Thanks for everyone who participated in this event. Click here to see the butter lamps at the temple accompanied by Sonam Rinpoche.
Tibetan Buddhist Lamp Offering
Please donate one or more lamps to be lit on the 2nd Grand Lamp Lighting Ceremony, at Johkang Temple, Tibet. All you have to do is to donate on-line or mail your requests to us and we will light the lamps on your behalf at the temple.
You do not have to be a Buddhist to participate, it is open to everyone
Most Important!
Please provide the name or names to be included in the prayers during the lamp offering.
February 10th, 2008, the 3rd day of Tibetan New Year (Losar)
Why participate in the grand lamp offering?
This is because one’s virtues will be multiplied by the TOTAL numbers of lamps offered and magnified by the holy location of lamp offering. For example one will accumulate the blessing from 1000 lamps even if that person is offering perhaps 10 lamps in the group of 1000 lamps.
This is the second year that Sonam Rinpoche has organized the Grand Buddhist Lamp Offerings at the World most sacred and Holiest Buddhist temples. The first Borobudur Grand Lamp Lighting Ceremony was led by Venerable Sonam Rinpoche in first quarter of 2007. This was the first of many more such significant and meaningful auspicious lamp offering events led by Sonam Rinpoche. The ultimate target is to offer 100,000 lamps in total. Last year there were 300+ lamps donated and offered at Borobudur.
Note:Borobudur, the great Buddhist stupa in Java, Indonesia, built and decorated perhaps before 800AD, should be on anybody's list of the ten greatest art-complexes in the world for its size, quality, sophistication and excellent state of preservation.
This year 2008 Sonam Rinpoche and his lama will travel to the Johkang Temple at Lhasa, Tibet for the 2nd Grand Lamp Lighting Ceremony. Johkang Temple is considered to be Holier than the Potala Palace. Each day throughout the year hundreds of pilgrims encircle each of the three pilgrimage circuits in Lhasa, and Johkang Temple is one of these three circuits. Some pilgrims will cover the entire distance by prostrating every few feet, others will walk slowly, chanting sacred mantras and spinning hand-held prayer wheels.
Sonam Rinpoche and his lama will light the lamps on your behalf, in addition Rinpoche and his lama will conduct prayers and chanting during the lamp offering ceremony. This will provide everyone the opportunities to offer the lamps but could not do so in person.
The Meaning of Tibetan Buddhist Lamp Offering
Lamp offering in Tibetan is called “Donme” which means removal of dark ignorance and symbolizes the five paths and the light represents wisdom.
Significance of Lamp Offering
Offering lamp is a special access of dependent-arising to speedily complete the accumulation of merits and obtain blessings.
The 10 benefits of making lamp offerings were well illustrated by Shakyamuni Buddha in the “Tune of Brahma” Sutra Clarifying Karma.
- One obtains great enjoyment of wealth
- One becomes the luminosity of the world
- One achieves clairvoyance
- One is reborn in the Deva or Human world
- One achieves the Deva’s eye
- One achieves the wisdom of knowing what is virtue and non virtue
- One is able to eliminate ignorance and the concept of inherent existence
- One receives the illumination of wisdom even in Samsara
- One quickly becomes liberated
- One quickly attains enlightenment
The last day of lamp purchase is January 20, 2008. All names and payments must be received on or before January 20, 2008.
The proceeds of the lamp offering will go towards the building of a home and a school for Tibetan children.
Lamps are sold in sets of 5s @ $20 USD each set
For Example
10 butter lamps offering = 2 sets of 5s is $40 USD
20 butter lamps offering = 4 sets of 5s is $80 USD
40 butter lamps offering = 8 sets of 5s is $160 USD
Image of Butter Lamp from Wikipedia.
