Group Prayers
If you enjoy meditating with others, chanted meditations are a great opportunity to engage in group meditation. These chanted meditations are also known in Sanskrit as pujas, meaning “offerings”, or as sadhanas, which means “method for receiving attainments”.
Group chanted prayers are an important component of training in a spiritual life. Using these ancient prayers translated into English, we receive the blessings, protection and guidance of the holy beings. We can make requests for ourselves, or for others who need help or protection. By relying upon these spiritual practices, we create a strong connection with the Buddhas, help us purify our negativity, fill our mind with positive, healing energy, and receive blessings. In this way, we will naturally accomplish all the realizations of the stages of the path to Enlightenment and attain a very special Dharma wisdom.
Some pujas include a special food offering called a tsog offering. The merit (good fortune) accumulated from this offering is then dedicated to world peace in general, and to the welfare of specific people in the community. Please bring a small vegetarian food offering - something special to you - such as chocolate, fruit, cookies, cheese, or chips; or a non-alcoholic drink such as juice or tea, for the offering table. If you would like for us to make dedications on behalf of someone you know, please complete the form on our Prayer Requests page.
Everyone is welcome! All pujas are FREE of charge! See below for more information about pujas and schedules.
Heart Jewel
This practice is the heart essence of Kadampa Buddhism. In the first part, we view our Spiritual Guide as the Wisdom Buddha Je Tsongkhapa and make prayers and requests to purify negativity and obstructions, accumulate merit (good fortune or karma), and receive blessings or inspiration. This prepares our mind for meditation on the stages of the path to enlightenment and a Mahamudra meditation. In the second part, we make prayers to our Dharma Protector, Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden. Through this, we can overcome obstacles to our practice and create favorable conditions so that we can nurture and increase our pure Dharma realizations. (50 minutes)
Date TBD
Wishfulfilling Jewel (with Tsog)
This puja is a more extensive version of Heart Jewel and includes a tsog offering. By engaging in the Guru Yoga practiced in conjunction with Je Tsongkhapa, we can purify negativity, accumulate merit, receive blessings, and attain a very special compassion, wisdom, and spiritual strength. By relying upon our Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden, we can overcome obstacles to our practice and create favorable conditions. These two practices are the very essence of Kadampa Buddhism. (1 hour and 15 minutes)
Date TBD
Tara Puja: Liberation From Sorrow
Tara is a female Buddha, a manifestation of the ultimate wisdom of all the Buddhas. Her name means “Rescuer” because she rescues us from all outer and inner fears. Ultimately, she rescues us from all suffering and guides us to full enlightenment. Like a mother, she protects us from all internal and external dangers; she provides us with all the necessary conditions for our spiritual training; and guides us and inspires us with her blessings as we progress along the spiritual path. These prayers include praises to the twenty-one manifestations of Tara. Because these are Sutra, the actual words of Buddha, they are particularly powerful and blessed. (1 hour)
Monday, April 8: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Offering to the Spiritual Guide (with tsog)
The main practice of Offering to the Spiritual Guide is relying upon our Spiritual Guide as a Buddha and making praises and requests; but it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path and training the mind, as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra. By relying upon Je Tsongkhapa, our compassion, wisdom, and spiritual power naturally increase. This practice includes a tsog (or food) offering. It is customary to bring a vegetarian food offering that can be eaten without preparation such as fruit, cookies, baked goods, chocolates, chips, cheese; or a non-alcoholic beverage such as small bottles of juice, water, or tea. (2 hours)
Thursday, April 25: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Melodious Drum (With tsog)
This monthly practice consists principally of prayers to our Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden. A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from attaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice. This practice includes a tsog (or food) offering. It is customary to bring a vegetarian food offering that can be eaten without preparation such as fruit, cookies, baked goods, chocolates, chips, cheese; or a non-alcoholic beverage such as small bottles of juice, water, or tea. (3.5 hours)
Monday, April 29: 4:00pm - 7:30pm
Powa Ceremony
Powa Ceremony is a beautiful and powerful ritual practice drawn from the Buddhist Tantras that enables us to benefit the recently deceased (within 49 days) by coming together as a group and making prayers and offerings on their behalf. Then, through the power of our compassionate intention, strong prayers, and concentration on the practice, we transfer the consciousness of the deceased to the Pure Land of the Buddha of Compassion so that they will experience a pure and lasting peace and finally be freed from the painful cycle of suffering and its causes. It's a beautiful, very auspicious practice and everyone is welcome to attend. (1 hour)
FREE of charge. Everyone welcome!
If you would like to include the name of the recently deceased on our dedication list please contact epc@vajralight.org
Thursday, March 21: 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Vajrayogini Pujas
Dakini Yoga and Quick Path to Great Bliss are practices associated with the female wisdom Buddha Vajrayogini. In order to attend these practices, practitioners need to first receive Highest Yoga Tantra (HYT) empowerments. Please click here for more information.