Join a Group Practice on YouTube Live During the Solar Eclipse

Chittamani Tara, Choe Khor Sum Ling Facebook.

Make the most of the solar eclipse by joining a Prayers to Tara group practice on YouTube Live led by Venerable Tenzin Namjong and sangha in Maratika, Nepal.

Eclipses

A solar eclipse will take place on June 20-21, 2020. Read about eclipses on www.gadgets.ndtv.com.

There are three more eclipses this year:

Lunar eclipse on July 4-5, 2020

Lunar eclipse on November 29-30, 2020

Solar eclipse on December 14, 2020

FPMT, the organization co-founded by Lama Zopa Rinpoche wrote, "Lama Zopa Rinpoche reminds students that the merit generated is multiplied by one hundred million on solar eclipses and by seven hundred thousand on lunar eclipses, and that the multiplying effect of eclipses occurs regardless of whether the eclipse is partial or full. 

"Also, Rinpoche advises that the merit multiplying effect does not last the whole calendar day and that merit making activities should be carried out during the time of the eclipse itself."

In PT, the June 20-21 eclipse will take place from 8:45 PM PT on June 20 until 2:34 AM on June 21. The maximum eclipse will be 11:40 PM PT.

Find the time the eclipse will take place in your time zone using www.timeanddate.com.

Chittamani Tara, www.allevents.in.

Prayers to Mother Tara

Choe Khor Sum Ling has organized a virtual group practice to make the most of the opportunity to generate a lot of merit during the June 20-21 solar eclipse.

Join Prayers to Mother Tara

Saturday, June 20

10:00 PM - 11:30 PM PT

Choe Khor Sum Ling wrote on Facebook, "Dear Friends, as requested, our next virtual group practice is 'Prayers to Mother Tara' on Sunday 21 June from 10:30 am to 12 noon IST (+5.5 GMT), coinciding with the auspicious, merit-multiplying solar eclipse. The practice will be led by Venerable Tenzin Namjong."

The group practice will livestream on the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel.

Download the text "The Abbreviated Four-Mandala Ritual to Chittamani Tara" by Kyabje Gaden Trijang Rinpoche for free.

If you wish to make an offering then visit the Choe Khor Sum Ling website homepage and scroll down to "Support Us."

Join a Virtual Nyung Nä Practice Retreat During Saka Dawa

Thousand-arm Avalokiteshvara, Choe Khor Sum Ling Facebook.

Choe Khor Sum Ling, a Dharma center in Bangalore, Karnataka State, India, is organizing a virtual Nyung Na purification retreat from May 31 until June 6, 2020. Everyone is welcome to join.

The retreat will be led by American monk Venerable Tenzin Gache with support from other sangha members who are also in Maratika, Nepal.

The Choe Khor Sum Ling website has the details:

Virtual Retreat on the Powerful 'Nyung Nä' Practice During Saka Dawa

"Nyung Nä is an intensive purification practice taught by the Buddha of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, to Bhiksuni Lakshminkara in medieval India. Of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas, those most famous great yogi practitioners of ancient India, only four were women. Gelongma Palmo (Lakshminkara) was one of those four. 

"The practice was refined and systematized by His Holiness Kelsang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama. Nyung Nä involves visualization, chanting, prostrations, and mantra recitation of Avalokiteshvara, as well as fasting. The full practice involves complete abstaining from food, drink, and speech on the second day.

"The benefits of Nyung Nä include gaining an experiential taste of deep purification in a short time, and making a strong positive connection with Avalokiteshvara, the essence of great compassion. Based on these two days of practice, participants may then choose subsequently to attempt the full practice, or be inspired to engage in other purification practices. This practice contains great blessings and is highly praised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a supreme method for transforming the mind. Doing even one Nyung Nä for just two days is said to be as effective as three months of other purification practices and is extremely powerful for healing illness, purifying negative karma, and opening the heart to compassion.

"The virtual retreat will be led by Venerable Tenzin Gache who is an experienced Nyung Nä practitioner and who is currently pursuing Geshe studies (a 20 year study programme in Buddhist philosophy) at Sera Jey Monastic University in Bylakuppe (Karnataka). Due to lockdown conditions, he is temporarily residing at Maratika Monastery in Halesi, Nepal, and will lead the retreat from there. Venerable Gache will be supported by Venerable Tenzin Namjong and other FPMT Sangha also currently in Maratika.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Four-armed Avalokiteshvara, www.rainews.it.

"IMPORTANT REMINDER: We are exceptionally fortunate that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be bestowing the full two-day empowerment of 1,000 Armed Avalokiteshvara on the mornings of May 29th and 30th (https://www.dalailama.com/live—available in various languages–9 am to 10:30 am Indian Time). This empowerment enables you to participate fully in the retreat. Those of you who are unable to view this empowerment, and who have not previously received such an empowerment, are still welcome to participate, but during the self-generation as Avalokiteshvara should instead visualize the deity at your crown."

Read all of the the retreat details on the Choe Khor Sum Ling website.

Watch the Introduction to the Nyung Nä Retreat -- Talk 1 on the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel.

Join a Puja and a One-Day Retreat Livestreaming From Maratika, Nepal During Covid-19

Maratika (Haleshi) Nepal, www.halesitreks.com.

