The benefits of offering light
The Benefits of Offering Lamps are:
1. One obtains bright, beautiful and good eyes.
2. One has proper understanding and views.
3. One will easily obtain the ‘heavenly eye’, and can see distant and subtle phenomenons.
4. One does not break precepts.
5. One’s wisdom is perfect, and will attain to nirvana. One will obtain the wisdom that discriminates between what is to be virtuous and non-virtuous.
6. One’s performance of virtue will not be hindered by difficulties or obstacles.
7. One is often able to see Buddhas and becomes the eye for all sentient beings.
8. One can take rebirth as a wheel-turning lord king, king in the Trayastrimsha Heaven, or king in the Brahma Heaven.
9. At the point of death, one will recall virtuous dharma without forgetting and all those positive deeds done while living will appear in the mind; one will have joy in the mind and recall the Buddha; the body and mind will be pure without any worries or suffering at point of death.
10. Both eyes and four limbs will always be free from defects.
11. One will be healthy and the vocal cords will be soft and flexible and one’s voice will be charming and beautiful.
12. One’s mind will be clear and bright with intelligence, not affected by stupidity.
13. One’s life will be stable and peaceful and all necessities will be sufficient, one’s mind will be free from fears.
14. One’s wealth will increase and body and mind will be free and liberated.
15. One’s body will be healthy and strong, filled with vitality.
16. One will not have verbal feuds, clashes or quarrels with others. One can travel (the world)without any worries and without creating any kleshas or disturbing emotions or give rise to ignorance.
17. One will not do anything out of a hazy and confused mind. One will not be easily misled by external factors.
18. One will not take rebirth in a dark and gloomy place.
19. One will possess great merits
20. One will not run into any mishaps while travelling or walking like stepping on unclean substances, be free from fear of dogs or wolves and their barks or howls, one will not fall and hurt oneself and not drop into pits and lose one’s life.
In Avatamsaka sutra it says, “Offering Lamps can dispel all darknesses.”
In the Treasury of Bodhisattvas Sutra, it says, “Offering 10,000 bright lamps to confess and extinguish hosts of negative karma and defilements.”
In Cakrasamvara Tantra it says, “If you wish for sublime realizations, offer hundreds of lights.” Cakrasamvara Tara includes Vajra Yogini.
In the Sutra of Giving, it says, “Those who offer lamps, will possess the pure heavenly eyes and clear wisdom in the future.”
Extracted from a post by Uwe Meyer on Facebook
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Dear friends, It is very important to practice the offering of butterlamps. Try to complete a minimum of 100,000. It is very good for your realization on the sutra path. It is excellent for results on the tantric path.
Tsem Rinpoche
P.S. Do not leave any burning flame left unattended.
See here for further teachings on the benefits of butterlamps:
and related talks for preliminary practices: http://blog.tsemtulku.com/?p=28238
Thank you Rinpoche for this post
I Not only gained knowledge abt butterlamp offering, Rinpoche also gave very detail explaination of Karma & Merit
Karma & Merit questions are the common questions that frequently asked by friends or during dharma classes, will make sure learn up, understand and explain correctly…
thanks Rinpoche again for the precious teaching
Really nice teachings!
Thank you very much, Rinpoche, for dedicating your precious time and for so much effort in benefit all through Dharma teachings, a supreme form of generosity!
May you have a long life and always teach the Dharma!
Now it is time to reflect and meditate upon it…
Another wonderful video, Rinpoche! May I ask, though, what you would consider to be an appropriate number of lamps to use for a home practitioner with limited space? Perhaps 10 at a time?
Dear Don, May i suggest that you simply make whatever number of lights which you can comfortably fit in your particular space.
It is also possible to make light offerings outside your house if you live on landed property and it is convenient. Wherever you make your offerings, always remember to be safe. Just because we are making light offerings which are very meritorious, it doesn’t mean that we do not have the negative karma to suffer a fire!
Wishing you much success in your offerings!
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing. After read your post-Cosmic Tantra, I immediately take action and start to offer extra 2 butterlamps daily. So in total I offer 3 lamps everyday
. Due to budget constraint, now still could not afford to offer many lights at one time. Along the way, if I can definitely I will do my best to increase the number of lamps from time to time. hehe!
Thank you very much and take good care.
With Love,
VP
Thank You Rinpoche for this wonderful explanation on the benefits we can get from making light offering, the benefits from making daily light offering can be so meritorious and one could benefit so much from making just a simple light offering to the Buddha, but the benefits is so great. Thank You again Rinpoche.
Butterlamp is mentioned here. May I know offering of tea-light candle equivalent to offering of butter-lamp?
I guess except in Nepal and some special places, it may be quite impossible to have butterlamp offerings.
Can somebody enlighten on this? Thank you.
I am glad I was offered a chance to light 100k butter lamps for a very Special and Magnificently Beautiful Queen, Vajrayogini… I will continue to light as many as I can to the Enlightened ones whenever I can for I want to have the benefits stated above (always greedy for the right reasons)…. INCREDIBLE!
Buddhism needs to evolve away from this kind of ritualistic, superstitious, wasteful and extravagant behavior. 100,000 candles is a lot of money (and you said not to use the cheap ones) which could have gone to charity, or some other practical purpose. Anyway light is just a symbol–100,000 candles is not better than one single candle, and even that can just be imagined. Reduced to a bunch of rituals, Buddhism is little different from Hinduism, or spirit worship.
Dear Tsem Rinpoche,
OI reacted a few days before but i saw my reaction came between the traveling reactions
Thank you very much for this clear teaching. Especially emphasising the difference between merit and good karma was very interesting. Eventually it is all about the intension we have to do things.
Thank you very much for tagging me on the photo’s. I don’t know how my name got there but i am very happy with it.
Sincerely,
Iwan Lindeboom
Thank you very much Rinpoche. I will reread this and apply the awareness when setting up my altar, lighting the butter lamp.
Dear Rinpoche, Thank you very much for this short precise but meaningful dharma talk of butter lamps offering. I know that each time I offer a butter lamp is to clear the darkness of ignorance.But I do not know what ignorance means. Now I know when I offer a light to the buddha I actually ask the buddha to let me know the causes that make me unhappy, angry, jealous etc.
With folded palms I bow and say Thank you Rinpoche.
Offer candles light on the alter is very beautiful especially at night when the lights are off, i can see the glow on the face of buddha statues come alive and it has a very warmth and peaceful feeling in the house,this makes me want to offer more lights to the buddhas after reading the benefits of offering light by Rinpoche.
Is it ok to light a candle and offer it while you are in the room but when you go out blow it out and offer it again lit later? Or is it bad karma to blow out the Buddha’s offering? Also thank you for this teaching, at about 32 minutes in it was really helpful in learning the Lama Tsongkhapa mantra.
Hi Rinpoche,
Thanks again for the sharing of the benefits of lights offering.I always like making light offering to the Buddha and couple with the benefits above, I would be making even more offerings in the future.
Rgds,
Andrew chiam