Pujas and Practices
Pujas and Offerings dedicated for the Benefit of All
When offering any puja, think: I am doing this for any sentient being who needs it. Motivate for everyone, not working for yourself, not for money, offering puja becomes pure Dharma motivation because of the thought to benefit others. Then, when people are dying and sick and in need, if you think of those people, so many need helpful prayers. “Whatever you do, try to benefit sentient beings, not just recite prayer.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Guru Puja
It lays the foundation of the whole path to enlightenment on our mind stream, connects us more strongly to our teachers, allows us to accumulate skies of merit and purifies aeons of negative karma. This puja is traditionally celebrated on the 10th and 25th days of the lunar, Tibetan calendar month.
Guru Puja is a practice consisting of making offerings to and requesting inspiration from the spiritual master.
All the previous holy beings of our tradition also did this Guru Puja as the heart practice. It has few words but encompasses so much. It has great blessing and the profound vital points.
- Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo quoted by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Tara Puja
Tara is the female manifestation of the Buddhas’ omniscient mind.
“Reciting the 21 Taras’ prayer with devotion – remembering Tara singing praises and reciting mantras at any time of the day or night – protects you from fear and dangers, and fulfils all your wishes.”
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
There are many inner obstacles that hinder the development of our wisdom and compassion. These inner obstacles in turn create external obstacles. For the success of our Dharma practice, we are advised to rely upon a special deity or buddha, such as Tara. All the enlightened activities of the buddhas manifest in this female aspect, Tara the Liberator, in order to help living beings to successfully accomplish their goals. Tara is quick to respond to our prayers.
Medicine Buddha
According to the Four Tantras, the fundamental cause of every disease is to be found in the three delusions of ignorance, attachment, and aversion. Buddhas such as Shakyamuni and the seven Medicine Buddhas are referred to as great physicians because they have the compassion, wisdom, and skillful means to diagnose and treat the root delusions underlying all mental and physical malaise. The seven Medicine Buddhas work to pacify the obstacles to the achievement of temporary happiness, liberation, and the ultimate happiness of full enlightenment.
The Medicine Buddha practice can be used to help those who have already died and liberate them from suffering. It is also very powerful in bringing about success in daily life and spiritual practice.
Lama Zopa says, “It is very important that the elaborate Medicine Buddha puja with extensive offerings be done regularly. The offerings should be as extensive and as beautiful as possible, and done in order to benefit all sentient beings.”
Dzambhala Puja
Dzambhala’s prayer was conceived by the Buddha for developing the practice of generosity. Dzambhala provides the opportunity for practitioners to accumulate spiritual and material abundance in order to facilitate their practice of generosity. As a result, Dzambhala possesses a remarkable power to free sentient beings from the clutches of poverty and starvation and guide them towards ultimate Buddhahood. The practice involves offering a stream of water to Dzambhala and is chanted in both English and Sanskrit.
Offering the Chai
A wonderful opportunity to create a vast merit by sponsoring a pot of chai served during the pujas and special events. You can sponsor a big pot of delicious chai for $50.
Please choose in the puja section "Chai offering"
The merit that is created from all these pujas is also your merit. So you can dedicate all these merits to having realizations and to achieve enlightenment.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche
