Tsok
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
Tsok happens twice a month every month. It is a special day where the dakinis of the 24 holy places gather together to bless the tantric practitioner‘s body, nerves, chi, chakras, speech and mind. On Tsok Day we can perform a special tsok to our yidam or a general tsok for all the Three Jewels (Lama Chopa). Tsok gathers tremendous amounts of merits to support our tantric meditations in order to get results.
Tsok tradition was started (from Buddha) in Ancient Indian Buddhism by the great Buddhist Mahasiddhas such as Tilopa and Naropa, etc. It was brought to Tibet as a means for tantrikas who have little means to gather great merits in order to gain attainments. Atisha and Guru Rinpoche shared Tsok practice with the Tibetans 1,000 years ago. Once you receive higher tantra initiation, you must perform tsok twice a month for life. Today is Tsok Day and the tantrikas gather at Kechara to perform Lama Chopa like they do twice every month.
Tsem Rinpoche
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Thank you for briefing the importance of the traditional Tibetan Buddhism practice of offering on Tsok day. I believe that this helped many people to know what is Tsok is. Tsok is a very rich practice with multiple layers of meaning, and it can be practiced on various levels.
All practices on the path to buddhahood are methods of gathering the accumulations of merits and wisdoms.
https://bit.ly/3KgtCmM
The practice of Tsok is primarily a practice of offering, but also a very powerful method for healing our spiritual connection with our Guru. It is also a powerful method for purifying our samaya. Through the practice of Tsok offering, we swiftly and effortlessly accumulate merit and wisdom. It also purify our obscurations, which is the essence of the path to Buddhahood . The benefits of performing the Tsok offering are thus immeasurable. Tsok is the greatest accumulation of merit
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing and explaining about this Tsok practice.
Thank you Rinpoche for this beautiful sharing on Tsok practice. Tsok tradition was started in Ancient Indian Buddhism. Is an important Vajrayana practice of offering and purification. It is a special day where the dakinis of the 24 holy places gather together to bless the tantric practitioners body, nerves, chi, chakras, speech and mind. Generally, merit is accumulated by undertaking action that benefits others, while wisdom is accrued . Well its for those who had receive higher tantra initiation, they are to perform tsok twice a month for life. Glad to have some knowledge on this.
Nice, concise and important teaching. Thank you TR.
I recall Lama Atisha was told by a statue that came to life that the quickest way for him to attain enlightenment was to generate bodhicitta. When we have bodhicitta our wish is not to benefit one or two people but all sentient beings, hence our actions and thoughts generate lots of merit and karma for us because of our compassionate thoughts. Here again tsok can generate lots of merit which propels us towards enlightenment whether we want it or not.
I too, like David Lai, enjoy the beautiful haunting melody during the chants. It is like something not from Earth and rightly so since the dakinis are around during tsok.
Thank you Rinpoche for giving the explanation of Tsok. We are fortunate to have Tsok being carried out twice a month in Kechara with the compassion and blessings given by Rinpoche. Now i understand the huge amount of merits can be gained during the Tsok.
Thank you Rinpoche for you valuable sharing on Tsok practice.May we have the merits to participate in one of such ritual in the near future.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this precious article. I am more understanding about Tsok , will definitely sharing with KHJB members.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article with us. It enables us to know better about Tsok.
Thank you very much, Rinpoche,
i just love teachings like this one, from Rinpoche – they are like showers of precious gems and nectar. It’s like Rinpoche showers them on me when the need arises (‘when the land is parch and dry’). i am so glad for this connection; although i have not met Rinpoche for decades! However, he doesn’t seem far from me at all! i am also ever so inspired by Rinpoche’s students/the beautiful Kechara family – i often think of them as the rays/moonbeams radiating from Rinpoche, who is the sun & moon! Whenever Sister Patsy tells me that she is going to the capital to participate in Tsok, it inspires me – Wow! She is truly devoted and dedicated! The others i have met are just as wonderful – Paris and her bubbly energy; Li Kim and her diamond-cutter intelligence; Henry and his positiveness; Sharon and her deeply profound mind; ah, Sean is really cool – if only my pupils could be just like him; and i was really, really happy when Sister Yek Yee became Pastor Yek Yee – with her tender, motherly heart! Oh, not forgetting our “mother of perpetual help”, who really lightens the burdens of so many people in desperation, Dato Ruby! To Rinpoche and every member of the beautiful Kechara family, may you all be well and happy – and Happy 2014!
