New Year Eve

Tibetans celebrate New Year with the same enthusiasm as Westerners do for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and birthdays. However, New Year for Tibetans holds a deeper meaning than just the start of a new life. It signifies that we are moving closer towards death. There is a story that once in Tibet, people were celebrating New Year with lots of fun and joy. The streets and houses were festooned with colorful balloons, hydraulic lights, and decorations. But the spiritual Master Patrul Rinpoche was weeping at the corner of his room, which surprised and concerned the people. They asked Rinpoche what had happened, and he replied, "Another year is gone by, and so many people have come one year closer to death, still unprepared."

The New Year's Eve of 2013 was celebrated in Chautra, Maldi, Himachal Pradesh, India at one of the Tibetan inns. During the celebration, Nidup Dolker, a friend, drank wine and fell asleep before midnight. Another friend, Poy, also slumped and could not wait for the New Year. Nonetheless, Poy made a remarkable resolution to become a vegetarian for the year 2013.

During the two-month period when Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche presided over eight Buddhist religious teachings at his Sakya Institute in Chautra, Himachal Pradesh, thousands of devotees gathered to receive empowerment and transmission. At this time, many of us made religious-centered resolutions, such as my personal commitment to chanting mantras at least once a day to benefit all sentient beings.