Hayagriva Buddhist Centre - DB > Hayagriva's Program

Benefits of Tsog Puja Lama Chopa

written by Venerable Thubten Dondrub

Devotion is a fundamental quality of all religions, and in tantric Buddhism, the highest devotion is reserved for the Spiritual Master- the source of all happiness, benefit and progress. Without the moisture of devotion our enthusiasm for practice dries up and our heart becomes hard. So the wellspring of our devotion needs to be constantly renewed. Especially once we have taken empowerments into the practices of highest yoga tantra, since all success in this path comes from correct devotion to the Spiritual Master.

One way of doing this is through repeated meditation on the qualities and kindness of the guru as outlined in the meditations on the graduated path to enlightenment (lamrim). Another way is through ritual ceremonies that through a combination of elements are designed to produce the same result through a less intellectual process. The most profound of these ritual ceremonies is the Lama Chopa Tsok Offering, composed by the First Panchen Lama, one of the greatest tantric masters the Gelugpa tradition has ever produced. It is a ceremony of prayer, chanting, music, meditation and a ritual feast. It actually contains all of the points of the Lamrim meditation on guru devotion, but presented in a way that directly appeals to our senses and emotions. The more devotion we have to our teacher, the more there is the wish to make offerings to him, and the Lama Chopa ceremony creates the opportunity for making many kinds of offering- food, drink, lights, incense, music, and the best form of offering to the Guru, which is the offering of practice itself; in this case the practice of doing the chanting, visualizations and prayers of the first part of the ceremony and the meditation on the Lamrim which forms the second part of the ritual. And since the guru is the highest object of offering, the merit created is enormous.

The Lama Chopa ceremony also involves the Tsog offering. Tsog means a collection or gathering and this has many profound meanings according to tantra, which need not be elaborated in this public forum, but one aspect of this gathering that can be mentioned is the gathering together of the guru's disciples. In the bodhisattva vows there is the commitment to always take part in Dharma ceremonies whenever it is possible. And when we have taken highest yoga tantra empowerment there is the commitment to do Lama Chopa Tsog on the tenth and twenty fifth of each lunar month as a way to strengthen one's commitment to the Guru and help purify any tantric infractions. The vajra brothers and sisters are meant to gather for a tantric feast to celebrate the glory of the Guru, create merit, purify vows and make offerings to the local spirits that can help us gain worldly success, health and happiness.

This wonderful opportunity for all the FPMT practitioners of highest yoga tantra to come together as vajra brothers and sisters and joyfully affirm their commitment to the Guru and each other is offered on the 10th and 25th of each lunar month at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre. How could you not come?

Eight Medicine Buddhas.
Many aeons ago, seven bodhisattvas strongly prayed for the temporal and ultimate happiness of all sentient beings, that their names become wish-fulfilling in order to heal both the mental and physical sicknesses and diseases of sentient beings. They vowed that their prayers will be actualised during these degenerate times when the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha are in decline. When they became enlightened, one of the ten powers of a Buddha is the power of prayer - that means that all the prayers that have been made get fulfilled. As the Buddha's holy speech is irrevocable, you can wholly trust in their power to quickly grant blessings to help all sentient beings in these degenerate times. They are called the Seven Medicine Buddhas, the main one is `Lapis Buddha of Medicine, King of Of Light'. Buddha Shakyamuni taught the teachings on the Medicine Buddha, and according to one tradition, is also considered as one of the Medicine Buddhas, and hence the Eight Medicine Buddhas.Our Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, explains:- Any living being who hears the name of Medicine Buddha never gets reborn in the lower realms - that's the benefit of just hearing the name, the mantra of Medicine Buddha. This is due to the great compassion of the Medicine Buddhas.- It is very powerful for purification - it purifies any broken vows or precepts.- It is very powerful for healing sickness.- And not only that, it is also very powerful for success.Lama Zopa Rinpoche has reminded that you should be vegetarian on the day of the puja, at least until the puja is over. This means that you must avoid not only meat, but all black foods such as: sesame seed, lentils & dahl, eggs, leek, onions, garlic, radishes.Normally people think that Medicine Buddha is for healing but it's not only that! You can use the Medicine Buddha practice for ANY purpose, ANY problem, ANYTHING. The Medicine Buddha practice is so precious.

Tara is a female buddha who embodies the enlightened activity of all the Buddhas.
Her practice is said to be particularly helpful in cutting through inner and outer obstacles that we may face in our ordinary and spiritual life and to be successful in whatever virtuous projects we are involved in.
Tara is an embodiment of compassion and wisdom.

The Sanskrit word 'puja' literally means 'offering'. So a Puja ceremony involves making offerings of our devotion, faith and practice and also making actual offerings such as flowers, fruit etc.
Engaging in the puja creates merit for oneself and also opens our mind to receive the blessings of the Buddhas.
We can also do these practices on behalf of other people or as is the Tibetan tradition, we can make offerings for the benefit of others who may be experienceing sickness or other problems in their life.
There is also a tradition of sponsoring Pujas either for one's own sake or the benefit of family, friends etc.
A dedication can be read out during the Puja to express the wishes of the sponsor for the purpose of dedicating merit.