The Universal Incense Offering Day.
1. The History of Smoke Offering
The smoke offering ceremony has been widely practiced in Tibet since ancient times in three different, successive lineages. The first lineage was indigenous to Tibet and had no connection to the Bön or Buddhist tradition. This type of smoke offering included animal sacrifice, but with the rise of Bön religion this changed. Smoke offering was incorporated in the rituals, abandoning the animal sacrifice and starting the second lineage. The third lineage began with the great Lopon, Guru Rinpoche, who came to Tibet and performed the smoke offering according to the Buddhist teachings. This is the way we still practice it today. The first and most important Buddhist University in the Tibetan history is Samye. King Trisong Deutsen encountered many difficulties during building it. So Guru Rinpoche performed a smoke offering called rGyags rngan Iha bsang which pacified all obstacles and negative influences. Afterwards, the king was able to accomplish all his plans with regards to Buddhism swiftly without encountering any obstacles. From this time on until today we celebrate Dzam Ling Chi Sang (Universal Smoke Offering) every year on the 15th day of the 5th Tibetan month. Therefore the tradition is still very much alive now. The next point concerns whether there were also smoke offering rituals in India, where Buddhism originates from. Probably there wasn't such a tradition. Wherever Buddhism spreads, it adapts to the local culture and traditions, which again are influenced by the weather, living conditions, landscape etc. So Guru Rinpoche used the existing smoke offering ritual in Tibet and combined it with the Buddhist practice.
2. The Meaning of the Smoke Offering Ritual In Tibetan,
the term smoke offering is made up of two words, sang and chod. Sang means to purify, and what needs to be purified are the results of our actions, committed though unwholesome states of mind, as well as the pollution in our environment, which affects our physical health, and our relationship with the local deities, in case that we have harmed them. The second word chod has the meaning of offering. The way we perform this is by putting the purifying substances in the fire and offering the smell of the smoke which ensues. One of the substances, for example, is incense, which is also part of the seven offerings we put on an altar. The text we recite during the ritual has the meaning that I have just explained. The smoke offering within the Buddhist context belongs in its essence to the paramita of generosity as described in the sutras and tantras. This includes that offering is made in a mental state which is free of any expectations as to what we will get in return in relation to what we give. The main points are to offer to the deities and to be generous towards other beings. In Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, and in the west like in America and Europe, this ceremony is called smoke offering. That is fine, but it misses the purifying aspect, if we just say smoke. We do purify through the smoke, but this is not clearly expressed, so I believe that if we can include purification in the title, it would be more appropriate.
3. Benefits of Smoke Offering
Through the purifying aspect of the ritual, the elements in our body, which have decreased in strength are replenished. If the elements in our body are weak, we cannot withstand the strength of the elements in the outer world, as these two are out of balance. As a result, we can get sick and outer influences like spirits and demons can harm us. Of course, the mind is more powerful than the body, but our body does have certain strengths and capabilities. So when the channels, energy and essence drops in our body are purified, our overall physical heath naturally increases and we are not so susceptible to external influences like spirits and demons. The benefits of the offering aspect include the following. By offering to the lama, we receive his blessing. By offering to the meditational deity we receive the temporary and the ultimate spiritual attainments (siddhis). By offering to the khandros our positive actions will encounter no hindrances. By offering to the dharma protectors, we will receive their help in our worldly and dharmic endeavours. Translated from Tibetan by Daniela Hartmann.
5 окт 2024
