Friday

Sakyong and Family

Health and Healing Puja

article by Duncan McNaught, 2013 Health and Healing Puja Event Coordinator
photos by Pablo Coddou

On December 5th–7th 2013 The Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche performed a practice intensive and offered an empowerment to increase health and dispel obstacles to well-being in the Shambhala community.

The first two days of practice were performed at the Kalapa Court in Boulder where the Sakyong and Sakyong Wangmo took time out of their schedule to do a two-day Medicine Buddha practice intensive with Lady Konchok, Lama Pema Gyaltsen, and Lama Gyurme Dorje.

Patrons and staff with a strong connection to the event joined the Sakyong and Sakyong Wangmo during the two-day retreat. The atmosphere was powerful and rich with blessings. On the second day, the Sakyong was presented with cards containing the photos, names, and obstacles of people that event sponsors had requested the Sakyong do specific practice for. Their names, along with the names of the event sponsors, were read at the culmination of the retreat. The Medicine Buddha practice intensive concluded with a short fire puja, a traditional ceremony for purification, stabilization of blessings, and removal of obstacles.

The next day about 120 people gathered to receive the Hayagriva-Vajrapani-Garuda empowerment at Marpa House on University Hill in Boulder. After being greeted with delicious tea and snacks by Marpa House representatives, the attendees filed into the main shrine room which had its dividing wall pulled back to accommodate the large number of empowerment recipients. All attendees had a fantastic view of the Sakyong whether he was sitting on his throne or moving through the space during the ceremony to confer the empowerment. It was wonderful to gather and spend time with each other in this way, with an enlightened intention and aspiration for healing in Shambhala and throughout the world. We hope that this event, and others like it, will occur again and again.

Note: More details on the retreat and practices can be found in an article by Walker Blaine, Master of Liturgies to Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche by clicking here.