3-8-2011 Merit in Making Offerings

The Art Of Meditation 

By Master Sheng-yen Lu
Translated and published by Lei Zang Si Singapore

This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 45th book, 坐禪通明法.

CHAPTER 12 - Merit in Making Offerings 
Before every session of meditation, you should light up incense and put offerings before the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Vajra protectors. The meaning of the different offerings is:

water = merit
flower = charity
incense = precepts
lamp = endurance
anointed incense = efforts
food = concentrated meditation
music = wisdom
You don't have to offer all of these for every session -- sometimes just one of them and other times several.
Each time I make offerings, I hold a plate with an apple in it and visualize that the apple has transformed into millions of apples like mountains of apples across the Void which change into clouds of apples. I also visualize that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have accepted my apples with joy and all Buddhas in the ten directions have accepted my offering. This visualized offering is the most effective of all.
Many students don't even know the basic offering ceremony though they took refuge in me several years ago. We should understand that we make offerings with sincerity. We offer these things to the Buddha from the bottom of our heart. Even if it is just a cup of water, we should perform pious visualization. Such sincere and heart-felt offerings produce great, far-reaching merits.
Some students of mine would ring me up when someone is ill in their family: "Master Lu, please make an entreaty for me to the Buddha." There are many people every day who ask me to request many things from the Buddha. They seem to think that I am a favorite of the Buddhas and Bodhisatvas who only accept requests from me. In fact, this is not the case. It is best for you to make your own supplication to the Buddha. You should make offerings for your supplications. You can supplicate on anybody's behalf, such as children for parents, parents for children, the subordinates for their superior, sister for brother or brother for sister, wife for husband, or husband for wife. Do remember to make offerings and perform visualization for any supplication, so as to make it first-rate merit.
It is also acceptable if you ask your guru to supplicate on your behalf, but for the best effect, you must make your own offerings and prostrate together with your guru; don't just say casually:
"Master Lu, please supplicate to the Buddha for me." If you don't make any offerings, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas wouldn't think it is an appropriate ceremony and it is up to them whether to bestow blessings upon you or not. It may become an "empty entreaty."
If I buy the fruit for the offerings, then it is my offering, not yours; its merit goes to my credit instead of yours. Again, it may become an "empty entreaty." The merit in making offerings does not depend on how much you offer or how expensive the things you offer, but on whether "it is empty." As long as it is not "empty," it is meritorious. Meritorious offerings turn ill luck into good luck and change setbacks into success, making everything happen the way you wish.
Your Tantric shrine must be solemnly adorned. Solemnity of the Buddha statues, the Buddha banners, the neat arrangement at the shrine and the treasure offerings, can induce joy and reverence in the practitioner. The solemn adornment itself is a kind of offering; the fine quality of offerings is also a virtue. All this goes to generate first-rate merit.
Offerings can be divided into three categories:
Offering food, lamp, tea, and beautiful things is called external offering or visible offering. Offering one's life, gold, silver, and jewelry is called internal offering, or invisible offering. The best offering is "mind offering," such as pay deference to your guru, showing filial piety to parents, showing respect and sincerity to others, practice the six Paramitas (charity, observing precepts; endurance, efforts, meditation, wisdom), save sentient beings, observe the precepts, sit in meditation every day, never to give up one's resolution to cultivate; ready to suffer on behalf of the living beings. Holding the palms together before the Buddha is also "mind offering" and is meritorious.
Generally speaking, we start with the external offering, and then move to internal offering and finally practice the "mind offering," or perform the three offerings simultaneously. Remember to visualize, transforming the offerings into thousands of thousands of offerings, until they fill up all the Dharma Realms in the ten directions, and all the Buddhas are overjoyed to accept this. This ceremony is very virtuous. If you just shout out: "Master Lu, do me a favor" and you don't make any offering, nothing will come out of it. It is all right that I make the request on your behalf, but you have to get the offering ceremonies correct as elaborate rites are part of the merit. Casual requests alone would get no wish satisfied. I have been making offerings for many years. First of all I make offerings to the Buddha. Second I make offerings to Bodhisattvas. Thirdly, I make offerings to the Vajra. Fourthly to the Devas. Fifthly to the ghosts and gods. Finally, to Raksasas (ogres). I believe all the suffering beings in the six realms of existence are relatives of the Buddha, and I make no distinction among them. I hope that all the suffering beings awaken to the aspiration of Bodhi and become Buddhas in the future. That is why I even make offerings to Raksasas.
As a result of this special offering, once in my meditation, some dark green light appeared and an Asurah King (a demon) came to see me. This king was terrible-looking -- very, very tall, hands and feet like iron claws, with long and protruding teeth, the human skulls of strange shapes hanging upon his chest. He had six eyes, three on the right and three on the left, all looking very angry. Above his head, there is a threefold head; the middle is kind-looking, the other two all have a long tongue in a motion of licking blood. The king had many hands, each holding a shining lethal weapon, an awe-inspiring figure altogether. The Asurah King said: "I hereby present a sword to you, respectful priest." "What for?" "You've made offerings to the Raksasas." "What's the use of the sword?" "Very useful. Listen: "Demons of Desire and Aggregates are shouting and screaming day and night. The gold sword made in Heaven is to wipe them out. Now is the time to grow plums and sandalwood. The ultimate tranquility breeds righteous atmosphere. Spreading the Dharma to sentient beings is Integrity. To annihilate heresies and demons, We Asurahs should come and help." The Asurah King took the sword out, golden lights dashing to all directions. "What a treasure sword!" I exclaimed. Before I finished, the King placed the sword in front of me and disappeared. Today, whenever I go into concentrated meditation, there will be a sword high above my head. The demons are all frightened out of their wits and take refuge in me. I got this treasure sword just because I made offerings to Raksasas.
In tantric practice, there is the arrangement of Eight offerings (from right to left): conch, fruit, anointed incense, lamp, unlighted incense sticks, five white flowers, soapy water, running water or boiled water. The mantra for this offering is: "Om, ya-li-ye, zhen-ba-la, sian-da-ye, sha-ba-le-wa-la, bie-cha, ya-gan, ba-deng, bu-bie, du-bie, ya-luo-chie, jien-die, nee-wen-die, shi-da, bu-la-dee-cha-ye, sa-ho."
The mudra for this offering must be taught in person.
Originally, desire to make offerings came from monks and priests themselves. In whatever they were doing (moving, living, sitting, and sleeping), as long as they held deference for the Buddha, they would generate the resolve to make offerings. Offerings had been very effective. Intentioned offerings are external; unintentional offerings are internal; both types are meritorious. In this world of ours, making offerings is one way of cultivating; it has been passed down from generation to generation and is inconceivably effective. It is not correct not to make offerings. Some people hold that the Buddha is in our mind and that it is the mind that counts, and that making offerings is only a formality quite outside the mind. They are not wrong, but such enlightened people are rare after all. If all ordinary people ignore making offerings, there will be anarchism in the Buddha Dharma. If all rituals are abandoned, sentient beings may lose their bearings and very few could ever attain enlightenment.
In sum, practitioners in meditation must make offerings; otherwise, they are considered to have committed "offense of disrespect."

Amituofo

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Pure Karma

True Buddha School