Today is the day of celebrating Buddha’s descent from the heaven of the thirty-three, the highest of the heavens of the desire realm, located at the summit of Mount Meru. Buddha went to teach the Dharma to his mother Mahamaya, as well as to the gods. The focus of the teachings was on Buddhist philosophy, or Abidharma, the third of the three baskets of Dharma, after the sutras or discourses of the Buddha on the Dharma, and the vinaya, or monastic code. It marks Buddha Shakyamuni’s commitment to teaching human beings – thus he is known as the sage, or muni, of the human realm. The human realm is considered superior even to the heavenly realms, for the attainment of enlightenment. Today actions are multiplied 10 million times. A good day to study – and to practice!