Chanted Meditations
Prayer is the principal activity of a Buddhist. Chanted prayers or chanted meditation, also sometimes called pujas, are a significant component of training in a spiritual life. Traditionally practitioners gather for group prayers at Buddhist Temples or prayer halls.
Engaging in prayer helps us to still our mind, connect with the Buddhas, and receive the inspiring energy of blessings. Below are some of the group prayers we engage in together at the center. Please check the calendar for any schedule changes. There is no fee for group prayer. Everyone welcome.
Engaging in prayer helps us to still our mind, connect with the Buddhas, and receive the inspiring energy of blessings. Below are some of the group prayers we engage in together at the center. Please check the calendar for any schedule changes. There is no fee for group prayer. Everyone welcome.
Heart Jewel, Wishfulfilling Jewel, & Melodious Drum
The practices of the Guru Yoga of Je Tsongkhapa and the prayers we make to the Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden, are the heart essence of Kadampa Buddhism. To begin the practice we visualize our Spiritual Guide as Je Tsongkhapa and make prayers and requests to purify negativity, accumulate merit, and receive blessings. These practices are important to prepare our mind for meditation on The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. After the meditation, we make prayers to Dorje Shugden, our Dharma Protector. Through the prayers to the Dharma Protector, we can overcome obstacles to our practice and create favorable conditions so that we can nurture and increase our pure Dharma realizations. The more extensive prayers (Wishfulfilling Jewel and Melodious Drum) include a tsog offering practice.
Heart Jewel contains time for silent meditation and lasts about 1 hour.
Wishfulfilling Jewel is done with a tsog offering and lasts 1 hour.
Melodious Drum is done with tsog offering and lasts 3.5 hours.
During tsog offerings practitioners traditionally bring a food offering
Offering to the Spiritual Guide
Held the on the 10th & 25th of each month - check the calendar for time.
This special Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa is practiced together with Highest Yoga Tantra as a preliminary practice on the path to enlightenment. We principally engage in the practice of relying upon our Spiritual Guide as a Buddha while making praises and requests. The prayers also include all the essential meaning and practice of the stages of the path to enlightenment and the practices of training the mind, as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra. Our reliance upon Je Tsongkhapa causes our compassion, wisdom and spiritual power to naturally increase. This practice includes a tsog offering - please bring a food offering with you if you wish.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide lasts about 2 hours.
During tsog offerings practitioners traditionally bring a food offering
Tara Prayers: Liberation from Sorrow
Held the on the 8th of each month - check the calendar for time.
Tara, whose name means liberator, is a female enlightened being. She is known for her swift compassionate actions. It is said that Arya Tara is our common mother, our enlightened mother, so she protects us from the cycle of harm and negativity, and guides us in the direction of compassion and wisdom. Since she reveals the path to freedom which exists within our own mind she gives us the ability to overcome obstacles and the keys to unlock our full potential. Everyone is welcome and invited to join us for Tara's chanted prayer practice, Liberation from Sorrow.
Liberation from Sorrow lasts about 1 hour
Powa: The Profound Practice of Transference of Consciousness
The prayer practice for transference of consciousness of the deceased, known as Powa, is a profound method for transferring the consciousness of the deceased to the Pure Land of Buddha. When a person dies their consciousness separates from their body. During the time before taking their next rebirth there is an opportunity for people who have some connection with the deceased to guide their consciousness' away from samsara’s painful rebirths and instead into a pure land - a world that is created by minds that experience things in a pure way.
The Powa Ceremony is a beautiful, powerful ritual practice that comes from the Buddhist tantras given by Buddha so that we can benefit the deceased by coming together as a group and making prayers, offerings, and requests on their behalf. Then, through the great power of our pure compassionate intention, strong prayer, and complete concentration on the practice, the consciousness of the deceased is transferred to Sukhavati (the Pure Land of Bliss), also referred to as the Pure Land of the Buddha of Compassion, so that they only ever experience pure and lasting peace and are finally freed from the painful cycling of suffering and it's causes.
Everyone is welcome. Please bring offering of food or flowers if you wish.