谢谢仁波切分享殊胜的荟供法门，今天又让我增加了对密续修持法门的知识。感恩仁波切时常灌输我们殊胜的密续法门，让我们受益良多。所以我们要好好的精进地修行佛法，才不会辜负仁波切对我们的一番菩提心。
Thanks Rinpoche for the sharing.
Tsok is such a auspicious practice!!
Hope that we will know more about Tsok in the future.
Thanks
Thank you Rinpoche for this explanation. I believe that this helped many people to know what is tsok better. Answering their questions like when is tsok performed, who should be doing tsok, how many times do they have to do tsok per month, etc.
Although it is a short explanation, but it is very clear. Clearing many questions that I had previously.
I have attended open Tsok a few times and i agreed with Dato Ruby the sacred melody of Lama Chopa Tsok is so therapeutic, i love it. The tantrikas selected by Rinpoche are very fortunate to be able to perform this powerful ancient Tsok practice twice every month to bless their bodies, nerves, chi, chakras, speech and mind and also gather huge amount of merits to support their tantric meditation in order to get results. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
原来Tsok 是如此的殊胜，还会有空行母的到来加持，我们也有幸的可以参与（上师荟供）几次了，现在知道了以后就更要珍惜，而且更积极修持。
感恩仁波切的开示与教诲
祈愿我们能更精进地修行佛法，把佛法实践在我们的生活当中，打好与依循好上师五十颂，修心八颂等基础，让我们有机缘能够学习及迈向更高的密续修持法，并能够参与此殊胜的荟供，想想24圣地的空行母聚集在一起，祝福着我们的上师及所有的密续修行者，这是多动容的加持与祝福
感恩仁波切，感恩您给予无数的教诲与开示，教导我们学习佛法，并转化我们的心识，让我们有机会的精进修行，好结下能迈向高级密续的善种子
祈愿您长驻在世，常转法轮
Thank you for sharing this information on Tsok, Rinpoche. I learned something new. I go to Tsok practices in Kechara House whenever I am able to.
When I first joined Kechara and we only had the little Kechara House gompa (where the KMP office is now), Tsok was one of only a few activities so everyone (all 40 of us LOL) would gather fortnightly to attend the puja. Gosh how things have grown since then and how many activities we have now throughout Kechara! Actually, I supposed we can think of tsok as being one of the backbones of our organisation, to have generated plenty of merit for all that we have now and still continuing to do so now, as the puja continues to be done every 2 weeks.
I remember Rinpoche always telling us that attending Tsok was a very powerful way of creating a tremendous amount of merit as it is a very direct way of making plentiful offerings, to all beings on the Guru tree and the countless dakinis that really do come to bless the place. Rinpoche has also advised that this is a very powerful puja we can do in dedication of people we love or have passed away, as the merit generated is really plentiful and tremendous. (This is one of the pujas now offered by Puja House as a bereavement puja (http://www.kechara.com/kechara-house/pujas/bereavement-puja/) and also done sometimes for special occasions such as Wesak day, Tsongkhapa day etc to which everyone is invited 🙂
Dear Rinpoche,
on tsok days does it matter which tsok practice one does.
I usually do the chakrasamvara tsok. Or do you need to do a tsok for each mother tantra deity you have empowerment into or just one?
Dear Colin,
It is wonderful and absolutely I rejoice from the heart to know you perform Chakrasamvara tsok. That is complete in itself and not deficient in anything.
When you perform one tsok to any Deity, it includes all Deities already. And for sure Chakramvara’s tsok includes the complete refuge field. Especially if you are performing Mahanutaratantra tsok, then it is complete. In short, you do not have to do any other tsok besides what you are doing. It is complete.
Wonderful. And keep up your practice of these superior Deity Chakrasamvara.
Tsem Rinpoche
I have been to Tsok as an audience. I also know that our Tantrikas like DR, Irene, Tat Ming and Patsy will perform tsok for special day. Knew that it’s a great offerings to the Buddha and dakinis. Also knew that it is a commitment for the Tantrikas to do it twice a month. Didn’t know that there are dakinis of the 24 holy places gather together to bless the tantric practitioners body, nerves, chi, chakras, speech and mind. Wow! Through the kindness of all the gurus this tradition has be brought to us from Ancient India to the Modern Malaysia! What a powerful day for the Tantrikas to generate merits.
