ШИНЭ ЖИЛИЙН АЧЛАЛ ТАХИЛ

Abstract

The present article entitled ”Thanksgiving Offering at the Lunar New Year” describes a special ritual performed in Mongolian Buddhist monasteries at the Lunar New Year. After listing the different types of thanksgiving offering (danrag, Tib. gtang rag), the performance of Tsederiin danrag (T. tshes gtor gyi dan rag) dedicated to Śrīdevī (Baldan lkham, Tib. Dpal ldan lha mo) at the New Year‟Eve is described. The offered goods are listed with their Mongolian, Tibetan, and Sanskrit names, and Tibetan and Mongolian sutras are examined to find the origin of the ritual. Though one of the aims of the thanksgiving is to thank Śrīdevī‟s support of the year passed, another aim is to encourage her to maintain this support helping the monastery, the monks, and all sentient beings in the New Year as well. It seems that the ritual related to Śrīdevī was first written by the 4th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (T. Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570-1662).