Vajrayogini Ruchok Purification Puja

Vajrayogini Ruchok is a special purification ritual for hair and bones. Ruchok can be performed for both humans and animals, whether they are alive or have passed away. During the ceremony, the hair/nails of the living and the ashes/bones of the deceased are blessed and “transformed” into Vajrayogini.

Upon completion of this sacred ritual, these consecrated remains will be mixed with other holy items, and made into tsatsas. These special tsatsas will then be inserted into the Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen Stupa for continuous blessings and collection of merit. We plan to complete the Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen Stupa in 2022 as part of the Tsem Rinpoche Relic Temple Project.

In this way, every being who is blessed in the Ruchok Puja will remain strongly connected to Rinpoche, Vajrayogini and Kechara in this and future lives.

The Vajrayogini self-initiation ceremony will also be performed during the puja. This complex, elaborate ritual has great significance for both initiates and non-initiates. For the uninitiated, participating in the Vajrayogini self-initiation creates the causes for us to receive Vajrayogini’s practice in the future. For the initiated, the ceremony mends and reaffirms our vows taken previously, and purifies downfalls that could prevent us from gaining attainments from our practice.