Offering (Buddhism) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, symbolic offerings are made to the Triple Gem, giving rise to contemplative gratitude and inspiration. Typical material offerings involve simple objects such as a lit candle or oil lamp, burning incense, flowers, food, fruit, water or drinks.

Contemporary Western practitioners often find the making of offerings to be occasions for gracious mindfulness. Within the traditional Buddhist framework of karma

Karma

Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....

and rebirth

Rebirth (Buddhism)

Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the evolving consciousness or stream of consciousness upon death , becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new aggregation...

, offerings also lead to:

a better rebirth
Rebirth (Buddhism)
Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the evolving consciousness or stream of consciousness upon death , becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new aggregation...

in the cycle of birth and death
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...

(Pali: vattagamini-kusala)
progress towards release from suffering (Pali: vivattagamini-kusala).

These offerings often act as preparation for meditation

Buddhist meditation

Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...

Theravada practices

Material offerings nurture generosity (Pali:dāna
Dana
-Singers:Some singers are popularly known only by the name, Dana:* Dana Rosemary Scallon , Irish-American singer and politician* Dana , Korean pop singer* Dana International , Israeli pop singer-In fiction:...

) and virtue (Pali: sīla
Sila
Śīla or sīla in Buddhism and its non-sectarian offshoots, is a code of conduct that embraces self-restraint with a value on non-harming. It has been variously described as virtue, good conduct, morality, moral discipline and precept. It is an action that is an intentional effort...

). The act further honors the Triple Gem (the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, Dhamma and Sangha

Sangha

Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...

), deepening one's commitment to the Buddha's path

Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path , is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...

. For instance, traditional chants (in English and Pali) when offering lit candles (padīpa pūjā) and incense (sugandha pūjā) to an image of the Buddha are:

With lights brightly shining

Abolishing this gloom

I adore the Enlightened One,

The Light of the three worlds

Trailõkya

Trailokya has been translated as "three worlds," "three spheres," "three planes of existence," "three realms" and "three regions."...

.

With perfumed incense

And fragrant smoke

I worship the Exalted One,

Who is great and worthy of worship.

Similarly, a traditional Pali incense-lighting verse speaks of the Buddha's "fragrant body and fragrant face, fragrant with infinite virtues."

By contemplating on an offering, one tangibly sees life's impermanence (Pali: anicca), one of the three characteristics of all things upon which the Buddha encouraged his disciplines to recollect. For instance, the end of a traditional chant (in English and Pali) when offering flowers (puppha pūjā) to an image of the Buddha is:

I worship the Buddha with these flowers;

May this virtue be helpful for my emancipation;

Just as these flowers fade,

Our body will undergo decay.

Mahayana practices

Mahayana material offerings might be imbued with the following symbology:

the lighting of a candle or an oil lamp represents the light of wisdom illuminating the darkness of ignorance.
the burning of incense represents the fragrant scent of morality.
flowers represents the aspiration to achieve the body of the Buddha with the thirty-two marks of the Buddha as well as the teaching of impermanence. Alternately, a Zen verse expresses the desire for the mind's "flowers" to "bloom in the springtime of enlightenment."
food, fruit, water, drinks represents the nectar of Dharma and the wish to achieve it.

In Northern Buddhism, sacred images have set before them:

water (representing hospitality, to wash the face and feet)
scarves (Tib. kha-btags, offering friendship)
flowers, incense, lamps, perfume and food (representing one's devoting all their senses to their spiritual practice).

Non-material offerings

In some traditions, two different types of offerings are identified:

material or hospitality offerings (Pali: amisa-puja or sakkara-puja)
practice offerings (Pali: patipatti-puja)

In this context, material offerings are considered external offerings of "words and deeds."

Practice offerings may be manifested by practicing:

giving (Pali: dāna
Dana
-Singers:Some singers are popularly known only by the name, Dana:* Dana Rosemary Scallon , Irish-American singer and politician* Dana , Korean pop singer* Dana International , Israeli pop singer-In fiction:...

)
moral conduct (sīla
Sila
Śīla or sīla in Buddhism and its non-sectarian offshoots, is a code of conduct that embraces self-restraint with a value on non-harming. It has been variously described as virtue, good conduct, morality, moral discipline and precept. It is an action that is an intentional effort...

)
meditation (samādhi
Samadhi (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.-In the early Suttas:In the Pāli canon of the Theravada tradition and the related Āgamas of other early Buddhist schools, samādhi is found in the following contexts:* In the noble eightfold path, "right concentration" In Buddhism,...

)
wisdom (pañña
Prajña
Prajñā or paññā is wisdom, understanding, discernment or cognitive acuity. Such wisdom is understood to exist in the universal flux of being and can be intuitively experienced through meditation...

)

In the Pali Canon

Pāli Canon

The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...

, the Buddha declared practice offerings as "the best way of honoring the Buddha" and as the "supreme" offering. This is primarily an internal offering for mental development (Pali: citta, bhāvanā
Bhavana
Bhāvanā literally means "development" or "cultivating" or "producing" in the sense of "calling into existence." It is an important concept in Buddhist praxis...

and samādhi).

External links

About the Buddha-altar Soto Zen home altar with offerings.
Offerings are a major part of the ritual of Tibetan Buddhism
Virtual Puja at Emerald Buddha Temple-วัดพระแก้ว

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Theravada practices

Mahayana practices

Non-material offerings

See also

External links