The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Keeping Heart Samaya”

When we examine the student’s responsibility in the teacher/student relationship, we have to think like this: First of all, according to the teaching, the lama, as the spiritual teacher or spiritual master, is the condensed essence of the [...]]]>

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Keeping Heart Samaya”

When we examine the student’s responsibility in the teacher/student relationship, we have to think like this: First of all, according to the teaching, the lama, as the spiritual teacher or spiritual master, is the condensed essence of the external and most familiar objects of refuge–the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.  So, regarding the student’s samaya or commitment to the teacher, there are three aspects of commitment.

As the lama is the condensed essence of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, the first commitment is to honor and uphold the Buddha’s teachings.  That is to say that if we are practicing the Buddhadharma, we should never disrespect the Buddhist prayers and the Buddhist text. We love and respect them as the Buddha’s own speech, the Buddha’s own speech emanation.  We should never throw them around or put them under our seats or step on them or treat them as though they were any like other object in samsara, like a rag or something.  We should never treat any objects that are representative of the objects of refuge like that, such as statues, Dharma texts, and images of the Buddhas.

It’s not that Buddhists have a superficial, external, worship of images.  It is not like that.  This rule or practice is meant to develop discrimination in the student’s mind so that the student can discriminate between what is precious and extraordinary and what is ordinary.  Ordinary things are things that arise in samsara and result in samsara, even things that we need, like enough water to live on.  Water is in the world, you can get it from the world and it results in the satisfaction of worldly thirst.  Water is not the same as Dharma.  Dharma arises from the mind of enlightenment, results in enlightenment and is not ordinary.  Water will support my life temporarily, so it is impermanent.  If I drink a glass of water and then don’t drink any more, I will last four or five days. But even though it may be necessary for me to drink that water in order to stay alive long enough to read the Buddha’s teaching, I won’t forget the teaching because it is extraordinary and does not arise from samsara.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

This commitment not only supports my life temporarily and in this moment, but it also provides a path or a method by which I can accomplish Dharma, by which I can enter into the door of liberation and be free.  This is a miracle.  This is a treasure that doesn’t only last one life or one moment or four days.  Life after life after life this treasure lasts,.  So these things are held up as extraordinary. Part of the student’s commitment to the student/teacher relationship is to honor this external object of refuge–the Buddha image, to honor the Buddha’s presence in the world, to propagate the teaching, to hold it up and protect it.

[Adapted from an oral commentary given by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche in conjunction with a ceremony wherein he bestowed the bodhisattva vow upon a gathering of disciples at Namdroling in Bozeman, Montana, November 1999. ---Ed.]

General offerings please the senses. Imagine those offerings to be vast and inconceivable. However, if you were to [attempt [...]]]>

[Adapted from an oral commentary given by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche in conjunction with a ceremony wherein he bestowed the bodhisattva vow upon a gathering of disciples at Namdroling in Bozeman, Montana, November 1999. ---Ed.]

General offerings please the senses. Imagine those offerings to be vast and inconceivable. However, if you were to [attempt to] compare the outer offerings with a single particle of the realms of buddhas and the quality of offerings made in the minds of enlightened ones, [you would find that comparison] to be beyond the scope of your imagination. That is why it is so important while presenting offerings to try to connect with the ultimate nature of offering, which is mental and not just material. Material offerings you make are supports for your mental or imagined offerings, which should be as inconceivably vast and wondrous as you are capable of manifesting. The actual offerings you use as a support should also be the best substances you are able to offer. At least they must not be old, dirty, or leftover substances; they must be suitable supports for the basis of virtue. The pure material offerings you make will be the support for the continual manifestation of inexhaustible offerings that will remain until samsara is emptied.

There is a well-known story of an accomplished practitioner named Jowo Ben. One day Jowo Ben made a very beautiful, clean, and pure offering on his altar. As he sat and looked at his offering, he thought, “What is it that makes this offering I’ve made here today excellent?” Then he remembered his sponsor was coming to visit that day, and he realized he had made the beautiful offering in order to impress his sponsor. He jumped up, picked up a handful of dirt, and threw it on the altar, saying he should give up all attachment and fixation on worldly concerns. Other lamas, on hearing what Jowo Ben had done, proclaimed his offering of throwing dirt on his altar to have been the purest of offerings, because Jowo Ben had finally cleared his mind of attachment and aversion.

When offerings are made, they are rendered pure and excellent by a mind free from attachment and aversion to the ordinary, material aspect of the offerings—and they must be made with a mind that is also free from avarice. Don’t think you can throw dirt on your altar and think that will benefit you. You must adjust your mind. If your mind is free from attachment or fixation and aversion, then whatever you do will be right. If your mind is not adjusted and your intentions are impure, then no matter how beautiful and magnificent the offering is, it will be insignificant. If you present all offerings, whether abundant or meager, with fervent devotion from the core of your heart, that will produce profoundly amazing results.

