Schedule Of Events And Activities
Schedule
Mid year Dharma event is scheduled in May. Year end Dharma event is scheduled in November. His Holiness Lhoga Rinpoche, the 84th throne holder of Kathok Monastery will be invited to preside over the Dharma events.
Pujas, except Qing Ming Festival, are scheduled according to the CHINESE Lunar Calendar.
Mth-2 Day-19 8:00pm
Birthday of Avalokiteshvara / Guan Yin
5th or 4th April 8:00pm
Cheng Meng or Qing Ming Festival – Akshobhya Puja for the Liberation of the Deceased
Mth-4 Day-15 10:00am
Vesak Day
Mth-6 Day-19 8:00pm
Enlightenment Day of Avalokiteshvara / Guan Yin)
Mth-7 Day-15 8:00pm
Liberation of the Deceased
Mth-9 Day-19 8:00pm
Renunciation Day of Avalokiteshvara / Guan Yin)
Mth-9 All days 8:00pm
Medicine Buddha Puja
Mth-12 Last day 11:30pm
Chinese New Year Eve Light Offering
10th day, 8:00pm
Guru Rinpoche Tsog Offering
15th day, 8:00pm
Smoke Offering
25th day, 8:00pm
Lion-face Dakini Tsog Offering
29th day, 8:00pm
Dzambala Fire Puja
Group practices are led by our resident lamas. Goup practices will give way to Regular Pujas, Monthly Pujas and Dharma Events when their scheduled dates clash.
Friday, 8:00pm
Longchen Nyingthig or Longsal Nyingthig preliminary practice.
Saturday, 8:00pm
Vajrasattva Purification Practice or Longchen Nyingthig Phowa Practice
Sunday, 3:00pm
Avalokiteshvara Practice or Praises to 21 Taras Practice
From time to time, we may invite a Khenpo to give a talk on a specific topic. Or we may organize a pilgrimage, such as to Kathok Monastery.
The Centre will be closed during the first seven days of the Chinese New Year.
Additional Information
Dharma Event
Generally, we will invite HH Lhoga Rinpoche to Singapore twice a year, once in May and once in November, for a 5-day program, usually starting on a Saturday and ending on a Wednesday. Empowerments and special pujas are scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. Empowerments will be from the termas of Longsal Nyingpo and Dundul Dorje. Group practice with HH Lhoga Rinpoche is scheduled on the following Monday to Wednesday and will be for the whole day.
Pujas
On certain special days, our resident lamas will conduct pujas that devotees can participate in so as to accumulate merits that can be dedicated to whomever they wish. Merits accumulation is an integral part of Buddhist practice as good fortune and circumstances for secular or religious goals can only occur through having accumulated the merits for them to arise.
Regular Pujas
Birthday, Renunciation Day and Enlightenment Day of Avalokiteshvara / Guan Yin
Avalokiteshvara or Guan Yin is a Bodhisattva who is considered to be the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas and is highly popular bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. Besides being a good time to gather merits and purify negative karmas, celebrating and remembering Avalokiteshvara or Guan Yin on these day strengthens one’s connection with the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is also highly popular in Tibet.
Medicine Buddha Puja
Medicine Buddha is the Buddha of the eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli. Medicine Buddha is regarded as the “King of Healing”. He made vows to heal those who are sick and to cure all sentient beings that suffer from incurable diseases. We are often very busy with our worldly activities and responsibilities and have little time to purify negativities and accumulate merits. This allows our negative karmas to ripen into all sorts of illnesses and problems. So for a whole of the 9th lunar month, our resident lamas will do the Medicine Buddha practice on behalf of the puja sponsors for their benefit.
Akshobhya Liberation-of-the-deceased Puja
The deceased would have knowingly or unknowingly done a lot of nonvirtuous deeds when they were alive. This could lead to their rebirth in a lower realm. On the 15th day of the Chinese 7th month (the ‘Hungry Ghosts’ month) we would hold an Akshobhya Puja for the Liberation of the Deceased to help our deceased love ones and karmic creditors to be reborn in a higher realm by doing meritorious deeds, i.e., the puja, for them.
