The seven water bowels and one lamp represent the following:

Water for drinking (Argham)

Water for washing (Padyam)
Flowers (Pushpe)
Incense (Dhupe)
Light: butter lamps or fire (Aloke)
Perfume: (Ghande)
Food: (Naividya)
Sound and Music (Shabda): in eight bowl offerings, the
eighth bowl represents sound.

Note: In seven-bowl practice, it is said there is not eighth bowl for sound because sound is
non-visual.

For ceremonial purposes, or elaborate offerings, the bowls might actually be filled with an
offering symbolic of the sensory object as under. You must have seen this during Lhabsang
Thruesel.

• Water (for water)

• Water with saffron (for water for washing)
• Actual blossoms or flowers (flowers)
• A stick of incense (incense), usually in a bowl of rice
• An actual butter lamp or candle (for light)
• Perfumed water or a bottle of perfumes (perfume)
• Fruit or food (food)
• A bell placed in the eighth bowl (sound) if an eighth bowl is
used.

Prayer and hand gesture to performed during the offer as under:

Recite the following prayer with gestures: Refer image for type of
gesture to performed.

First Offering Bowl: WATER for drinking “ARGHAM”

OM ARGHAM AH HUM (Visualize many water bowls filling the skies around the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas)

Second Offering Bowl: WATER for bathing “PADHYAM”

OM PADYAM AH HUM (Visualize many water bowls filling the skies around the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas)

Third Offering Bowl: FLOWERS “PUSHPE”

OM PUSHPE AH HUM (Visualize some variation of flowers filling the skies around the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas)

Fourth Offering Bowl: INCENSE “DHUPE”

OM DHUPE AH HUM (Visualize and try to sense the smell of clouds of incense filling the
skies around the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas)
Fifth Offering Bowl: LIGHT “ALOKHE”
OM ALOKE AH HUM (Visualize endless beautiful butter lamps filling the skies around the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas)

Sixth Offering Bowl: PERFUME “GENDHE”

OM GHANDE AH HUM (Visualize perfume bottles or water bowls with perfumed water
filling the skies around the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas)

Seventh Offering Bowl: CELESTIAL FOOD “NEVIDHYA”

OM NAIVIDYA AH HUM (Visualize endless foods, suitable to the deities—typically
vegetarian—filling the skies around the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas)

Eighth Offering Bowl: MUSIC “SHABTA”

OM SHABDA AH HUM (Try to hear or imagine beautiful celestial music, singing bowls,
bowls, drums).

Dedication
Please try to genuinely dedicate the merit of the offerings to the elimination of suffering and
its causes for all beings and to their cause for enlightenment.

Slowly practice the gesture and when experienced do it fast as per mantra recitation.