Menla Choga Puja

Tickets: Suggested $20 donation.  

This is a religious ceremony, but the monks have a lot of experience sharing this with the non-Buddhist world.  They will do a short introduction explaining the ceremony and a Q&A at the end. 

They will have traditional Tibetan prayer beads (malas), wall hangings, jewelry, incense, singing bowls, prayer flags and other hand crafted items available for sale to support over 3,000 monks residing at their monastery in the Tibetan refugee camp of Mundgod, India.

Traditional Tibetan Ritual Ceremonies by Tibetan Monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery on The Mystical Arts of Tibet Tours

Traditional Tibetan ritual ceremonies (Pujas) are a powerful set of religious ceremonies made up of ritual, chanting, meditation, prayers and mantra performed for various purposes to assist an individual, family and community in their quest to deal with difficulties in their life and also to attain freedom from samsara and to attain the ultimate state of Buddhahood. 

Tibetan monks and nuns offer various pujas at the request of their patrons and devotees who seek to remedy the difficulties present in their life. Pujas are offered for success in medical treatments, career, home, business or for recuperation from sickness or ailments. Pujas are also sought for the benefit of the deceased and their family as well as for the community, state or nation in need of healing, well-being and development.

Menla Choga (Medicine Buddha Puja)  is the embodiment of the enlightened healing principle. Participation in this timeless and ancient Tibetan ceremony helps to activate one’s inherent healing potential that promotes physical, emotional and spiritual well being as well as environmental and global healing.

Traditionally most monasteries perform this rite at least once a month in order to ensure the health and happiness of the surrounding community. The healing powers of the rite are channeled from the divine sphere into the mundane entity of the individual by means of music, meditation, mantra and mudra, or "finger dance." People may request monks for this puja for a sickness, ailing and for healing and well being of the family and community.

It is traditional to write names of people who may be going through difficult times to be placed in a basket in front of the monks when they do the chants.