A common prayer in many pujas including the kangso or fulfilment ritual of Dorje Shugden is the torma offering. The offering of tormas generates the merits to not only receive the resources we need for our successful spiritual practice but it also helps to plant seeds in our mindstream to gain higher attainments, especially those related to Tantra. Therefore this offering plays a pivotal role within many pujas to various deities.

Common to all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, tormas are food offerings in the form of ritual cakes. Traditionally made from tsampa (roasted barley flour) or oats, they include yogurt, milk and butter (known as the three whites, dkar gsum) and honey, sugar and jaggery (known as the three sweets, mngar gsum).

Tormas may also require other ingredients depending on which deity they are to be offered to and the specific ritual being performed. For example during a wealth puja (g.yang sgrub), precious stones and substances are added to the torma. When Dorje Shugden takes trance in an oracle, the torma offered as part of the tsok includes dried fruits and nuts.

Traditional torma offerings in the monastery

Tormas are not only offered to the enlightened beings, but in some cases can also be offered to the local land deities to please them. However in any case, the ingredients used for the tormas should be of the best quality according to our means as a sign of our sincerity in making the offerings.

Tormas come in various shapes and sizes according to their purpose but are more often than not in conical form. Tormas can also be painted in different colours depending on which ritual they are being made for, most commonly white or red. Some pujas even require the tormas not to be painted at all.

His Eminence the 25^th Tsem Rinpoche often recounts His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche explaining that the whole process of offering a torma, from its ingredients to its form has very important significance. For example the shape of the torma, colour and intricate decorations such as the flower shapes all have significant Tantric meaning. The torma represents attainments gained from meditation upon the winds, channels and drops within Tantric practice. Offering these representations generates the causes to gain these attainments. Therefore tormas differ according to the practice, as each practice uses the winds, channels and drops in different ways to gain attainments.

Traditional torma offerings in Kechara’s puja house

H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche has also mentioned that it would not be practical for the laity to offer traditional tormas, due to the time and effort involved in making sure that they are made correctly. Instead he suggested it would be fine to offer things that we like to eat, for example biscuits and cookies. We should make these offerings to the best of our ability and circumstance, as sincerity, trust and faith in Dorje Shugden will definitely bear results.

For regular practitioners who are not trained in the art of making tormas according to the traditional prescriptions, the tormas can be biscuits, cakes or cookies placed on a plate, bowl or cup which can be discarded in a clean place at the end of the puja. If you live in an area where this may not be possible, such as in an apartment, it is permissible to eat the tormas after the puja. If you don’t want to eat the tormas, you can wrap them up in paper and then discard them in the garbage.

H.E. Tsem Rinpoche encourages his students to represent tormas with a glass bottle that is filled with biscuits. The tormas are offered in glass bottles simply to prevent insects from getting into them. Or course, if you are travelling, in a hotel or other circumstance where it is not practical to make the torma offerings, you can still continue with your practice without any of the offerings, just the recitations and visualisations.

Torma offerings in jars

Torma Offering Preparations

If you wish to make torma offerings to Dorje Shugden, you can prepare the following which are placed on the altar:

• One large jar filled with biscuits: these are the torma offerings to Lama Tsongkhapa or your Yidam
• One large jar filled with biscuits: these are the torma offerings to Dorje Shugden)
• One smaller jar filled with biscuits: these are the torma offerings to Dorje Shugden’s entourage)

Before we begin offering the torma, we would have already visualised Dorje Shugden and entourage in front of us as per the preceding prayers. The torma offering prayer then begins with the recitation of ‘OM AH HUM‘ three times in order to consecrate the offerings. Next, while reciting the first part of the prayer, we visualise that on the tongues of Dorje Shugden and his entourage is the seed syllable ‘HUM‘, which are transformed into single-pronged vajras, red in colour. These have rays of light emitting from them which extend to touch the tormas themselves. The light rays are described as straw-like because they are hollow on the inside.

Then, as the torma offering mantras are recited the “essence” of the tormas are drawn up through the rays of light and are partaken of by the deities. The first mantra ‘OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA…‘ is the mantra of offering the torma to Dorje Shugden. The second manta ‘OM AKARO MUKHAM…‘ is the mantra of offering the torma to Dorje Shugden’s entourage.

After completing the mantra recitations, we then recite the sensory offering verses which can be accompanied by the corresponding mudras (hand gestures). Next is a short prayer to Dorje Shugden and entourage to fulfil certain requests for the practitioner. These are made in order to remove obstacles facing the practitioner and create conducive conditions for spiritual practice. Such requests include, protecting the Buddhadharma, raising the status of the Three Jewels and extending the life of the Guru so that they can benefit more beings.

Last of all, one recites the sensory and inner offering verses. Those who have not received the appropriate Tantric initiations should just recite the inner offering mantra while those who have initiation should offer the actual inner offering at this point. The final part of the torma offering prayer is a short praise to Dorje Shugden and entourage.

Torma Offering Prayer

The offering of tormas creates the merit to receive the resources we need for spiritual practice. It also plants the seeds to gain higher attainments, particularly tantric attainments.

OM AH HUM (3x, to consecrate offerings)

HUMs on the tongues of the great king of Dharmapalas, Dorje Shugden’s fierce five families and entourage are generated as red single-pronged vajras with straws of light by which they draw up the entire essence of the torma and partake.

OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWAN
RUDRA PANTSA KULA SAPARIWARA SARVA BIGNEN
SHATRUM IDAM BALINGTA KA KA KAHI KAHI (3x)

(Offer to the principle deity. Then to the entourage:)

OM AKARO MUKHAM SARVA DHARMANAM
ARYA NUTPANNA TWADA
NAMA SARVA TATHAGATA AWALOKITE
OM SAMBARA SAMBARA HUM (3x)

OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWAN
RUDRA PANTSA KULA SAPARIWARA
ARGHAM PADYAM PUPE DHUPE
ALOKE GHANDE NEWIDE SHAPTA PRATICCHA HUM SOHA

OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWAN
RUDRA PANTSA KULA SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM

(The dispatching on mission following the torma:)

HUM!
O Protector of Lord Manjushri Tsongkhapa’s teachings,
Fierce five families of Dorje Shugden and entourage:
Having accepted this torma of red flesh and blood,
Protect the teachings of Buddha in general and especially the great king of the Dharma, Lord Manjushri Tsongkhapa’s Sutra and Tantra teachings!
Raise the status of the Triple Gem!
Protect the Sangha community!
Extend the life of the Guru!
For us, the practitioners, master, disciples, sponsors, sponsored and entourage,
Please act to dispel conditions adverse to Dharma practice,
To establish all conducive conditions,
And, with fierce punishments, to reduce all harmful, malicious enemies and obstructors with degenerate samaya instantly to ashes!

OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWAN
RUDRA PANTSA KULA SAPARIWARA
DRA GEG AMUKA MARAYA PHET!

Sensory Offerings
OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWAN
RUDRA PANTSA KULA SAPARIWARA
ARGHAM PADYAM PUPE DHUPE
ALOKE GHANDE NEWIDE SHAPTA PRATICHAYE SOHA!

Inner Offering
OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWAN
RUDRA PANTSA KULA SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM!

Praise
By just recollecting you for an instant,
Outer and inner obstructions are dispelled.
O powerful five families of Gyalchen Shugden,
Bestower of the four activities,
To the Dharmapala and his entourage I bow down.