A Quick Note on Food Offerings
Abundant offerings of fruit at Tsem Ladrang, Kechara Forest Retreat
Making offerings to the Three Jewels on your altar or in a temple is actually part of the Perfection of Generosity. When you make an offering, you take something you own and you give it to the Three Jewels. As such, after you make offerings they no longer belong to you but the Three Jewels. Since they do not belong to you, you should act and think like they do not belong to you. This cuts attachment to material items and generates strong generosity in your mindstream.
H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche’s altar in Los Angeles, USA. Wherever Rinpoche went, an altar would always be set up so that abundant and extensive food offerings could be made.
In addition, depending on what you offered, you generate the merits to receive certain things to aid you in your spiritual practice. For example, when you offer food, you create the causes to have sustenance and have your worldly material needs met, so that you can progress on your spiritual journey. For that reason, when we make offerings, we do not take offerings back for ourselves, and we do not make offerings with the sole motivation to give them to others as a blessing once it has been offered. Since the offerings no longer belong to us, we should think about doing something with them. Our motivation to make offerings, should be to generate merit and practise non-attachment.
Offerings of food form a major part of Buddhist practice. In general there are two types of food offering:
- Food offerings made on the altar: this is any offering that is cooked or bought specifically to be offered to the Three Jewels
- Offering the first portion of your food: this is an offering of the first portion of food that you have cooked for consumption
In Kechara Forest Retreat, we have a practice of offering food to both His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche and also Dorje Shugden at Tsem Ladrang, which follows the first of the above two types of food offering. These offerings are made on a daily basis, offered by individual staff and volunteers. Tsem Rinpoche said that making offerings in the Ladrang is important because in doing so we create the causes for Kechara to have the resources and ability to continue benefiting others through our various works. Rinpoche explained this is the reason why altars in the Ladrang are as extensive as possible.
Some people not accustomed to such offerings asked some questions about it, so we thought to share some do’s and don’ts regarding food offerings.
DO’S
- Offer the best quality food that you can afford
- Offer things that you like, to cut your attachment to them
- Offer vegetarian foods
- Offer food that you have cooked or that you have bought specifically for offering
- Offer both cooked and packaged food (biscuits, etc.)
- Offer more during retreats and special days
- Give the food to others once offered
Food offerings to Dorje Shugden in Tsem Ladrang. These offerings are made by staff and volunteers to generate merit for Kechara to be able to continue benefiting others. Click to enlarge.
DON’TS
- Make offerings with the intention of eating the food once offered
- Make offerings with the intention of giving them to someone else
- Attend retreats or pujas with the motivation of taking offerings once finished
- Rush to take the offerings at the end of pujas or retreats
- Be picky about what you take or receive as a blessing
- Ask for offerings back once you have given to staff to be offered for you
- Eat the food offerings once made. You can take a little bit as blessing, but don’t eat it all. This applies to fruit offerings as well.
- Make non-vegetarian offerings
- Throw away food offerings. Try to give it to others once offered. If no choice, then it is okay to throw away, because it will feed animals, insects, maggots, etc. and bless them.
SERKYM DOS AND DON’TS
- Serkym is also an offering. So, when we offer serkym, we should not offer what we like to drink with the motivation of drinking it after offering it. Instead our motivation should be to generate merit and cut our attachment.
- Offer the best quality tea or other type of drink
- We can take a little bit of the tea or soft drink as blessing once finished, but we should not drink all of it.
Thank you,
Tsem Ladrang
H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche taught extensively about making offerings to the enlightened beings, the importance of our motivation when making offerings, and the results of making offerings to the Three Jewels. Below is one such teaching Rinpoche gave on the benefits of doing so.
Synopsis: Stinginess is the ticket to a long stay in the sad and barren lands of poverty.
Making happy offerings to enlightened and ordinary friends is a recipe for spontaneously arising generosity and the joys it causes.
Listening to His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche’s illuminations we begin to realise that nothing is too precious to be offered up towards our sacred ideals, and that outer offerings open the doors to profound meditation, insight, kindness and freedom.
Stinginess and Offerings (Part 1)
Stinginess and Offerings (Part 2)
Stinginess and Offerings (Part 3)
Stinginess and Offerings (Part 4)
For more interesting information:
- Dana Offerings For Tsem Ladrang
- Bangkok Monks and Why Make Offerings
- Making Offerings to Shar Gaden Monastery
- Offerings to the Sangha in India
- Kechara Offering dana to visiting Sangha from Sri Lanka | 克切拉供养来自斯里兰卡的僧人
- Journey to Shar Gaden Monastery (2019): Making offerings to the sangha
- Stories from a Chela – Incense Offering That Saves Lives
- Sensory Offerings Demystified
- Attitude When Receiving Offerings
- How to set up altar, make offerings, prostrate to the Buddha, meditate etc. | 如何设置佛坛、供养、礼拜、静坐等
- Mandala Offering – A Powerful Method to Accumulate Merits
- The benefits of offering light
- Making Water Offerings to the Buddhas
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
As i am new to all this practices. I would like to sincerely ask what to do with food offerings done at my home altar.
Do I have to pack the tea, the water, the fruits and the baskets to give to others as I should cut my attachment to them but at the same time it is not right to throw and only as a last resort .
I would also like to ask (i have not taken my refuge vows but plan to take it in the near future, i have signed up for 2024 Kechara’s buddhism for beginners). I understand that vegetarianism is compassionate but I am not ready to pick it up as a lifestyle but something i do as much as possible at the moment. However when i offer the first portion of everything i eat to the 3 jewels, do i offer meat as well if i am eating meat?
Thank you Rinpoche and blog team for this quick note on food offerings. But I don’t quite understand this part “Eat the food offerings once made. You can take a little bit as blessing, but don’t eat it all. (This applies to fruit offerings as well.) . What do we do with the fruit offerings if we are not supposed to eat them all up? Feed them to the birds and stray animals? 😀🙏
In Buddhism, offerings are made to the Triple Gem, giving rise to contemplative gratitude and inspiration. One such offerings such as foods. flowers, and so forth. Reading this post gives us a more understanding of some do’s and don’ts regarding food offerings. Offering food is a meritorious act that also reminds us not to be greedy or selfish.
GREAT guidance , precious teachings and listening from those videos tell us more. All about making offerings, the importance of our motivation and the results of making offerings to the Three Jewels
Thank you Rinpoche and writers for this sharing.