Temple Offering, Bodhi Tree Temple, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
The Bodhi tree temple complex in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, attracts thousands of pilgrims everyday. Many leave offerings of lotus flowers. The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, planted in 288 BC, is said to the oldest and longest-surviving documented human-planted tree in the world. It is believed to have been propagated from the original Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.
WPC: Temporary
Temple Offerings, Hanoi, Vietnam
In the courtyard of a small Buddhist temple in Hanoi, Vietnam, vendors sell fruit, tea, flowers, incense, and fake money to be used as offerings to ancestors and gods. The offerings help insure a the welfare of spirits in the afterlife. Paper replicas of dollar notes (‘ghost money’), motorbikes, cars, houses and other earthly items can be found. The paper gifts are burnt so the smoke can carry the spirit of the gifts to heaven for use by the ancestors. Ancestor worship is an integral part of Vietnamese culture.
Blue water lilies are part of a Buddhist offering at the Kelaniya temple near Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Oil lamp offering at an evening puja at the temple complex in Kataragama, Sri Lanka.
Buddhist offering lamp at puja in Kataragama, Sri Lanka
“Another popular offering of much importance is that of lighted lamps, usually of coconut oil (dipa-puja or pahan-puja). As the Buddha is regarded as the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance, when lighted lamps are offered in his name this metaphorical contrast between the light of knowledge and the darkness of ignorance is taken as the theoretical basis for the ritual.” Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals of Sri Lanka, A.G.S. Kariyawasam
The New 3 Rs: Retire, Recharge, Reconnect 