Monks offering puja at Kopan Monastery.

The merit multiplying day of Lhabab Duchen (commemorating Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s return to Earth from the Realm of the Thirty-Three), occurs on November 22, 2024 this year. On this day, up to ten thousand Sangha will be engaging in powerful prayers and practices for the benefit of all beings and in particular for the swift return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and our FPMT family—all the centers, services, and projects and all the members, volunteers, and kind benefactors.

The Sangha will be reciting the entire Prajnaparamita, offering Medicine Buddha pujas, One Thousand Offerings to Namgyalma, and many other practices. During the pujas, with great respect, a monetary offering will be made to all Sangha engaged in the prayers.

Rinpoche explained during the Four Kadampa Deities Retreat, Institut Vajra Yogini, France, 2003: “The Puja Fund was not revealed for quite a number of years, but then somebody thought that maybe it’s a good idea to let other people know, in case somebody wants to put some donation in the fund. So, then they get this chance to collect all this merit, of having made offerings, even if what the person donated is very little, but it covers all this, offering to the same gurus’ disciples, to all the Sangha in the monasteries. … It’s like putting a drop into the ocean then it gets mixed with the rest of ocean, so until the ocean finishes, the drop that you put in the ocean doesn’t finish. … These pujas will go on forever, for as long as these monasteries last. Even if one is in the hell realm, but the pujas are still going on … even when one is born as ant, crawling on the ground or on the trees, these pujas will still be going on in the human world.”

Rinpoche further explained in 2003: “These pujas  happen on the special days, on Buddha days where you collect one hundred million merits. So, if you offer one rupee, you collect the merit of having offered one hundred million rupees. If you offer one cup of tea to the Sangha, you collect the merit of having offered one hundred million cups of tea.”

Regarding the offerings to the stupas and Buddha statue in Bodhgaya, Rinpoche said: “To do all these offerings. It is unimaginable, incredibly fortunate, so fortunate to be able to do that. It’s such unbelievable merit, to offer to these actual manifestations of the Buddhas and these holy objects.”

Monks offering puja at Sera Lachi Monastery.

Rinpoche explains that he set up the pujas in his gurus’ monasteries, “because if you offer to your guru’s disciple, even if it is just a glass of water or one cup of tea, you collect merit far greater than having made offering to all the numberless Buddhas, numberless Dharma, numberless Sangha, numberless statues, numberless stupas, numberless scriptures, all the holy objects. Making offerings to one’s guru’s disciples or the guru’s dog, giving even one biscuit to the guru’s dog, you collect far greater merit than having made offerings to numberless Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and the statues, stupas, scriptures.

Therefore, these pujas are arranged in Sera, Gaden, Drepung, Gyudmed, Gyuto and Kopan monastery and nunnery, where there are many, many thousands of Sangha and they are all His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s disciples. By remembering the guru, if you offer to each Sangha, you collect far greater merit than having made offerings to all those holy objects.

It is the same at the center. There are so many people there who are also your gurus’ disciples, so if you offer tea (including to lay people), if you offer food at the center, drinks during puja, or any offerings to them at any time, you collect more merit than having made offerings to numberless Buddhas, numberless Dharma, numberless Sangha, numberless statues, stupas, scriptures, all the holy objects. So therefore, there is an unbelievable, incredible opportunity right at the center where one studies Dharma.

You are most welcome to be part of this vast offering to the Sangha, and to be held within their extensive dedications, by contributing any amount.

The prayers, pujas, and offerings sponsored on Lhabab Duchen:

Robes offered to the main Shakyamuni Buddha statue inside the Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India.

• The monks of Gyudmed Tantric College will be reciting the Prajnaparamita (three versions).
• The monks of Sera Lachi, Ganden Lachi, Drepung Lachi and Gyuto Tantric College will be offering Medicine Buddha puja, One Thousand Offerings to Namgyalma and Namgyalma Long Life puja, Sixty-four Offerings to Kalarupa, and King of Prayers.
• The Sangha of Kopan Monastery and Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery will be offering Medicine Buddha pujas.
• All ten thousand Sangha will recite the Names of Manjrushri for the swift return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
• Offerings will be made to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus, such as Jhado Rinpoche, H.E Ling Rinpoche and many others.
• A monetary offering will be made to the ten thousand Sangha, as well as all Sangha residing in the IMI monastic communities around the world.
• New robes will be offered to the Buddha statue in Bodhgaya; and saffron paint, umbrellas, and banners will be offered to Boudhanath and Swayambhunath stupas, with strong prayers.
• Animals will be liberated and there will be the printing of precious sutras such as The Golden Light Sutra, Arya Sanghata Sutra, Vajra Cutter Sutra, Amitayus Long Life Sutra and Sutra of Great Liberation.

Thank you to all who undertake these practices and those who make the offerings possible. You are welcome to join in all these offerings arranged on Lhabab Duchen and on all the future merit multiplying days.

The Puja Fund was established by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to provide resources for continuous pujas dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to the success of all the FPMT centers, projects, services, students, benefactors and those serving the organization in any way. You can learn more about the Puja Fund, or FPMT’s other extensive charitable activity.