Gutor — literally “the nine offerings” — is traditionally held at the close of the year, as a high point of purification and renewal. It clears away the obstacles and the harmful influences gathered over the months gone by, so that the new year may be entered in a spirit of clarity and beginning again.

At Shenten Dargye Ling these days are centred on Sherab Jamma, the Loving Mother of Wisdom, one of the female Buddhas of the Yungdrung Bön tradition. Performing her practice and her rituals before the turn of the year is an observance the centre keeps every year, in the way Tibetan families hold yearly ceremonies for their family deities.

How the days unfold

2 January is given over to preparation: the making of the tormas, the ritual offerings shaped for the ceremony. It is a day of preparation rather than of practice.

From 3 to 6 January the Gutor itself takes place, from morning until evening, with the many practices connected to Sherab Jamma. The purification ritual that closes these days clears what stands in the way before the new year begins.

7 January is left free.

The Zhang Zhung Losar

On 8 January the community celebrates the Zhang Zhung Losar, the new year of the Bön tradition. It comes about a month before the Tibetan Losar, which that year falls on 7 February.

This day is lived on site: there is no particular practice, and nothing is streamed. It is open to those who are at the centre, or who ask to come.