1. Blessing — fire offering

Meaning

‘Sang’ is a core ritual that uses the smoke of burnt offerings to create vast spiritualized offerings for enlightened Buddhas, local deities, land guardians and all sentient beings within the cycle of worldly existence. This blessing clears away obstacles, increases wealth energy and improves health, while clearing karmic debts and healing the environment. According to ancient Tibetan spiritual psychology, whatever we do in life, we need 4 specific factors to assure that we accomplish our worldly and spiritual goals:

• Strong life force, or basic vitality (Tsok).
• The energy of wealth, health and success (Yul).
• The energy of effectiveness, charisma or simply power (Wong Tong).
• Success energy or “wind-horse” which opens up the channels to favorable events—what we call synchronicity in the West or good fortune.(LungTa).

Without these factors, no matter how hard we work, there is no lasting improvement or success. However, there are a very limited number of methods to increase all four factors of life force, health, charisma and success energy. Among such techniques, Sang and prayer flags are the most effective and powerful.

Background

Sang rituals are known for their profound blessings and rapid effectiveness in generating peace, harmony and fulfillment wherever performed. While these types of offerings are extremely ancient, originating long before Buddhism, they have been refined for over 1,200 years in the context of Tantric science and compassion. Many of these are mind-treasures or space messages  left by Padmasambhava in the 8th century. Taught to his 25 disciples, they were then hidden, to be discovered in a dark future time when these teachings would be much needed. These great treasures form the basis of many modern-day Sang rituals.

Practice & Ritual

The actual practice involves a fire source; anything from a large bonfire to a small disc of charcoal. As in all Vajrayana rituals—the highest level of Tibetan spiritual practice—the practitioner abandons his/her normal form and takes on a light-body identity that represents enlightened form, sound and mind. Many special offering substances are then offered in the sacred fire, created voluminous smoke. This acts as a vehicle to transport mantras (sacred sound vibrations) and psychically created offerings to the four classes of guests.

Four Types of Guests

Higher Guests

includes all the primary spiritual forces that represent the very heart of enlightenment—Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dakinis and Yidams—and all great beings who have achieved full awakening.

Guests of Honor

are both enlightened and worldly Protectors, a spectrum of powerful beings that guard our spiritual & material life against harm, intrusion or obstacles on all levels.

Guests of Compassion

encompasses all sentient beings who wander endlessly in the six hallucinatory realms of life, never finding their true nature; humans, hell-beings, hungry spirits, animals, demi-gods, etc

Debtor Guests

through infinite lives we have performed negative actions, such as stealing, taking life, slander, etc. By repaying the beings we have harmed, we too are healed, and our karmic retribution is modified or eliminated. Offering to Higher Guests creates good karma, while here we eliminate the negative.