In order to be free from the suffering of existence, the mind must be free from dualistic fixation. In freedom from duality, everything is inherently pure. Just imagine all the wonderful offerings that are made that are free from duality: pure water possessing the eight qualities, garlands of flowers, incense, light, superior perfume, celestial food, musical instruments, fine garments, beautiful umbrellas, canopies, victory banners, the sun, the moon—the finest and best of everything is offered. Consider those as offerings arranged in a magnificent array equal in size to Mt. Meru. Furthermore, know that those offerings are pure and free from duality. For example, if you were to pick a flower and think, “Oh, this is such a beautiful flower; I want to offer it,” but then you also think, “My flower is more beautiful than the others,” and you offer it with that dualistic thought, then that offering would be defiled by your dualistic fixation. On the other hand, if you focus on the pure nature of the offerings and present them with pure devotion, you will make offerings that are pure or free from dualistic fixation. Recite the verses of the branch for offering, and make the most excellent, immeasurable offering you are capable of with the enlightened attitude [bodhicitta], faith, and pure devotion.

It is important to understand that presenting offerings is the antidote for [having] desire. Offerings are not made to the Three Jewels because they are considered to be poverty-stricken and in need of receiving from their disciples; offerings are made to accumulate merit. By making offerings with actual material substances, we accumulate ordinary conceptual merit; by using the mind to manifest immeasurable offerings, we accumulate nonconceptual wisdom merit.

From “THE PATH of the Bodhisattva: A Collection of the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Related Prayers” with a commentary by Kyabje Pema Norbu Rinpoche on the Prayer for Excellent Conduct

Compiled under the direction of Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche Vimala Publishing 2008

Meaning and Purpose

The basis for offering is the practice of “Generosity.”  Generosity helps us to be less self-cherishing and thereby more loving to others.  In the Buddhist tradition one makes offerings to the Three Precious Jewels, which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and the Lama who embodies all three.  Offerings [...]]]>

Meaning and Purpose

The basis for offering is the practice of “Generosity.”  Generosity helps us to be less self-cherishing and thereby more loving to others.  In the Buddhist tradition one makes offerings to the Three Precious Jewels, which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and the Lama who embodies all three.  Offerings are a way of honoring the mind of Enlightenment and the seed potential within all of us to awaken to our true nature.  Also one makes offerings with joy and sincere appreciation for the countless blessings one has been given by one’s teachers who by their supreme generosity have given one the Path and a way to end one’s suffering.  The practice of offering is another way to acknowledge the boundless love and infinite compassion shown to us by all those who have attained Enlightenment solely for the benefit of sentient beings.

On a deeper level, the practice of offering can be done mentally where one offers everything one sees and experiences such as the beauty of fresh flowers, the wonderful scents in our world like freshly baked bread, the comfort one feels from being warm when it is cold outside, the taste of delicious food, and the happiness we feel when we see a friend we haven’t seen in a while.  As we walk through the mall, we can offer everything we see and experience, clothes, furniture, etc.  When one is practicing generosity in this way, it is also viewed as a way of renouncing our attachment to these worldly things that are impermanent anyway and only give us temporary happiness. This method of practice if cultivated becomes a potent way of accumulating merit and virtue that can then be offered for the benefit of sentient beings.

What to Offer

Generally, one offers the very best that can be obtained or that one has the means to offer.  If the offering is given sincerely from the heart, then even water that is offered  becomes a treasure.  Flowers, light, incense, perfume or sweet scent, pure water, a conch shell (symbolizes music), and food are traditional offerings.  Crystals, jewelry, malas, and money are also suitable offerings.

How to Make the Offering

As a Buddhist, upon entering the shrine room one makes three prostrations towards the altar.  Then one arouses the thought of Bodhicitta, which is the sincere wish or motivation to be of benefit to sentient beings by working to achieve enlightenment.  The offering is made on the lowest level of the altar or could be placed at the base or foot of the altar.  In the case of offering a mala, the mala should be placed on the foot of the image of the Buddha but never around the neck.  If offering a BLESSED mala, please note that once offered, the mala can never again be used for personal use.  The practice of offering is considered to be a virtuous act, so remember to dedicate the merit and offer it as well for the benefit of all sentient beings.

What Not to Offer

Generally it is best not to offer anything sour or bitter like lemons or limes.  Also one would not offer an image of the Buddha such as a statue or a photograph of the Buddha.

When to Make an Offering

Offerings can be made at anytime, however in the Tibetan lunar calendar, there are auspicious days when merit is increased that are traditionally observed by making offerings.  For example, the 10^th Day or Guru Rinpoche Day, the 25^th Day or Dakini Day, 10 Million Days (there are four during the year) which mark different events in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, and Losar the Tibetan New Year.

