Making Offerings
Making offerings helps us to develop spiritual qualities by accumulating merit. Therefore, any act performed with a virtuous motivation brings merits, and the purer the objects of our offering, the greater the merit.
If a student requests a particular teaching, empowerment, or interview, bringing an offering is appropriate and customary. Flowers, incense, fruit, and candles are symbolic offerings made to the teacher.
If one places offerings such as fruit or cookies on an altar, one should try to give them away to others (rather than eating them oneself) when these offerings need to be replaced.
When making and presenting offerings, one should stand with one’s head slightly bent, hold the offering with both hands (i.e., palms turned upwards), and present it to the person. If one is receiving anything from anyone, one should stand and receive the offering with both hands, palms up.
We make offerings after special teachings, initiations (empowerments), and during special Dharma festivals. These are generally made to the teacher and the translator, but depending upon the occasion, we make offerings to all monastics.
Lighting candles or butter lamps: Use a candle snuffer or gently wave your hand over the candle or butter lamp to extinguish the flame; do not extinguish the flame with your breath.
Lighting incense: Do not extinguish the flame with your breath after igniting the stick. Instead, wave your hand over the incense to extinguish the flame.