Practices and Ceremonies

The Lama Chopa practice dates back to the 1600s and is a guru yoga of Lama Tsong Khapa, the great scholar and yogi who founded the Gelug tradition within Tibetan Buddhism.  Lama Chopa continues to be a daily practice in the Gelugpa monasteries and a weekly or monthly practice for many people and centers throughout the world.  This comprehensive and joyful practice strengthens our relationship with our spiritual teachers through offerings, especially offerings of our practice.  We pay homage to all teachers from Shakyamuni Buddha to our current teachers, make offerings and request them to please bless our minds with the same realizations that they themselves have generated.  Included within Lama Chopa in a tsog practice.

Tsog means gathering in Tibetan.  During Lama Chopa we gather together the things we are offering (usually food) as well as gather ourselves together to do the practice.  Gathering together with other practitioners gives us great inspiration.  Tsog is an important practice of generosity and we bless the food offerings with our practice and accumulate great merit.  After the practice is completed, the blessed food offerings are shared among  the participants and may be taken home to share with others.

The Shakyamuni Buddha practice and meditation is useful for developing motivation, developing and strengthening the mind of refuge and the thought of bodhichitta – the aspiration to become enlightened in order to liberate all sentient beings.

This practice contains mantra recitation and visualizations based on Shakyamuni Buddha and also includes the Lam-rim prayer, The Foundations of All Good Qualities, to develop all the realizations on the path to full awakening.  This practice contains everything one needs for a complete daily practice.

The Eight Medicine Buddhas made special prayers with the aspiration that their particular abilities would come to fruition during our era of many wars, diseases and natural disasters. During this formal practice, which includes reading aloud the puja text in English, those who are trained in simple rituals will use bell and dorje and perform hand mudras representing offerings to the Buddhas.

By reading the text aloud, practicing the meditation absorptions of the eight Buddhas and reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra we activate the force of this enlightened healing energy and direct it toward the benefit of others and ourselves. The practice is approximately an hour and half long.

All level of attendees are welcome to attend. You are welcome to just observe and receive blessings or receive teachings on how to participate on a more active level. This is a hugely meritorious practice. It is said that by merely hearing or dedicating the names of the Eight Medicine Buddhas aloud prevents rebirth in the lower realms.

Lion’s Roar practice leaders will schedule Medicine Buddha Practice upon request.  The Practice can be held in your home, at the temple, or at another location of your choice.  If you would like to schedule a Medicine Buddha Practice for an ill friend, family member, pet, yourself or simply to pray for the health and well-being of the world, please contact info@lionsroardharmacenter.org or speak to Deb, Annette or Susan.