Sakya Monastery provides a wide range of spiritual services to help you in your personal, spiritual, family and work life. Below is a listing of these services. For complete information on these spiritual services, download Services Offered by Sakya Monastery: Spiritual Practices, Blessings, and Ceremonies (PDF).
Here is a list of many of the services we offer, with links taking you to a description of the service.
- Becoming a Buddhist: Taking Refuge
- Sponsoring a Deity Empowerment
- Weddings and Baby Blessings
- Blessing or Consecration of Land, Home, Business, or Store
- Consecration of Statues, Stupas, Thangkas, Malas, and Other Religious Objects
- Dedication of Merit at the Monastery for healing and relief of suffering
- Shitro Practice for those who have passed away
- “Sur” – The Complete 49-Day Spiritual Practice as Described in “The Tibetan Book of The Dead”
- Green Tara or Mahakala Practice to remove obstacles
- Divination (“Chak-Mo”)
- Retreats
- End of Life work (Next of Kin Guide)
This list is not exhaustive; please contact the office if you have questions or other requests.
Blessings
Taking Refuge
Taking refuge is the first step on the Buddhist Path to Enlightenment. It is a formal ceremony during which a person officially becomes a Buddhist. For most, it is a natural outgrowth of learning about Buddhism and comes about because of an inner sense of connection with the teachings. In short, taking refuge is a very special blessing that makes it easier to do the spiritual practices that make oneself a better person and ultimately become enlightened.
To Sponsor a Deity Empowerment – Call or email the office or see Adrienne Chan
Dedication of Merit (Both Simple & Elaborate Versions)
- Helps heal and relieve the suffering of a loved one or animal who is sick, ill or with a serious disease.
- As a mourning practice, Dedication of Merit assists the person or animal to have a quick and successful rebirth.
- Celebrate your anniversary as a Buddhist.
- Celebrate world events and important occasions.
Green Tara, Mandala Offering, 21 Tara, or Mahakala
- These practices help remove obstacles and negative forces for important events like a business meeting, a trip, an exam, a big sporting event, etc.
Blessing or Consecration of Land, Home, Business or Store
- Harmonious energy
- Happiness
- Reduced sickness
- Long life
Consecration of Statues, Stupas, Tangkas, Malas and Other Religious Objects
A statue or stupa without consecration is empty. It is not correct to leave religious objects empty on a shrine, they need to be filled with “tsung shu” – valued items like secret relics, fragments of special stones, mantras, jewels, medicines, grains, etc.
This spiritual practice turns empty objects into sacred objects. Consecration is only available to Buddhist practitioners.
Note: A limited number of consecrated statues are available for purchase at Sakya Monastery’s Shop, open most Sundays after Chenrezi. See Gillian Teichert for more information.
“Shitro” – Practice for those who have passed away
In Buddhism, helping someone to die well is one of the most important gifts we can give another person. If you have loved ones who have passed away, you can help them (even if it has been many years since their death), by having the Sunday morning Shitro group do prayers for them.
“Sur” – The Complete 49-Day Spiritual Practice as Described in “The Tibetan Book of the Dead”
- Facilitates person’s passage through the Bardo.
- Purges attachment to objects.
Get a direct “Yes” or “No” answer on important decisions, i.e., home, business, marriage, relationship, etc. Any doubt you want to resolve. Note that this is only available to Buddhist practitioners.
Contact Sakya Monastery Weekdays between 8am and noon to arrange for a blessing or ceremony.
Note: There is a brochure and a notebook available upon request that provides complete details on all the above ceremonies.
Compiled by: His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya
For more information on Blessing & Ceremonies contact Sakya Monastery.
Next of Kin Guide
Next of Kin
Because we do not know the time of our death, it is important that we clarify our thoughts and wishes and write these down in the form of a testament. This end of life guide provides spiritual prayers and services that can be done at the time of death. It also includes a checklist for your end-of-life wishes. Download: Next of Kin Guide (PDF)