Saturday, August 1, 2020

Request Prayers for Living and Deceased Loved Ones in an Upcoming Jangwa Puja

Yamantaka, Tibet 1700-1800. www.commons.wikimedia.org.

A teacher once said it would be good to have a Jangwa Puja done for deceased loved ones. I had never heard of this puja but since then have learned that the puja is performed at Dharma centers around the world each year to benefit the deceased.

A Jangwa Puja will take place at the New Zealand Dharma center Dorje Chang Institute in August 2020. Anyone in the world can submit names of loved ones who are living or deceased for inclusion in the Jangwa Puja.

Dorje Chang Institute organizes a Jangwa Puja each year. Read a story about their 2018 Jangwa Puja on www.FPMT.org. Subscribe to the Dorje Chang Institute e-newsletter to be notified about the 2021 Jangwa Puja.

The Jangwa Puja

Lama Zopa Rinpoche taught about the benefits of the Jangwa Puja at a retreat he led in 1999, transcribed and made into a freely available book Teachings from the Vajrasattva Retreat.

He said, "Jang wa is a Tibetan term that means purification. The teachings given by the Buddha himself are divided into two types—sutra and tantra. The jang wa purification practice is from the tantras."

The teachings say that a deceased being's mind can be directed towards the higher realms—they can reincarnate in the human or deva realms, or even in a pure land depending on the deceased being's karma and the qualities of the person performing the jang wa puja.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche continued, "It is a very powerful, practical method of helping family members or friends who have passed away—deceased people whom you want to help avoid heavy sufferings and have an easy life, a good rebirth, a better life."

Yamantaka Jangwa Puja, www.dzi.org.nz.

The Event

This information was collected from the Dorje Chang Institute July 21 e-newsletter and website.

Annual Yamantaka Jangwa Puja
performed by Geshe Thupten Wangchen
in the Meditation Hall (Gompa) at Dorje Chang Institute
56 Powell Street, Avondale, Auckland
(Hot Chai will be available from 9.20am by donation)

This is a powerful annual puja to benefit both the living and those who have passed away.

For the Living the puja includes rituals to help purify obstacles, illness, disease, etc. It is best if the person can attend, otherwise we can dedicate for them.

For those who have passed away at anytime in the past, it includes rituals to help them to have good rebirths, especially in a pure land, to purify negativities and meet with all conducive factors for happiness.

This puja is a wonderful way to benefit yourself and ALSO to do something helpful and positive for others, especially for those with whom you have a connection - family members, relatives, friends, work colleagues, etc.

Read more about the puja.

Schedule

Sunday, August 23, 2020

10:00 AM NZST - 12:00 PM NZST

(Saturday, August 22 from 3:00 PM PT - 5:00 PM PT)

Request Prayers

Request prayers by August 16. We need to prepare materials in advance, especially on behalf of deceased persons, so early registration is appreciated.

You can use the Dorje Chang Institute online registration form to:

  • Register to attend the puja in person
  • Request dedications for the living who cannot attend the puja in person
  • Request dedications for the deceased

When registering online you will need the following information in front of you:
  • name of person(s) to attend the puja in person
  • names and dedications for those living (but not attending)
  • names of deceased persons to be dedicated for during the puja
  • optional: passport-size photo of the deceased you are requesting prayers for. Photo must be a small file size or the website won't allow you to upload the photo to the website
Those attending the puja participate directly and so receive the benefit that way (for this reason Geshe-la says the names of those attending do not need to be on the dedication list). Those living but not attending will be dedicated for at the end of the puja. For each deceased person a placard is prepared with the name (and photo if provided in advance – optional) which is used during the second half of the ritual.

This puja is by donation. Donations can be made by PayPal using credit cards issued anywhere in the world. Donations contribute to the puja offerings, offerings to Geshe-la and some of those who assist with this event, materials and preparation costs as well as facility costs in hosting the event.

Geshe Thupten Wangchen, Yamantaka Jangwa Puja, www.dzi.org.nz.

Yamantaka

"Yamāntaka (Sanskrit: यमान्तक Yamāntaka) or Vajrabhairava (Tibetan: གཤིན་རྗེ་གཤེད་, རྡོ་རྗེ་འཇིགས་བྱེད།, Wylie: gshin rje gshed; rdo rje 'jigs byed; simplified Chinese: 大威德金刚; traditional Chinese: 大威德金剛; pinyin: Dà Wēidé Jīngāng; Korean: 대위덕명왕 Daewideok-myeongwang; Japanese: 大威徳明王Daiitoku-myōō; Mongolian: Эрлэгийн Жаргагчи Erlig-jin Jarghagchi) is the 'destroyer of death' deity of Vajrayana Buddhism. Sometimes he is conceptualized as 'conqueror of the lord of death.' Of the several deities in the Buddhist pantheon named 'Yamāntaka', the most well known, also called as 'Vajrabhairava' belongs to the Anuttarayoga Tantra class of deities popular within the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism."

Continue reading about Yamantaka on Wikipedia.

Dorje Chang Institute

"Dorje Chang Institute for Wisdom Culture is a Registered Charitable Trust and Tibetan Buddhist Centre offering meditations, classes and a peaceful, beautiful oasis in the city
–OPEN to ALL
Serving the Auckland community for over 43 years
A Registered Charitable Trust since 1976
Oldest Tibetan Buddhist Centre in New Zealand"

Continue reading about Dorje Chang Institute on www.dzi.org.nz.

Geshe Thupten Wangchen

"Geshe Thupten Wangchen was born of Tibetan parents in India in 1966. At the age of 10, he entered the Tibetan Buddhist educational system of the Gelugpa tradition as a novice monk at Sera Jhey Monastery in South India. Geshe-la later took full ordination with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.In 1998, after 23 years of dedicated study of the major philosophical texts and rigorous examinations he was conferred the Lharam Geshe degree or PhD in Buddhist Philosophy.

"Geshe-la had the rare honor of representing his monastic college Sera Jhey in the yearly debate competition with its sister college Sera Mey in 1997. Only a couple of the monks in their final year of study are chosen. They debate with the top monks of the other college in front of an audience of thousands of monks.

"After receiving the Lharampa Geshe degree in 1998, Geshe-la completed a series of preliminary practice retreats in Bodh Gaya (the holy place where Buddha attained enlightenment) including: 100,000 prostrations, 100,000 mandala offerings and 100,000 Vajrasattva mantra recitations. Geshe-la continues to do short retreats every year."

Continue reading Geshe Thupten Wangchen's biography on www.dzi.nz.org.

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