A small group staying in Maratika have been frequently livestreaming pujas and other practices on the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube Channel. There are two livestreams coming up this weekend, Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, 2020.

The Maratika Caves, Nepal

Maratika, also known as Haleshi, is a holy pilgrimage site for Buddhists and Hindus in Khotang District, Nepal.

According to Sorig Congress, some of these Buddhist pilgrims do long-life practices at Maratika. The site became known as "Maratika" after Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) subdued the demons of the Lord of Death here, was bestowed the abhisheka (a religious rite or prayer) of long life by Amitayus, and accomplished the level of vidyadhara (knowledge holder) beyond birth and death.

In Tibetan, "Maratika" is Chi ba mthar byed or “the cave of making an end to or destroying death.”

Venerable Tenzin Namjong (Venerable Namjong), who is in Maratika now, explained that there are three nearby mountains associated with emanations of Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig), Manjushri, and Vajrapani. Together these three mountains form Rig sums gonpo or "the family of three protectors."

He pointed out Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, and Vajrapani are mentioned in the Migtsema Mantra, a praise to Lama Tsongkhapa:

"You are Avalokiteshvara, great treasure of non-referential compassion,
And Manjushri, master of flawless wisdom,
As well as Vajrapani, destroyer of hoardes of demons without exception,
Tsongkhapa, crown jewel of the Land of Snows,
Losang Dragpa, at your feet I make prostrations."

"Land of Snows" is Tibet, and "Losang Dragpa" is Lama Tsongkhapa.

Long-Life Lama Tsongkhapa image distributed on December 21, 2019 in Mundgod.

Long-Life Lama Tsongkhapa Practice

His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave the Long-Life Lama Tsongkhapa empowerment in Mundgod Tibetan refugee settlement, Karnataka State, South India, on December 16, 2019, a few days before the celebration of the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa's passing into parinirvana.

Afterwards someone asked Venerable Namjong to translate the Long-Life Lama Tsongkhapa (Tibetan: Je Tse Dzin Ma) practice text from Tibetan into English. Venerable Namjong kindly translated it into English and made the translation, The Method Accomplishment of the Lord, Holder of Life entitled, "Quickly Accomplishing the Deathless Knowledge Holder" by by Dragom Lodrö Pälden Öser, freely available for download. Updates to the text are potentially ongoing.

One-Day Retreat Opportunity

On Sunday, May 3, the sangha staying in Maratika will lead a one-day retreat on this practice using this English translation. The one-day retreat will be composed of four practice sessions. Venerable Namjong said it is OK to join for what you can, and not to worry if you cannot participate in the entire retreat.

The livestream will begin at 6:00 AM IST on May 3, which is 5:30 PM PT on May 2. Check the Choe Khor Sum Ling Facebook page for additional details and updates.

The total number of mantras recited during the one-day retreat will be dedicated to all sentient beings, especially for the Covid-19 virus crisis to be averted, and the long-lives of all of our spiritual friends especially His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

Retreat Preparations

On April 26, in preparation for the May 3 retreat, Venerable Namjong livestreamed on YouTube from Maratika to explain about the practice text. He said while translating the text he had asked his teacher questions about the meaning of the practice, so could explain a little bit about the words to try to benefit viewers.

The Long-life Lama Tsongkhapa practice is highly cherished for being effective in accomplishing a long-life for oneself, one’s spiritual masters, or other sentient beings. It combines meditation of your own spiritual master as inseparable from Lama Tsongkhapa, who himself is inseparable from the long-life Buddha Amitayus.

I read on asisanart.com that Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Life, is connected with Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light. Since there is a cave at Maratika with Amitayus' long life vase in it, the sangha felt it auspicious to engage in a one-day global group retreat from Maratika.

Watch the two saved YouTube livestreams from Venerable Namjong on the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel, and then subscribe to the YouTube channel and request alerts to be reminded when the sanga go live from Marataika.

Part 1: 

Part 2:

Later on if you would like to get into this practice then Venerable Namjong recommends requesting the Long-Life Lama Tsongkhapa initiation and commentary.

Global Guru Rinpoche Nolsang Incense Puja

The sangha in Maratika have been leading the Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) Nolsang Incense Puja on YouTube livestream.

The next Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) Nolsang Incense Puja will take place on Saturday, May 2 at 12:30 AM PT. Participate by watching the YouTube livestream.

Request a reminder from YouTube so you will be notified when this video goes live on May 2.

This puja has been advised by Khadro Namsel Dorje Rinpoche (Khadro-la) to avert the effects of the Covid-19 crisis.

The Choe Khor Sum Ling Facebook post about the May 2 puja says, "We are organizing this virtual group practice over livestream so that we as a global community can do this practice together to purify the environment for the benefit of all of the whole world. Prior to the puja, please download the text and then prepare incense sticks, powders and as many of the substances to be offering in the practice as explained in the text as you can.

Download the Nolsang practice, Incense Ritual by the Great Master Padmasambhava called "The Divine Blue Water Clearing Away Contamination" Nölsang, for free from the FPMT website.

While doing research for this blog post I came across Alisha's blog post about her visit to Maratika, which you might enjoy.