Pilgrimage to holy sites continues in Kalmykia
A group of pilgrims led by the Shajin Lama of Kalmykia Telo Tulku Rinpoche visited the Lagansky and Chernozemelsky districts. First of all, the Shajin Lama, together with the monks of the Central Khurul and pilgrims from Elista, visited one of the most sacred and holy places of Kalmykia - the Chinderta mound - the place of cremation of the Kalmyk khan Donduk-Dashi, shrouded in legends and lore, a place with a rich history. “A place of power”, “a place possessing healing power”, “a place where Buddhas dwell” - this is how the people call this place.
Together with the monks of the Central Khurul, the Shajin Lama conducted the great ritual “Sangsol” - in Kalmyk “ghazr tyaklghn” during which special herbs, incense, various substances, 3 types of white food, and 3 types of sweet food were offered through fire to the Three Jewels - the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, dakas and dakinis, the deities and guardians of the locality, and various classes of living beings. The ritual was conducted for the accumulation of merit (buyan), for purification from negative energies, for bringing harmony into the life of an individual person and of society, for attracting prosperity, health, good fortune, an increase of vital forces, and for protection from harmful influences. Also conducted was the ritual of invoking and praising Mahakala, Palden Lhamo (Okon Tengr), Kalarupa (Erlik Nominkhan) and Vaishravana (Bain Namsr), during which a serjim was offered to the protectors.
The next point of the visit was the Lagansky Khurul, built in 1995. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, during his visit to the republic in September 1992, consecrated the khurul under construction and gave a thangka depicting Buddha Shakyamuni and plaster prints of his palms, which became relics of the temple. The Dalai Lama also made a monetary donation for the construction of the khurul. In September 2017, a new building was built, significantly larger in size, since the old one could not accommodate all the faithful. The Lagansky Khurul “Lagan Dargyeling” is a complex of religious objects. On its territory are the Stupa of the Descent of the Buddha from the Tushita heaven and the largest statue of Buddha Maitreya in Europe.
Before the statue of the future Buddha Maitreya, the Head of the Buddhists of Kalmykia, together with the monks and the faithful, conducted the tantric ritual Tsog through the recitation of the text of the Guru Puja. This is a special practice of offering with the aim of pacifying the deities, protectors and guardians of the Teaching, as well as the local spirits and all kinds of beings surrounding us. In addition, the Tsog offering is an effective method of repaying our karmic debts, and thus of removing the most varied obstacles: in spiritual practice or simply illnesses, difficult life circumstances.
In Sanskrit, Tsog sounds like “ganachakra”. The word “gana” is translated as “accumulation” or “gathering”, and the word “chakra” literally means “wheel”. “The wheel of accumulation” - such is the direct translation of this phrase. And accumulations or gatherings, according to Buddhist texts, occur several times during the Tsog: a gathering of practitioners, a gathering of offerings, a gathering of deities, and in the end - of merit and wisdom. On this same day, the pilgrims visited the khurul in the village of Komsomolsky in the Chernozemelsky district, where they performed a circumambulation - kora with the recitation of prayers.
