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The Extensive Sadhana of Dorje Shugdän
Day & time: The 29th day of each month, 6:30pm | What to bring: (optional) Healthy food offerings, flowers or candles |
A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice. Beings in this present time have a strong karmic link with Dorje Shugdän, and so he is the Dharma Protector who is most able to help them. Therefore, it is said, "Now is the time to rely upon Dorje Shugden." Dorje Shugden always helps, guides and protects pure and faithful practitioners by granting blessings, increasing their wisdom, fulfilling their wishes and bestowing success on all of their virtuous activities.
There are many brief and middling-length sadhanas of Dorje Shugden, such as Heart Jewel and Wishfulfilling Jewel. This extensive sadhana is called Kangsö in Tibetan, which means "fulfilling and restoring ritual," and is usually performed once a month in Dharma Centers. During this puja, we make extensive offerings and perform other practices to (1) fulfill our heart commitment to rely upon the Protector sincerely, regarding him as inseparable from the Guru and Yidam, and to practise the pure Dharma of Lamrim, Lojong, and Mahamudra; and to (2) restore any degenerate or broken commitments we may have incurred.
We begin the practice with Praise to Manjushri to remember that the Guru and Protector are in reality emanations of the Wisdom Buddha. We then perform the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa and, after dissolving the Guru into our heart, perform self-generation as Heruka. We then invite the general Dharma Protectors such as Mahakala, Kalarupa and Kalindewi before beginning the actual sadhana of Dorje Shugdän. The fulfilling and restoring ritual of the general Protectors is interwoven with the sadhana of Dorje Shugden.