If u are fortunate to attend any tsok, it is excellent in collecting enormous amount of merits in a short period of time! And if u do attend, do contribute to the tsok… like even RM5 is good enough because during tsok the tantrikas generates all the offerings by visualisation to a billion times. Hence this is how your small contribution can be a huge mountain. You will also feel different after tsok, like you have re-charged and you will feel positive. Tsok is a brilliant way to generate much merit as we all need it, and you can even dedicate it to someone you love, sick or passed on.
Sometimes we are lucky we have open Tsog this ceremony generates a lot of merits for those attending it and we also have to stay very still during certain parts of the ceremony as there will be unenlightened dakinis present during that time.
If anyone has difficulty tracking Tsok dates they are on this calendar: http://www.fpmt.org/media/resources/dharma-dates.html
It’s not exactly every 2 weeks so it’s helpful to check up before the next Tsok
Beautiful!
I love the sacred melody of the Lama Chopa Tsog. I am not allowed to practice it as I do not have the necessary higher Tantric initiation but I really like sacred music. I believe the Lama Chopa was composed by the 4th Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen. Apparently, he based the melody of the chant to the sacred music he heard from the ethereal Dakinis. No wonder it is so hauntingly beautiful. An inspiration towards developing Guru devotion and developing higher states of meditation and practice!
Yes, the melody is so therapeutic. It calms one’s mind. Lama Chopa Tsog is immensely beneficial; besides the tantric practitioners body, nerves, chi, chakras, speech and mind being blessed, the practitioners also get to gain tremendous amount of merits as they make offerings to the entire lineage Lama all the way back to Shakyamuni Buddha. The entire Guru Tree! Offerings are also made to beings of the lower realms. Such a complete puja! The tantrikas are very fortunate.
Thank You Rinpoche for the Tsok explanation, all the while in my mind Tsok is a puja for the Tantrika, and now i further understand that Tsok is more than a Puja for those who had been Initiated. I remember Rinpoche mention that Tsok is done on days that are high in female energy, and another day which is high on Male energy, which is Vajrayogini and HerukaChakrasambhara, apologize if i remember it wrongly Dear Rinpoche.
I love listening to the chanting during Tsok pujas. We are so lucky to have open Tsok day where anyone can go and witness it. Thank you Ripoche.
Tsog is an offering to, and requesting inspiration from the Spiritual Master. It is a Guru Puja(feast offerings) practice in order to receive blessings and general realisations on the path to enlightenment. We need lots of merits or positive energy and the best way to obtain this is to make special beautiful offerings and prayers known as Tsog, to the Triple Gems and to our Spiritual teachers. It is customary to be done twice a month, based on the Lunar calendar. Actually, it is meant for the “Tantric practioners” to restore and reaffirm their vows and pledges. In the ceremony, usually bells and dorjes are used in accompaniment with the chanting of the prayers.
Thank you Rinpoche for the teaching on Tsok.
Dear Rinpoche, thanks for the teaching and today I learnt something new again 🙂 but from normal calendar how could I know when is Tsok day?
Take a good rest. Thanks.
Dear Victor, tsok dates dont show on our solar calendars. Every year, I get the dates from the monastery for all the tsok dates for whole year.
Thanks Dato 🙂
Dear Data,
Is it possible for you to give me the dates of all the TSOK dates for 2024? Plz send to my email victorgareau@yahoo.ca Much appreciated. Namaste
Dear Rinpoche,
If one is far from a center, how does one do the tsok by themself? I have been to tsok a couple of times, but I do not really understand everything. Can one just read the prayers?
Dear Terri, Being near or far from centre is not relevant to performing tsok twice monthly. It is for your personal practice for that important commitment is broken. You should learn up the tsok as it is not that difficult. Being far from the centre makes it all the more important to learn up and perform on your own like the great cave practitioners of the past who did it in the caves on their own. I wish you luck. TR
Thank you Dear Rinpoche. I still feel very clueless. Thanks for wishing me luck.