Ching Ming
Ching Ming Festival is a traditional Chinese custom. It is observed as a time for remembrance and veneration of the deceased. Since ancient time, the living will pay their respect and show gratitude to their ancestors and the deceased during the Ching Meng Festival. According to Buddhist teachings, the deceased would have knowingly or unknowingly done a lot of non-virtuous deeds when they were alive. This could lead to their rebirth in a lower realm. Buddha Akshobhya puja is conducted on this day as a means of liberating the deceased from the lower realms. According to the scriptures, those who recite the name of Akshobhya Buddha will have the blessings of all Buddhas, will not be harmed by negative thoughts and demons, and will not easily come into contact with contagious diseases or meet with disasters. Buddha Akshohbya mantra is said to be very effective in preventing rebirth into a lower realm.
Vesak Day
Vesak Day is the day of birth, enlightenment and mahaparinirvana of Buddha Sakyamuni, who out of his compassion for suffering beings, took a human form to show the path to liberation and buddhahood. Vesak Day is a very auspicious day for the accumulation of merits. The merits accumulated on this day is said to be inconceivable. The ceremony of ‘Bathing of the Buddha’ is conducted on this day, together with flowers and light offerings to the Buddha.
Chinese New Year Eve Light Offering
A light offering and blessing ceremony is organized on this night where prayers will be made for good health and fortune, and protection in the lunar new year.
Tsog Offering
In the Ganachakra (Tsog Offering or Feast Offering) practice, all suitable offerings like flowers, fruits, biscuits, sweets, and food are transformed into supreme offerings* that are then offered to the Deity. All participants, led by the accomplished Guru will inevitably receive blessings from the Deity and Buddhas of the ten directions, cleansing their bad karma, removing obstacles, and perfecting the merit accumulation. Moreover, the participants plant the sublime seed of attaining the enlightenment of the Buddha together.
* supreme offerings are ordinary offerings made without any form of grasping, be it the grasping at subject and object, the grasping at existence or non-existence, etc., and transformed into forms suited to the recipients of the offerings.
Fire Puja
There are four types of fire puja: pacifying, increasing, magnetizing and subjugating. It should be conducted by someone qualified, namely, someone who had accomplished the sadhanas and mandalas. Offerings for the fire puja should be made with sincerity. Examples of offerings would be incense, flowers, oil, foodstuff, precious stones and gems. The presiding master would bless these offerings and transform them into supreme offerings*. Through burning, they are offered to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and sentient beings of the six realms, causing them to be filled with joy and satisfaction. Pacifying fire puja removes obstacles and reduces negativities. Increasing fire puja enhances one’s merits and wisdom and increases one’s life span. Magnetizing fire puja overcomes animosity and grudges of those beings that are against us. Subjugating fire puja destroys the three poisons of greed, hatred and ignorance and obstacles created by malevolent spirits and dedicating them to the Dharmakaya. By the combined force of the virtues of the Master conducting the fire puja and the compassionate intent of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the joy of Dharmakaya and auspiciousness pervades all realms
* supreme offerings are ordinary offerings made without any form of grasping, be it the grasping at subject and object, the grasping at existence or non-existence, etc., and transformed into forms suited to the recipients of the offerings.
Smoke Offering
Any layperson, upon receiving the oral transmission from an accomplished Guru, may practice smoke offering. In this practice, offerings are made to countless Buddhas in the ten directions as well as to beings of the three realms (desire, form and formless realms) and six destinies (hell, preta, animal, human, asura, deva). The benefit of this practice is that first, it pleases all Buddhas and as a result, we received their blessings; and secondly, bardo beings* and hungry ghosts, after hearing the prayers and smelling the smoke, will be satisfied as if they had actually taken the food and wear the clothings that were offered. They will be calm and free from fright. This practice is an excellent way of accumulating merits.
* bardo beings refer to beings in the intermediate state, the state between death and the next birth.
Weekly Group Practice
Vajrasattva Practice
This is the go-to purification practice for practitioners of tantra as it is said to be the most effective. HH Lhoga Rinpoche when giving the highest tantric empowerments often will request students to recite 100,000 times the short Vajrasattva mantra. This regular group practice of Vajrasattva is to enable students of HH to fulfill their commitment.
Longsal Phowa Practice
Only for those who have received the empowerment
This is the phowa practice of Kathok Monastery based on a terma or treasure text of Longsal Nyingpo.
Longchen Nyingthig Phowa Practice
Only for those who have received the empowerment
This is a popular phowa practice.