Sponsoring Drubchens

Every year in Tibetan monasteries intensive annual pujas—drubchens—are held lasting a week. Also called “Great Accomplishment Mahasadhanas,” they often go 24 hours a day with participants taking shifts throughout the night.

In re-establishing the spiritual activities of Kilung Monastery, Kilung Rinpoche is seeking to reinstate the full complement of four traditional pujas each year. Currently, the monastery is able to conduct one complete drupchen annually, supported by an endowment just for this purpose. With full funding for three more endowments, the calendar will be accomplished.

Costs include offerings of butterlamps, incense, and meals and tea for the assembly. The endowment for one full annual drupchen of seven days is $10,800. This amount is invested locally, with the profit sustaining the drupchen year after year.

Sponsoring drupchens at Kilung Monastery is a way to support the crucial reinvigoration of this community’s spiritual life and its integrated culture. At the same time, it brings great karmic merit to the sponsor, to those of us who are not able, in this life, to devote all our time to deep spiritual practice.

If you would like to be part of filling out an endowment for Kilung Monastery’s drupchens, please contact us. More details about the four major drubchens are below.

FOUR MAJOR DRUBCHENS AT KILUNG MONASTERY
Name	Time of Year	Participants	Special activities	Current Status at Kilung	What is Needed
Vajra Guru	Just after Losar (Tibetan New Year, around February.)	90-120 people: monks, lamas, lay people from several communities.	Vajra Guru practice, day and night, including 2 days of lama dance.	Fully active	Nothing needed.
World Sang for World Peace	Around summer solstice, just before World Sang Day on full moon.	All Kilung monks for the drubchen. Whole community for post-drubchen festival and pujas.	Various prayers, sadhanas, and fire pujas. Festival includes fire pujas, horse races, song, dance, etc.	Drubchen of 3 out of 7 days is currently active. Festival of several days is currently active.	Total endowment is 50,000 yuan. Kilung has 20,000 covered, and needs 30,000 yuan to fund all 7 days of drubchen.
Vajrakilaya	Mid-summer or fall	Approx 60 people: all Kilung monks, lamas, and ngakpas.	Vajrakilaya practice, day and night.	Inactive	Total endowment is 70,000 yuan.
Gutor Torma Offering	Just before Losar	Approx 60 people: all Kilung monks, lamas, and ngakpas.	Chemchok Heruka practice, daytime only, including 2 days of lama dance.	3 out of 7 days are currently active.	Total endowment is 70,000 yuan. Kilung has 30,000 covered, and needs 40,000 yuan to fund all 7 days.

Offerings required for these pujas include 7,000-10,000 butterlamps, and meals for all the monastic and yogic participants. This includes 8 teas and 5 meals each day: tsampa; glang chen thigpa—a very rich sweet rice dish; Tibetan pastry; droma—wild miniature yam; hearty noodle soup.