This ceremony of offering to the gurus was composed for many reasons by Ogyen Trinley Dorje, called “Karmapa.” I read and carefully studied the words and meaning of ceremonies composed by gurus of many traditions, including the Pangkong Chagyapa Sutra, which was the earliest dharma to reach Tibet; the Bodhicharyavatara by the Victors’ Son Shantideva; the Gurupuja by the mahasiddha Lingrepa; the Gurupuja by Panchen Lozang Chögyen; the Gurupuja of All the Dakpo Kagyu by the guru Jamgön Lodrö Thayey; the Shakyamuni Ceremony by the great scholar Mipam Jamyang Namgyal; the Ceremony of the Elders by Shamar Chödrak Yeshe; and sutra rituals composed by several great virtuous friends of the Sakya tradition. I then carefully extracted from them all that accorded with our present needs. I have designed this to be accessible to ordinary people. It was composed at the Vajravidya Institute in the Deer Park at Varanasi, where the supreme Teacher, Shakyamuni, taught the dharmachakra of the Four Truths to his first five disciples.

From the Foreword by His Holiness Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje