Lamp Offering - Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center

Offering lamps at Buddhist temples and stupas is a common practice. The Flower Adornment Sutra says,

The lamp of wisdom can break through all forms of darkness.

As such, lamps represent the light of wisdom that pierces through the darkness of ignorance. This empowers sentient beings encumbered by confusion.

The Buddhist practice of offering lamps originates from the
actions of a poor girl named Nanda. Her story can be read in The Prophecy of King Ajatasatru Becoming a Buddha Sutra, which tells us that the merit for offering a lamp can ever lead one to become a Buddha.

The purpose of a lamp offering is to light the lamp of the mind. What is the lamp of the mind? Wisdom, intelligence, loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity, and a sense of shame are all lights for the mind. When the lamp is lit, our Buddha nature, brilliance, and purity all appear.

Merit does not depend on the size of the offering, but rather on the depth of sincerity with which a gift is given.

Everyone can become a lamp that can illuminate the hearts of others. If you are knowledgeable, you can become a lamp of knowledge. If you are deeply ethical, you can become a lamp of morality. If you are especially capable, you can become a lamp of strength and perseverance. If you are deeply caring, you can become a lamp of loving-kindness and compassion. When you shine light in these ways, others will grow closer to you. We should all strive to become lamps for our families, our communities, and the whole world. Through our actions, society will gradually become brighter and more peaceful.

The Different Karmic Effects Spoken to Elder Shoujia Sutra says there are ten merits of offering lamps:

First, they bring light to the world.
Second, no matter where one is reborn, one’s eyes will be undamaged.
Third, one will gain heavenly vision.
Fourth, one will gain wholesome wisdom and the ability to differentiate between wholesome and unwholesome phenomena.
Fifth, the great darkness will be dispelled.
Sixth, one will gain illuminated wisdom.
Seventh, one will receive great merit.
Eighth, one will never be reborn in a realm of darkness.
Ninth, at the end of one’s life, one will reborn in a heavenly realm.
Tenth, one will quickly realize nirvana.

From Ten Paths to Happiness, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

More Featured Articles

How Buddhism Views the Mind

The analysis of the mind in Buddhism is both multifaceted and sophisticated. As a spiritual practice, Buddhism contains numerous descriptions of the nature and function of the mind and instructions on how to search for, abide with, and refine it. In this regard, Buddhist psychology has much to offer, as does Western psychology.In the beginning, “psychology” referred almost exclusively to “a science that explains the Read more

The Strength of Commitment

To "commit" is to give assurance to others and to make a conscientious effort to deliver a promise. To instill credibility and trustworthiness, we must honor our words. Confucius once said, "One without credibility is like a large vehicle without a brake pedal, or a small carriage without axles. How can one go anywhere?"Living up to one's word is a basic courtesy. In past agricultural Read more

The Unsurpassed Value of Impermanence

Birth and death are realities of life. Regardless of who we are, we cannot escape either one. While birth is celebrated, death is feared by most. In order to cope with our fear, we often seek comfort in religion. Although each of the world's major religious traditions has its own teaching concerning death, Buddhism is the only one that promotes the doctrine of impermanence as one Read more

The Intrinsic Nature of Women’s Rights and Equality in Buddhist Philosophy

Equality is a truth of human life within the universe, it is an aim of humanity, and it is also the basis of Buddhism.The Avatamsaka Sutra says:“All sentient beings are equal.”The Great Perfection of Wisdom Treatise says: “From the very highest level of all Buddhas to the low level of animals, all are equal and there are no differences between them.”The Diamond Sutra says: “All dharmas are equal with no Read more

A Closer Look at Relationships

Among our many relationships, many forms and types exist. There are friendships, family connections, teacher-student bonds, marriages, relationships with and between monastics, and many other kinds. How we choose to develop, nourish and manage these specific relationships determines our own joy and contentment, as well as that of our fellow human beings, and ultimately, our community and world as a whole. How wonderful our lives Read more

Observe the Way through Living Simply

In the early days of Buddhism, how did monastics observe the Way and live their lives? As the daily lives of these monastics were not one of material things, emotional ties, or sensory pleasures, they led a lives of few material things and cool emotional ties. The world within their heart was pure and their spiritual life was forever lasting. In more concrete terms, their Read more

The Stages of Counting the Breath

Master Zhiyi’s “six wonderful methods” describe four different kinds of specialized breathing: bellowing winds, broken panting, low-pitched breathing, and internalized breathing.1. Bellowing Winds“Bellowing Winds” describes when one’s inhalations become more and more powerful. As the breathing becomes deeper and longer it can become very loud. This is because, once the power of one’s concentration has been gathered, it can be transferred elsewhere with great force. Read more

To Live in Hope

When there is hope, there is a future. The worst tragedy in life is to live without hope for the future. When there is hope, there is a future. One of the mottoes of the Buddha's Light International Association is "to give others hope." That is the highest act of benevolence. On the other hand, to disappoint and render others hopeless is the cruelest act.People live Read more

The Calamity of Fire

If someone who holds firmly to the name of Avalokitesvara were to find themselves in a fire, no matter how big, they need not fear being burned by it because of the Bodhisattva’s awe-inspiring spiritual powers. Specifically the passage describes one who “upholds the name.” The Chinese character chi (持), “uphold,” means to hold firmly to or mindfully maintain something. One who upholds the name Read more

Make Buddha Images in This Very Mind

Why should people create Buddha images? Did the Buddha really want everyone to make images of him and worship his body?In truth, the purpose of creating the Buddha images is not to create symbols for worship. Buddha images are reminders that “the mind is the Buddha,” and that everyone has Buddha nature. Buddha images also remind us to frequently recollect the virtues of the Buddha Read more

I Am Not a Monk “Sponging Off” Buddhism (I)

At the many places I engaged in practice and study—at places such as Qixia in Nanjing, Jinshan and Jiaoshan in Zhenjiang, and Tianning in Changzhou, where I was brought up experiencing spring breezes, summer rains, autumn frosts, and winter snows—I studied silently and grew up quietly. I was always thinking as to how I could repay Buddhism’s kindness. I could not make a living by depending on Buddhism over Read more

A Moment and an Eternity of the Mind

What is the fastest thing in the universe? Of course, everyone knows it is light, which moves at three hundred thousand kilometers per second. However, in Buddhism, the fastest thing is not light but a person’s mind. The speed of mind is several hundred times faster than light and is not limited by time and space. In a flash you can think of Li Bo, Read more