Tsa-tsa Making Workshop with Roberta Raine

TSA-TSA MAKING WORKSHOP
Saturday, December 9, 2023
11am-2:00pm
In-person only; registration is required and space is limited.

Making tsa tsas (low-relief images of Buddhist deities) is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist art and one of the traditional preliminary practices in the Gelug tradition. Tsa tsas are made as a sacred practice, with each step in the process—mixing the materials, casting the images, and so on—done with specific visualizations, mantras, and prayers. Making tsa tsas creates great merit along the path and helps bring realizations, according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Roberta will first introduce us to the history and background of Tibetan tsa tsas, and then guide us through each step of the practice. At the end of the day, students will be able to bring home the tsa tsas that they create. No prior experience is required to attend, but since this is a Dharma practice, participants should be prepared to recite refuge and other prayers.

What You Need to Bring

1 apron (or something to cover your clothes from spatter)
1 rubber spatula
1 rubber whisk (for mixing)
1 2-cup plastic measuring cup or small pitcher (for pouring the material into the molds)

Other Important Details

Maitripa College will provide the tsa tsa molds and gympsum.
We’ll take a one-hour break for lunch while the tsa tsas are drying. You can bring your own lunch or go to a nearby food truck.
Tsa tsa-making is a messy process! Please dress in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.

Online Resources

Commentary on Tsa-tsa Practice by Lama Zopa Rinpoche (includes FPMT links to many more resources)
What to Do with Tsa Tsas Once They Are Made

About the Instructor

Roberta Raine began making tsa tsas in 1999 after having been given a tsa tsa commitment by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The next year, Lama Zopa Rinpoche appointed Roberta director of the Tsa Tsa Studio/Center for Tibetan Sacred Art, an FPMT center dedicated to the practice. She was director of the center for five years, running its educational program and teaching the practice to students. The center closed some years later, but Roberta has continued to make tsa tsas and teach the practice to others.  Roberta has been a student at Maitripa College since 2016. >more

Open to all; registration required:

Generosity Policy for Community Programming

We strive to operate our community programs at Maitripa College within the model of a gift economy, grounded in an understanding of interdependence, and sensitive to the dynamics of connection. In traditional Buddhist teachings as well as in indigenous cultures, deep relationship is established through giving. In this spirit, we invite you to connect to Maitripa College by giving however you are able, in order to establish the reciprocity that deepens and strengthens relationship.  Click below for donation options. May your generosity ripen in abundance for yourself and all beings everywhere.