Lama Chopa (Guru Puja)

Lama Chopa (Guru Puja) is an extensive guru yoga practice, often done as a group practice in FPMT centers on the 10th and 25th of the Tibetan Calendar. While everyone is welcome to participate in the puja, the study of the practice and commentaries is restricted to those who have received a highest yoga tantra initiation.

About Lama Chopa | Rinpoche’s Essential Advice | Resources 

If you are able to do the practice of Guru Puja in your daily life, it contains all the important points of sutra and tantra. It is a complete practice, and it shows the palm [which means the heart] of the instruction of the ear-lineage of Ganden.

– Phabongkha Dechen Nyingpo quoted by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

About Lama Chopa, Commentary from Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

The purpose of life is to free all sentient beings from suffering and lead them to peerless happiness, enlightenment, the cessation of all obscurations. The happiness of all sentient beings is our responsibility. But, in order to work perfectly for all sentient beings, first we ourselves must reach enlightenment, and in order to do this we need to actualize the steps of the path to enlightenment, starting with guru devotion. All of this is contained in the practice of Lama Chopa, the Guru Puja, by Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen.

There are many different guru yoga texts in the four Tibetan Mahayana traditions. This particular text, composed by Panchen Chokyi Gyaltsen, one of the lineage lamas of the Panchen Rinpoches, is very special. Why?

  • First, it is special because it has the prayer of the stages of the path to enlightenment. Going through the prayer mindfully leaves, within minutes, the imprint on the mind of the entire path to enlightenment, including highest yoga tantra. Since this imprint is the fundamental cause of realizations of the path to enlightenment, Guru Puja is a very rich practice.
  • Second, it is even more special because it contains the specific Mahayana thought transformation instructions (LC 90–LC 99). When we practice this specific Mahayana thought transformation in daily life, we utilize whatever suffering or happiness we experience, and it thus becomes the cause of happiness of all the numberless sentient beings, who equal the sky. This practice of thought transformation itself becomes the path for achieving the peerless happiness, enlightenment. When we practice thought transformation, life becomes very fulfilling, and nothing can disturb us. Whether enjoying happiness or meeting undesirable conditions, the mind is stable and happy and continuously develops peace. Life becomes satisfying and fruitful for numberless other sentient beings. By utilizing in the path to enlightenment all the appearances in one’s life, all obstacles and enemies become the support of one’s happiness, the support of one’s development of the Mahayana path.
  • Third, this Guru Puja is most special because it integrates the three deities of highest yoga tantra. Guhyasamaja’s main point of explanation is how to achieve the illusory body; Chakrasamvara’s main point of explanation is the path of the clear light; and Yamantaka pacifies all obstacles, making it possible to actualize the illusory body and clear light, which makes it possible, in turn, to actualize the unification of dharmakaya and rupakaya, the path of no-more-learning. Doing this guru yoga practice of integrating the three deities is very special.

Doing this practice every day, with purification and many infinite skies of merit, brings the mind closer to the path to enlightenment and closer to enlightenment itself, and so much closer to freeing all sentient beings from obscurations and suffering and leading them to enlightenment. Putting the meaning of this into practice in one’s life makes each day extremely rich and worthwhile. The meaning can be practiced twenty-four hours a day, during one’s whole life, daily. Not only while you are doing prayers, but day and night, whatever you do can be Guru Puja – whether you are eating, drinking, working or going to the toilet. This is a brief explanation of the benefits.
Excerpted from Commentary on Lama Chöpa Jorchö by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

All the previous holy beings of our tradition also did this Guru Puja as the heart practice. It has few words but encompasses so much. It has great blessing and the profound vital points.

– Phabongkha Dechen Nyingpo quoted by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Essential Advice

Advice given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in May 2008 at Land of Medicine Buddha, California, USA:

For Lama Chopa, these are the essential things that are really, really good to do, and what I am recommending as a MINIMUM:

  1. Recite the “Strengthening the Bodhisattva and Tantric Vows” (after verse 37)
  1. Definitely need to do the “Special Request for the Three Great Purposes” as part of mandala offering, most especially the line about requesting to pacify all outer and inner obstacles. Almost everyone has obstacles to practice Dharma, outer and inner obstacles, so this prayer of three great purposes pacifies outer and inner obstacles. This is regarded as very important.
  2. Then, it is good to do the “Nine-Line Migtsema” recitation and here you have to do the visualization for purification as part of the requests: “Due to having made these requests, five-colored nectar along with beams of light flow forth from the holy bodies of the guru and the host of deities, entering my body and mind and those of all sentient beings…” In Kopan, they always include this when doing Lama Chopa.
  3. Recite the Nine Attitudes of Guru Devotion. This is very important always to do because so many people work in the center so this is to remind them, so they can rejoice, feel happy, that it is a great thing. Also, if they are having problems, having negative thoughts towards the guru, then this is like an atomic bomb for that; reciting, thinking about, and meditating on the Nine Attitudes of Guru Devotion can immediately pacify that.
  4. Chant the tonglen verses (verse 95). This is so people can meditate on the meaning; it gives a chance to meditate.

It would be extremely good to always include as a minimum these practices each time you do Lama Chopa.

With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa
Scribe: Ven. Holly Ansett, May 2008 at Land of Medicine Buddha, California, USA

The actual meaning of Lama Chopa, Guru Puja, is pleasing the guru. “Puja” is Sanskrit, the Indian language, I think, and it means pleasing the guru. So from that, whenever we do actions that please the guru, then I think that’s guru puja, lama chöpa. This means, in our daily life, whenever we do something that pleases the holy mind of the virtuous friends.

—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Resources

Practice Texts

Teachings and Tunes – No restrictions

Commentaries – Restricted to Highest Yoga Tantra Initiates only