In Buddhism, an Altar is a physical display and support for one’s practice. The Altar is a sacred space dedicated to images representing one’s faith, devotion, and respect.  It is also a place to make offerings of gratitude for our precious opportunity: for the Path which can lead us out of [...]]]> What is an Altar?

In Buddhism, an Altar is a physical display and support for one’s practice. The Altar is a sacred space dedicated to images representing one’s faith, devotion, and respect.  It is also a place to make offerings of gratitude for our precious opportunity: for the Path which can lead us out of suffering, for the method which can lead us to Enlightenment.

On a deeper level, the Altar is a representation of the goal of the Path.  The images of the Buddha are reminders that it is possible to accomplish the Method and achieve Enlightenment.  Each of the Buddhas started out just as we are now, as ordinary beings with a sincere wish to seek Enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.  As we view the Altar, we are reminded that this goal is attainable.

The Altar also helps us to train in mindfulness.  The Path is about waking up from our deep sleep of non-recognition.  As we view the altar with faith and devotion, we recognize what is truly extraordinary and what is merely ordinary.  Increasing our awareness helps us to cultivate our pure intention to be of benefit to all sentient beings.

How to set up an Altar

There are many types of Altars.  They can be elaborate or simple, but most important is pure motivation.  Otherwise, the benefit is minimal.

An Altar has at least two levels.  The images of the Buddha––pictures, statues, etc.––are placed on the highest level.  The lowest level is for offerings.  Traditionally, eight offerings are placed on an altar: water for drinking, water for bathing, flowers, incense, light, scent or perfume, food, and music.  They represent what one traditionally offered to guests in one’s home.  In the days before motels and inns, travelers would rely on the kindness of strangers in their homes to provide shelter and food.  This is still the case in many remote areas of Tibet.

Offering 1 – A bowl filled with water representing clean water for drinking is offered to the Buddha.  It symbolizes all auspicious, positive causes and conditions.

Offering 2 – A bowl filled with water represents clean water for bathing the Buddha’s feet.  It symbolizes purification.

Offering 3 – A bowl filled with flowers represents the beauty of the Buddha’s Enlightenment.  It symbolizes an open heart and the practice of generosity.  (The bowl can be filled with rice and topped with a silk flower. If fresh flowers are used, the bowl is filled with water.)

Offering 4 – A bowl of rice with incense placed on top symbolizes moral ethics and discipline.

Offering 5 – Light of some kind, a candle or butter lamp, is offered to the Buddha’s eyes and is symbolic of patience and a stable mind that dispels ignorance.

Offering 6 – A bowl of scented water symbolizes joyful, enthusiastic effort and perseverance.  (Or a bottle of fragrance can be placed on top of a bowl of rice.)

Offering 7 – A bowl filled with rice with delicious food on top represents the precious nectar of the Path that leads to Enlightenment.

Offering 8 – A bowl filled with rice and topped with a representation of music (such as a conch shell, cymbals, or bells) is offered to the Buddha’s ears and symbolizes the nature of Wisdom.

Please Note: One can simply offer a light and seven bowls of water in place of the above offerings.

How to Open and Close an Altar

An altar is opened and closed in a specific way.  One opens the altar by pouring water into the bowls in a steady, even way, beginning at the far left and moving to the right.  The bowls should be lined up very straight and evenly spaced, about the width of a grain of rice apart.

When the Altar is closed, it is done in reverse:  the water bowls are emptied starting from the right.  The bowls are dried and turned over, as one meditates on impermanence.  Then the merit is dedicated to all sentient beings.

The bowls that contain substances may be left untouched.  But make sure the offerings remain fresh.  For example, if offering fruit, remove it when it shows the first sign of deterioration.

The offering water may be disposed of outside in a clean place, or it may be used to water a plant.  The food offerings may be eaten after they are removed from the Altar.  Since this is blessed food, it should be treated with mindfulness and respect.

Offering Verses

One may recite offering verses when an Altar is opened.  Jetsunma has suggested that RAM YAM KAM may be used when the offering is made, followed by OM AH HUNG.  RAM YAM KAM represents the ordinary elements, and OM AH HUNG represents the transformation of the ordinary into the extraordinary.

How to Maintain an Altar

The inner posture of maintaining an Altar is the same as if one were caring directly for the Buddha or one’s Root Guru. Treat the Altar with great respect and love, for it represents the precious vehicle by which it is possible to end suffering and achieve the awakened state of Enlightenment.  Keep the Altar and everything on it clean, orderly, and fresh.

Miscellaneous Information Regarding Offerings

We make offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas not because they need them, but for our own benefit, to accumulate merit and wisdom. Offerings are a simple, beautiful way to do what will eventually lead to our awakening.

Traditionally, one does not offer anything sour such as lemons or limes on the Altar, or any of the foods considered “dark,” such as garlic.

If a mala is offered on the Altar, it is usually placed on the foot of the Deity or at the base of the statue. Once a mala has been offered, it is no longer appropriate for personal use.