What is a puja?

A puja is a ceremony in which prayers are offered to the Buddhas to request their blessings or invoke their help. Pujas are performed to avert and clear the three types of obstacles, conditions which prevent us from achieving our worldly and spiritual goals.

There are three types of obstacles.

• Worldly obstacles

these are affecting day to day life, relationships, business, finances.
• Inner obstacles

They affect our health or mental state.
• Secret obstacles

Obstructing the attainment of innate wisdom.

By making extensive prayers and offerings with sincere motivation, unfavorable circumstances that bring problems can be changed. It is said that prayers performed by ordained ones are especially powerful and effective as they are done on the base of pure morality.
Similarly making offering to the assembled sangha during a puja collects extensive merit and purifies obstacles.

Pujas can be performed for various purposes:

• for the dying

to help pacify their mind, and decrease fear during the time of death.
• for the deceased

to bless and guide their mind to a higher state of rebirth and liberation.
• for sickness

to remove obstacles to mental and physical health.
• for success in one's activities

When we arrived the monastery, it is still quite dark.

But the Sangha, monks and nuns were already at main gompa.



We were specially alloted seating position on the left side of the main gompa.

We were served a simple breakfast of naan and butter tea just like everyone who were there,











The main view of the gompa with the Abbot of Koppan Monastery, KhenrinpocheLama Lhundup performing the puja together with the full Sangha and 800 monks and nuns.



The puja ended at around 8.30am.

Main entrance to the Main Gompa.



Group Photo with Khenrinpoche, Sangha, monk and nuns.


Group photo with Kenrinpoche, Charok Lama, Geshela, Ven. Osel, Ven Dechen LDC Group and Thai Group.

There is a magnificent Bodhi tree just in front of the main gompa.