In the tantric context, both fire pūjā (homa) and gaṇacakra (tsok) are not casual ceremonies but formal Vajrayāna practices that rest on empowerment, transmission, and clear instruction from a qualified guru. They are framed by refuge, bodhicitta, and the view of emptiness, so that every ritual detail is held within a commitment to awaken for the sake of all beings. The practitioner prepares by cleansing body and environment, arranging a proper altar or mandala, and examining conduct and samaya with the intention to purify and repair. Without this ethical and contemplative foundation, the outer forms risk becoming mere performance, rather than a vehicle for transformation. Thus, the “how” of these rites is always inseparable from the “why”: they are enacted as methods for purification, accumulation of merit and wisdom, and the maturation of deity yoga.

In a fire pūjā, the space is carefully prepared, often with a dedicated hearth or kunda constructed and oriented according to the ritual text, and with offerings such as clean wood, grains, herbs, ghee, and other prescribed substances. The altar holds representations of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, as well as the specific yidam, and the practitioner begins with refuge, bodhicitta, and the dissolution of appearances into emptiness before arising as the deity. The fire itself is visualized as a wisdom deity, the hearth as a mandala, and the flames as the deity’s mouth receiving offerings. Through mantra, mudrā, and visualization, the offerings are blessed, transformed, and then cast into the fire in a measured sequence, each act associated with purification, increase, magnetizing, or other specific aims as authorized by the sādhana. The ritual culminates in confession, dedication of merit, and respectful treatment of the ashes, with the practitioner resting briefly in the recognition that all appearances, including fire and offerings, are empty yet vividly expressive.

The gaṇacakra or tsok feast unfolds as a communal mandala, centered on the guru and yidam, in which food and drink are transformed into amṛta and shared as sacramental offerings. A variety of clean, pleasing substances—grains, fruits, sweets, and, where appropriate, meat and alcohol—are arranged in a mandala pattern and blessed through mantra, mudrā, and visualization until they are understood as boundless nectar of great bliss-emptiness. Participants, having examined and resolved to repair any breaches of samaya, take their seats as deities within the mandala, invoking the presence of buddhas, bodhisattvas, ḍākinīs, dharmapālas, lineage masters, and vajra siblings. The first portions are offered to the guru and the three jewels, then to the yidam and retinue, and only thereafter are the consecrated substances distributed among practitioners, who partake while maintaining pure perception and deity yoga. Confession, praise, mantra recitation, and dedication of merit complete the feast, and any remaining offerings are handled with respect, sometimes set aside for unseen beings, so that the entire event becomes a living expression of non-dual generosity, purification, and shared commitment to awakening.