It is said in the Ten Wheel Sutra of the Essence of Earth (Kshitigarbha): “All comfort, happiness and peace in this world are received by making offerings to the Rare Sublime Ones (the Triple Gem), therefore those who like to have comfort, happiness and peace always attempt to make offerings to the Rare Sublime Ones.”

In general, all the collections of goodness of samsara and nirvana are the result of having made offerings to the Triple Gem. In particular, one receives different benefits by doing service with each of the various individual offerings. It is announced in the “Tune of Brahma” Sutra Clarifying Karma that there are ten benefits of making light offerings:

1. One becomes like the light in the world.

2. One achieves the clairvoyance of the pure flesh eye [as a human].

3. One achieves the devas’ eye.

4. One receives the wisdom of knowing what is virtue and what is non-virtue.

5. One is able to eliminate the darkness of ignorance, the concept of inherent existence.

6. One receives the illumination of wisdom, even in samsara one never experiences darkness.

7. One receives great enjoyment wealth.

8. One is reborn in the deva or human realms.

9. One quickly becomes liberated.

10. One quickly attains enlightenment.

The actual practice: How to Make Light Offerings

Setting a good motivation before lighting the candles. Think:

Think of making the offering of the lights with the thought that I am offering this light to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas so that their lights of wisdom imbued with the warmth of compassion removes the darkness of self-grasping ignorance and self-centred-ness from all dear mother sentient beings, thus leading all beings to the state of ultimate happiness forever.

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(Sources: Compiled from teachings by 1.Geshe Dorji Damdul, 2. Lama Zopa Rinpoche)