Final Details Regarding the Long Life Puja for Rinpoche
Messages from Ann and Rob with some announcements and final details about the upcoming Dakini Long Life Puja.
Message from Ann:
Hello Everyone,
Please see Rob's message regarding the final details for the Long Life Puja for Rinpoche below. Let me just highlight here that it is important for everyone to have arrived by 12:30 PM so that you will have time to check-in and take your seat before Rinpoche arrives. We should all be gathered and ready to greet him when he arrives at 1 PM and the puja begins.
Many of you have been so generous with offerings to make this puja possible—thank you so much. Sponsorships received by last week were acknowledged in the puja sadhana as is customary for this type of puja. Also, there is still an opportunity to make personal offerings to Rinpoche during the puja (just as after an initiation), so please feel free to do that.
Any info you need about the puja is at this website: http://www.gadencholing.org/2009-dakini-long-life-puja
Thank you again for all your encouragement and generosity. We are looking forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Love,
Ann
Message from Rob:
Dear Sangha,
The air is warming, the crocuses are blooming and our Precious Lama is arriving!
Presenters needed
Due to the generosity of Rinpoche's students from all over the world, we are happy to say that all of the offerings for the puja have been sponsored. However, we still require five more volunteers to present offerings to Rinpoche during the puja. The five offerings are: 1. the coat of brocade, 2. the upper garment, 3. the lower garment, 4. the seven precious articles of royalty, and 5. Durwa grass. If you feel a connection with any of these offerings and would like to offer it , please e-mail me and I will put you on the roster. If you are presenting an offering in the puja, it would be good if you could attend the dress rehearsal but this is not absolutely necessary.
Dress Rehearsal
A final dress rehearsal for the Long Life puja will be held at the Seneca College Conference Centre on Saturday April 25 from 6 pm - 9:30 pm. All are welcome to participate. Even if you are not presenting any offerings, you may want to consider attending the dress rehearsal. Understanding the flow of the puja will enhance your experience and enjoyment of the puja as well as improve your ability to stay focused during the actual event.
Personal Offerings to the Lama
During the puja, after the ritual offerings are presented to the Lama, there is an opportunity for everyone in attendance to make personal offerings to the Lama and recieve blessings. This part of the puja resembles the end of an initiation, where the participants offer the Lama a khata and an offering too. Rinpoche has made the following request concerning personal offerings:
"I know some of you would like to give me a birthday present, and I am thankful for that, but I don't really need anything. Sometimes Lamas have more things then the students. If you would like to offer a donation of any amount to Gaden Choling centre to help pay off the mortgage as a birthday present for me, that will be great". (see full text here)
Please bring a khata with you to the Puja. Long khatas are considered to be an auspicious offering for long-life puja.
Other Reminders
1. Please feel free to dress up for this event (as Dale says: "All the cool kids are doing it!").
2. We would like to request you to arrive at the conference centre at 12:30pm on the day of the puja. Everyone should be in the puja space (waiting) before Rinpoche arrives. Please remember to turn off all cell phones and pagers. If you have any medical issues which require a special seating arrangement (i.e proximity to a washroom or exit door) please let me know by e-mailing: razorsedge -at- sympatico.ca
3. Please do not take photos during the puja. There is an official photographer and videographer for the event. Video footage of the puja will be made available in coming months.
I want to thank everyone who has made this puja possible. Especially Ann Gelsheimer, Matt King, Bryan Pietersma, Eric Mercer, Dawn Standfield, Dianne Korchynski, Dale Mcdonald, Ken Lee, Shantoo Patel, Michale Carabine, Theodore Tsaoudis and Dave Gould who have all attended puja rehearsals and worked very hard over the past few months. I would also like to thank Bonnie Mok, Claude Gillard, Dianne Korchynski, Irene Cortes, and Mila Katzenberg—our Dakinis—for doing such a great job organizing the Dakini Offering section of the puja.
See you next weekend,
Rob