What is a Puja?
Pujas are special methods for generating positive states of mind to help us make progress on our path to permanent peace and happiness. During pujas we recite prayers and requests both verbally and mentally. Buddhist prayers are often referred to as ‘sadhanas’, which translates to ritual prayers for spiritual attainments. Regular puja practice is a method for attaining realizations on our spiritual path and is powerful when practiced in a group setting. During some ritual pujas we also make food and drink offerings, known as tsog offerings, and we come together as community to enage in a puja party afterwards to enjoy the offerings. All pujas are free of charge and anyone can join! We have prayer booklets for each puja available to borrow or to purchase in our Bookstore & Gift Shop.
During pujas we can also make prayers and dedications for loved ones or animals who are sick and suffering or recently deceased. Click here to add someone to the dedication list. Pujas are recited in English and open to all at any level of practice.
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Group Pujas At Our Center
Heart Jewel
This puja is meant to be a daily practice for Kadampa Buddhist practitioners and is offered several times a week at our center. Heart Jewel is a condensed practice that involves relying on the Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden, in addition to practicing Guru Yoga. Guru Yoga is a practice in which we visualize our Spiritual Guide as Je Tsongkhapa, who is a manifestation of the Wisdom Buddha Majushri. Through this practice we can overcome obstacles, purify negativity, accumulate merit, and receive blessings.
Wishfulfilling Jewel
This puja is offered weekly at our center on Sunday afternoons and is an expanded practice of Heart Jewel. Wishfulfilling Jewel is a special practice for developing compassion, wisdom, and spiritual strength by relying on Je Tsongkhapa and the Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden. Like Heart Jewel, this practice helps us overcome obstacles, purify negativity, accumulate merit, and receive blessings so we can make progress on our spiritual path. An extensive commentary to this sadhana can be found in the book Heart Jewel. We make food and drink offerings for this puja and enjoy them together as a community afterwards.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide
Offering to the Spiritual Guide (OSG) is performed twice monthly, on the 10th and 25th, at all Kadampa Buddhist Centers worldwide. The main practice is meditation on reliance upon our Spiritual Guide, but it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path (Lamrim) and training the mind (Lojong), as well as both the generation and completion stages of Highest Yoga Tantra. A complete commentary to this practice can be found in Great Treasury of Merit. We make food and drink offerings for this puja and enjoy them together as a community afterwards during a puja party.
Dakini Yoga
These prayers and meditations contain the essence of the self-generation practice of Vajrayogini, the female enlightened Buddha Deity of Highest Yoga Tantra who is the manifestation of the wisdom of all Buddhas. It is also a six-session yoga, a simple but powerful daily practice for maintaining all Tantric commitments for those who have received a Highest Yoga Tantra empowerment, that has been specially arranged for those who have received the empowerment of Vajrayogini. For an extensive explanation of this practice see The New Guide to Dakini Land. This puja is only for those who have received a Highest Yoga Tantra empowerment.
35 Confession Buddhas
Because of the negative actions that we have created in the past under the influence of deluded minds we now experience suffering and problems, as well as difficulties in making progress on the path to enlightenment. But no matter how negative our mind is we have the opportunity to purify it completely by engaging in purification, the root of future happiness and spiritual realizations. One of the most powerful purification practices is the Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps, also known as The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls. In this practice, we visualize the 35 Confession Buddhas and practice purification.
Melodious Drum
This extensive sadhana—ritual prayers for spiritual attainments—is performed once a month in Dharma Centers on the 29th of each month. It is used for fulfilling our heart commitment to practice Lamrim, Lojong, and Mahamudra and to rely on the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden, regarding him as inseparable from our Spiritual Guide and Buddha, and for restoring any degenerate or broken commitments we may have incurred. We make food and drink offerings for this puja and enjoy them together as a community afterwards during a puja party.
Quick Path to Great Bliss
This extensive self-generation practice of Vajrayogini is a translation of the sadhana—ritual prayers for spiritual attainments—composed by Je Phabongkhapa. By relying on this practice sincerely, with a good heart and a mind of faith, it is definitely possible to attain full enlightenment; but to accomplish such results we must practice this sadhana regularly. To practice the sadhana successfully we should first receive the empowerment of Vajrayogini (Highest Yoga Tantra), and then study authentic instructions on the practice such as those found in the commentary New Guide to Dakini Land.
Liberation From Sorrow
Arya Tara is a female enlightened Buddha who is the embodiment of quick spiritual wisdom. Her name means “Liberator” or “Rescuer” and those who develop a strong connection to Arya Tara and rely upon her sincerely will always be under the loving care of a powerful ally and spiritual friend. Like a mother, she swiftly protects us from all internal and external dangers, and guides us along the spiritual path.
Medicine Buddha Prayer
By practicing the Medicine Buddha Sadhana sincerely, we receive a special power of body, speech and mind, which we can then use to help others through healing actions. Medicine Buddha is a Buddha Doctor whose function is to release living beings from outer and inner sickness by bestowing blessings upon them. By relying on Medicine Buddha sincerely, we can be cured of heavy physical and mental disease, find release from the internal pain of the three poisons – attachment, anger and ignorance – and receive protection from many other dangers and obstacles.
Powa Ceremony
Powa means “transference of consciousness” and this traditional prayer ceremony is done on behalf of those who have recently died. Through doing Powa Ceremony prayers with faith, compassion and concentration we can transfer the consciousness of those who are in the death process or recently deceased to a fortunate higher rebirth or to the Pure Land of a Buddha, where they will attain permanent liberation from suffering and experience pure and everlasting happiness. To add a recently deceased loved one to the powa dedications list Click Here.
Mahayana Precepts
The practice of taking and keeping the eight Mahayana precepts is a special practice of moral discipline that is performed with compassion for all living beings. The essence of the practice is to take eight precepts — promising to abstain for 24 hours from eight actions: (1) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual activity, (4) lying, (5) taking intoxicants, (6) eating after lunch, (7) sitting on high or luxurious thrones or seats, and (8) wearing ornaments, perfume, singing and dancing and so forth – and to keep them purely for this period of time. This practice is performed monthly at Kadampa Buddhist Centers worldwide on the 15th of each month.
Sojong
The Sojong practice is exclusively for ordained monks and nuns. It provides Sangha with an opportunity to purify and restore their vows, and to receive special advice and encouragement from their Teacher.