The Annual Sang Puja at the Mountaintop of Kulluta Chakrasamvara
On the early morning of the third day of the first Tibetan lunar month, all monks of Dechen Choekhor, along with the Himalayan devotees, will track up to the nearby Chakrasamvara holy mountain to perform a grand Sang Smoke-Offering Puja - The Auspicious Purification and Wish-Fulfilling Smoke-Offering (Tib. བསང་དཔེ་་བཀྲ་ཤིས་རེ་སྐོང་། Sangpe Tashi Rekong).
Sang Puja is also a practice of purification that purifies one’s inner defilements and obscurations, restore the imbalance of energy and blockages of the wind channels, and brings us closer to our own rigpa. On the outer level, it pacifies the disharmony, conflicts, and degradation of our surrounding environment to bring forth harmony, prosperity, and good fortune and strengthen the favorable conditions and essential elements for Dharma practices.
Jetsun Choekyi Gonpo presides over an elaborate Sangchod Tashi Rekong at the mountaintop of the sacred Kulluta Chakrasamvara on the 3rd day of Tibetan Losar.
The ultimate purpose of Sang Puja is to help practitioners realize the absolute wisdom through purification and merit accumulation. It removes obstacles and helps fulfill both the temporal wishes and the long-term aspiration for supreme attainments.
Hanging of Lung-Ta
Upon completion of the Sang Smoke-Offering, monks will carry bags and bags of the blessed Windhorse prayer flags (Tib. རླུང་རྟ Lung Ta) to be hung surrounding the mountaintop. The Lung-Ta symbolizes the great power and positivity in defeating the evil forces for one to accomplish the path to liberation.
The fluttering fags in the wind are akin to the thundering sounds of uncountable hoofs of powerful Wind-horses galloping in the sky, removing all kinds of obstacles, spreading prayers and well-wishes to the surrounding inhabitants, as well as all mother-beings across the entire world.
Dechen Choekhor monks hanging thousands of lung ta at the mountaintop of Kulluta Chakrasamvara.
The five colors of the Windhorse prayer flags symbolize the Five Buddha Families and the blessing of Buddha’s Body, Speech, Mind, Qualities, and Activities, as well as the five elements. There are great varieties of lung ta; most flags carry the image of "four dignities" of a tiger, a snow lion, a garuda, and a dragon at each corner, and a Windhorse in the center, with the prayer verses for good fortune and prosperity. Lung-ta hanging is one of our joyous moments of the year. May all be auspicious!
Rinpoche and monks are having a little fun after the auspicious conclusion of Sang Puja and Lung Ta hanging.