The Monlam Prayer Festival is held in many Tibetan monasteries across the Tibetan Plateau, but Rebkong (Tongren County) in Qinghai Province and Labrang (Xiahe) in Gansu Province, both in the Amdo region of Tibet, are the two most famous among them.
The Monlam Chenmo, also known as the Great Prayer Festival, is the most important Tibetan Buddhist celebration of the year. It falls on the 4th–11th days of the 1st Tibetan lunar month. Monlam means “wish-path” — the Buddhist path of helping others through prayers. The Monlam Chenmo commemorates the Buddha’s enlightenment, or full awakening from ignorance. All prayers are dedicated to sentient beings in the six realms (human realm, animal realm, hungry ghost realm, hell realm, demi-god realm, and god realm).
According to Buddhist belief, the time of Shakyamuni Buddha is considered the time of Dharma (the Buddha’s teachings) flourishing, or the time of spiritual prosperity. However, it has already passed its peak and is gradually declining. During the Monlam Festival, monks, nuns, as well as laypeople, send prayers in order to postpone and slow down this decline.
The Monlam Chenmo was established in 1409 by Lama Tsongkhapa, the great philosopher and founder of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The first festival was held in the Jokhang in Lhasa, where thousands of monks gathered together to chant prayers and perform religious rituals, such as Buddhist dances (cham), torma offerings, and giant thangka unveilings. Since these rituals have been preserved, they continue to be performed every first lunar month to this day.
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