May all conflicts be pacified, suffering be eased, and peace and harmony arise throughout the world!
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