All are welcome to join us to celebrate Lama Tsongkhapa day with the practice of Lama Chopa Tsog, one of the heart devotional practices in our tradition, lead by our December Teacher in Residence Ven. Gyalten Palmo. Lama Tsongkhapa was a great 14th century teacher, yogi & scholar and the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12
7:00 – 8:30 P.M.
GURU PUJA TSOG
At a private residence in Laguna Beach
RSVP for address & directions
Attendees are welcome to bring an offering of flowers or food for the altar.
QUESTIONS?/RSVP
Contact: Kate
kate@gonpoludup.org
WHAT IS LAMA CHOPA TSOG?
“Tsog means ‘gathering,’ and Lama Chopa means ‘offering to the spiritual guide.’ It is a profound practice of purification of negative karma and accumulation of positive energy, or merit. During the puja/offering, extensive prayers are recited in order to affirm our commitment to the spiritual path and to seek inspiration from our teachers.” (From our sister center in San Francisco Tse Chen Ling.)
“During the practice of Lama Chopa, we invoke all the lamas of the graduated path lineage beginning with Shakyamuni Buddha himself, extending to our present direct teachers who have shown us the path. We pay homage to them, make offerings, and request each of them to please bless our minds with the same realizations that they themselves have generated. By offering sincere, heartfelt requests, we make our minds ripe to receive the full blessings of this precious lineage and quickly actualize the realizations we need to attain enlightenment. If we wish to experience realizations quickly, the practice of Lama Chopa is indispensable.” (From FPMT.org)
WHO IS LAMA TSONGKHAPA?
“Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) was a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school. He is also known by his ordained name Lobsang Drakpa or simply as Je Rinpoche.
“Tsongkhapa heard Buddha’s teachings from masters of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and received lineages transmitted in the major schools. His main source of inspiration was the Kadampa tradition, the legacy of Atisha.
“Based on Tsongkhapa’s teaching, the two distinguishing characteristics of the Gelug tradition are the union of sutra and tantra and emphasis on the step-by-step graduated way to enlightenment along the three principal aspects of the path (a genuine wish for liberation, generation of bodhicitta, and insight into emptiness).
“In his two main treatises (lam rim chen mo and sngags rim chen mo), Tsongkhapa meticulously sets forth this graduated way and how one establishes oneself in the sutric and tantric paths.” (From Wikipedia)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12
7:00 – 8:30 P.M.
GURU PUJA TSOG
At a private residence in Laguna Beach
RSVP for address & directions
Attendees are welcome to bring an offering of flowers or food for the altar.
QUESTIONS?/RSVP
Contact: Kate
kate@gonpoludup.org
Gonpo Ludup Study Group 