It is an annual retreat of eighteen days, which falls during the Vaisaka period of the lunar calendar, which we call nowadays the Spring Retreat. This Drubchen in mainly on the generation of meditative equipoise on Tibet’s chief deity Hayagriva, and next, the Five King Protectors. These series of a host of rites will conclude on the tenth day of Saka Dawa with the performance of the first summer trance or Yarsoel of a year. This is traditionally followed then by the Yarsoels of H.H. the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Government, the Namgyal Monastery and so forth.
Each New Year on the tenth day (Guru Tsechu)of the first lunar month, Guru Rinpoche’s Day is commemorated officially in grandeur by the Nechung Monastery with a preceding three day grand ceremonial ritual of Guru Rinpoche and Pehar or Nechung Oracle, which is sponsored by the Gaden Phodang Office. On the tenth day there will be a Nechung trance, which also marks the first winter trance to begin with. It will be attended chiefly by His Holiness, the Chief Justice Commissioners, Kashag Cabinet and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
This year we were blessed with the opportunity granted by His Holiness personally to offer Him the Long Life Ceremony in accordance with the special rites of Nechung Monastery. This was in response to the earlier direct request by the Oracle himself.