WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

t is one of the main offerings that Buddhist practice but not unique to Buddhist alone. It is an old Indian religious practice. Other religions such as Christianity also light candles which is considered very significant. Butter lamp offering is also a pan religious practice. Why offer butter lamp? Buddhist always considered ignorance, lack of wisdom and lack of knowledge as the main source of all our problems. The biggest problem the world faces is ignorance and ignorance is often presented or metaphorically portrayed as darkness. To get rid of ignorance or darkness is the best thing one can do. The offering of butter lamp is the offering of wisdom and light of knowledge to eradicate darkness or ignorance. Therefore it has a crucial place in our daily rituals. When we talk of butter lamps, first we have the physical darkness, which is similar to mental darkness (the inner darkness of ignorance). The physical butter lamp, therefore, is also symbolic to the inner light

or knowledge that will dispel the darkness inside. If one loses the real purpose of offering butter lamp, it is the same as lighting anything. Therefore, it is important to offer butter lamp realising its purpose. History In a world where there was no electricity, one of the best things one could give someone is light, which has less smoke, less contamination and less pollution, is the light from butter or oil. Other forms of creating light such as from firewood or coal emits pollutants. In this way, one creates light but also creates darkness, which is not pure as lighting a butter lamp. In that context, where there was no electricity butter lamp offering was a pure gift one could offer to the Buddha who we cherish and respect. It is a most precious gift one can offer. How to make the offering? The whole process of offering butter lamp is also a very spiritual practice. The traditional practice of preparing a butter lamp starts from washing ones hand, wearing a mask to protect from

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contaminating the butter lamp through ones breadth, making the wick out of pure cotton and cleaning the butter out of the chalice with a reserved specific clean piece of cloth (often in the old days, people used to bring mosses from the trees to wipe the butter in a butter lamp, which is the purest thing one can find in the forest). The whole process is meditative, that draws one in both physically and mentally, and a spiritual practice if one can understand and practice it according to the norms. What should one think of while offering? One simply doesnt go and light a butter lamp, one should pray as I lit this butter lamp I am lighting a wisdom for the world, I am dispelling the darkness of the world by dispelling the darkness in this room . Then one can visualise the whole world of universe contained in the butter lamp, where the butter is the nectar or ambrosia and while lighting the butter lamp one is dispelling the darkness from the whole universe.

Once the butter lamp is lit one should focus on the flickering flame and realise how impermanent life is, how everything is inter-dependent where there is chalice to hold the butter, the butter have to be of the right temperature to be of use, the wick have to be of the right texture and grip, the butter have to flow up through the wick and then with match sticks to trigger the flame. The whole combination of things, giving rise to light, reminds one of theory of dependence, which is a central Buddhist concept. One shouldnt be stuck with thinking that one is real or things are different but understand the fluid nature of things by looking at things such as the flickering of a flame from a butter lamp. When second flame is lit, the second flame doesnt bring the flame from the first one. The first flame can continue being alight but the second one cant come into existence without carrying on the flame from the first one. Its the same with third, fourth, fifth and so on and it shows the process of cycle and how existence evolves in this manner. This is a very important Buddhist understanding as well. After lighting the butter lamp, there are lots of prayers one can chant. The most popular of all is the marmey moenlam. If one lights a butter lamp without any of the mental and spiritual input, there is no difference from just lighting a cigarette. The final prayer is dedicating the merit one has accumulated during the practice to free all sentient beings from darkness.

Dr Karma Phuntsho, founding director of Loden Foundation and author of The History of Bhutan in conversation with Thinley Zangmo

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