The days before Losar are full of cleaning and clearing, both of our homes and of our spirits, and this clearing is followed by the creation of elaborate, beautiful Losar shrines to prepare for welcoming the Lo-sar, the New Year. This year we attended the new home of the Gyuto Foundation in Richmond, California for the nyi shu gu activities, which began with a Cha Sum puja to remove the obstacles of the old year, and were followed by eating the special Losar’s eve eve dumpling soup, called guthuk. Here’s a look at the wonderful Gyuto Foundation Losar shrines, along with one image of our much smaller and simpler family shrine, just set up today.
Losar shrines
Ewa Galińska says
Losar Tashi Delek from Poland !
Lobsang and Yolanda says
Losar Tashi Delek, to you, too Ewa! May it be a wonderful year for you!
Patti says
Tashi delek to all and a very happy Losar! Looking at all of the lovely altars is such a joy, thank you! I have just finished setting up ours and will be returning shortly for prayers, a Medicine Buddha sadana, and then putting it all to ‘bed’ for the evening. The next days will be full of opportunities to set the tone for a great year. May all beings be blessed.
yowangdu says
Losar Tashi Delek to you too Patti! It sounds like it was a beautiful day and hope you’re still enjoying the Losar season 🙂
Nıl Eren says
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful Losar shrine photos. Very inspiring and motivating. Losar Tashi Delek to you and every one on earth.
yowangdu says
You are so welcome, Nil — thanks for the kind comments and Losar Tashi Delek to you!
tsewang says
gen Wangdula…
i was trying to buy Barley to make TSAMPA for for my4 little son. he loves Tsampa… but in my place we dont get tsampa..so i oder it from nyc.. but it gets really expensive to post tsampa from nyc…. I have no idea where to buy barley seed… . i saw three types of barley.. green/ red n white.. n confuse which one it is and where can i buy it……or even the name of company would be helpful.. i am very hopeful that you will help me on this matter
yowangdu says
Hi Tsewang la, Great question. We actually don’t make tsampa ourselves as we have some good local sources, but we did find an online source for barley, which you can see in this post: https://www.yowangdu.com/tibetan-food/tsampa.html Basically, the company is Arrowhead Mills and the type is Arrowhead Mills Pearled Barley. If you can find something like this in your area, that would be good. On the post we also mention places we know to buy tsampa, which we list below. If you let us know your city, maybe we can help you find something more nearby.
If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, Samten la sells bags of tsampa at very reasonable prices from her Cafe Tibet restaurant in Berkeley, California. 2020 University, Berkeley, CA (510) 548-5553 We can also recommend buying from Ann at Purple Mountain Tsampa, who will ship to you. Ann makes tsampa fresh to order from hull-less barley, a “whole food” barley grown without a hull, and nutritionally superior to “pearled” or “hulled barley.” Contact Ann at annlachman@gmail.com. Also, our friend Dhondup la, sells tsampa online at Tibetan Tsampa.
Tsewangl lhadon says
Thukje chey gen Wangdula. I live in Vancouver. I would love to buy from above mention people but due to Canadian custom rule any food product is not allowed. I tried bring Tampa from outside once but custom didn’t allow to bring it inside Canada.so I’m assuming if I buy online from state custom will not allow.i will mail Anna n see if she has shipped to Canada before.many many thanks for the information
yowangdu says
Please let us know how it goes, or if you find another source for tsampa in Canada. We hope that Ann’s can get to you!
tejaswini kadam says
Tashi Delek! And wishes to you and the entire community for a peaceful and joyous Losar! I miss having the Losar shrine in my house this year, however I do have some recitations and listened to it since morning!
yowangdu says
Losar Tashi Delek to you, too Tejaswini Kadam! Sounds like you had a peaceful, nice Losar 🙂
yeshe tsomo says
Tashi Delek to all,
Thank you for the pictures of the Losar offering shrine.
Wonderful, beautiful and so meaningful.
I have hung my new prayer flags under the trees in my garden today.
Shared the day with wonderful friends, and many prayers and blessings
for all sentient beings.May you all have the causes for peace and happiness.
Yeshe Tsomo
yowangdu says
Wonderful, Yeshe Tsomo la. May you have a beautiful day and new year!
Victoria Roig says
The photos are superb, just stunning and profound in displaying the tradition and rituals
for this holiday.
For those of us who never get a chance to see it, these are very meaningful.
BLessings to you both….Victoria Roig
yowangdu says
Thanks so much, Victoria. Blessings to you on this Losar day 🙂
Gianluca says
Happy Losar to you too, and thank you for what you do!
yowangdu says
Thank you Gianluca! We are so happy if the work is useful 🙂 May you have a great Losar!
Laura says
Absolutely beautiful. Your family shrine is wonderful too! Are those bowls the same as the cups of butter tea from another article on your site? The colorful ones with the auspicious symbols. I have been looking everywhere for cups like those but can’t seem to find any. Thank you for sharing these colorful and joyful photos, I always appreciate your articles.
yowangdu says
Thank you Laura! Yes, those are the same bowls. We think we got those in Tibet (Lhasa), and have not seen them for sale anywhere. Losar Tashi Delek to you 🙂