On the new moon day of the 1st Winter month in the Water Hare year, Lord Buddha Tönpa Shenrap Miwoché demonstrated the truth of impermanence by leaving behind the container of his physical body and transcending worldly suffering. In 2025, the anniversary of this date coincides with December 19th on the Western calendar. Any virtuous activity performed through the three doors of body, speech, or mind on this day is greatly multiplied.
At the age of eighty-two shen years (8,200 human years), the enlightened Lord Buddha Tönpa Shenrap Miwoché began to display the truth of impermanence for sentient beings by allowing the constituents of his physical body to become weak and to manifest illness. Alarmed, his disciples performed rituals and administered medicine. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of these methods according to relative truth, the Buddha temporarily recovered.
However, after a brief time had passed, he caused his physical condition to again weaken. This provided an opportunity for the Buddha to give teachings to his disciples regarding the process of death. Before leaving his physical human body, the Buddha spoke with his assembly of disciples and entrusted them with the responsibility of being lineage holders for particular teachings. He then prophesied regarding the future of his teachings including his teachings of mind, the time period when the written scriptures would no longer exist but would continue only by being held in the mind.
“After I pass into nirvana, for 1,800 years the legacy of the teachings made during the presence of a Buddha’s body will be completed. Then, after my representative appears, my teachings of speech will remain for 10,000 human years. After that, the teachings of mind will remain for another 10,000 human years. After the teachings of mind come to an end, the average human lifespan will eventually decrease to only ten years. At that time, the future Teacher will appear. Those connected to me and my teachings, having reached the irreversible stage on the path, will dwell in liberation in the realm of absolute reality.”
At dusk on the new moon day of the 1st Winter month at the Nine-leveled Yungdrung Mountain, Lord Buddha Tönpa Shenrap Miwoché adopted the posture of a sleeping lion and demonstrated the accomplishment of passing beyond suffering. After the cremation of his physical body, the relics from the ash were distributed among the gods, humans, and the lu [Sanskrit: naga] as objects of faith and devotion.
After that, the assembly of disciples led by Aza Sangwa prepared vast and unsurpassed offerings and then presented them to the Teacher. Aza Sangwa then sang this verse:
“Highest Shen, having perfected renunciation and realization, you have blissfully departed. With compassion for beings, you took on a human form as the Victorious One. To you who took on this form, I prostrate!
Noble son of the Victorious One, glory of beings, you took on a form for the sake of migrating beings, a self-arisen emanation body. You sat upon the throne of the universal monarch and guided beings through the Nine Ways. In the realm of absolute reality, your nature is spontaneously perfect. Appearing as an tülku, you contemplated the welfare of beings. In the billion world systems of this pure realm, you emanated a billion emanations to tame. To you who fully tames, I prostrate!
For the difficult to tame sentient beings of cyclic existence, you deeply contemplate them with wisdom and loving compassion. You pacify their suffering and misery, causing them to abandon the lower realms and to be established on the path of liberation. To the perfect guide, I prostrate!
The Teacher, the glorious lamp of omniscience, although passing into nirvana in the vast expanse of the nature of phenomena, in order for your unceasing compassion to remain, you established the three aspects of the teachings as your legacy. To the Victorious One, I prostrate!
Holy son of the Victorious One, although you were without any need for practice or attainment while experiencing various hardships, you perfected practice and attainment as an example for the benefit of migrating beings. To you who has perfects attainments, I prostrate!
Although there is no birth or death in the Victorious One’s body, in order to demonstrate with an example that phenomena with characteristics are impermanent, you showed the manner of passing into nirvana into the vast expanse of the true nature of phenomena. To the one who is completely accomplished, I prostrate!
Extract from the Zi Ji
Having offered this praise, the entire assembly prostrated, circumambulated, and made offerings. As a result, all the realms of the world intensely trembled. From the sky, many bright lights shone forth. From the intermediate space, many melodious sounds resounded. From the earth, many beautiful flowers bloomed. Among the realms tamed by the Teacher, countless sentient beings from the realms of the gods, the demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings attained buddhahood. Those who remained behind were filled with great joy and became extremely attentive to the Yungdrung Bön teachings. Then, the Teacher’s pronouncements were finalized and compiled into precious volumes totaling sixty thousand, that were enshrined within the sacred site of Trimon Gyalzhe.
One year later, an assembly of thirteen yungdrung sempa [Sanskrit: bodhisattvas] compiled the teachings of Lord Buddha. Time passed, and the era of being able to rely upon the physical presence of the Buddha drew to a close. Then began the era of relying upon the Buddha’s speech. Lord Tönpa Shenrap’s successor, Mucho Demdruk, descended from the sky into Olmo Lungring and began to turn the wheel of Yungdrung Bön for gods and humans. Among his disciples were “the six intellectual ornaments of the world.” These six scholars translated the teachings of Lord Buddha into their respective native languages of Tazik, India, China, and Trom and therefore were able to spread the teachings of enlightenment in every direction.
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