Sponsoring the Temple
Over 2,500 years ago, the Buddha taught the Dharma to bring living beings out of suffering. His precious teachings are kept alive in Dharma centres, temples and monasteries — physical places where spiritual seekers can find solace, advice and help.
In Buddhism, contributing towards the preservation and spread of the teachings is one of the highest forms of generosity. That’s why sponsoring the temple and contributing to its upkeep and facilities is a core practice in all Buddhist traditions. One way to do this is by making donations and offerings at places of worship where Buddha’s teachings are alive and well. Kechara Forest Retreat is one such place.
Buddha taught that sponsors who help to build and maintain holy temples, or contribute towards its daily operations will gain great merits, enjoy incredible wealth and power in future lives, and eventually attain enlightenment. As the great Indian yogi, Nagden Pawo said:
“Anyone who contributes to the building of a temple, no matter how small that contribution is, even if it is just requesting others for donations, continuously collects tremendous merits even as they go about their daily lives.”
Your generosity in supporting our temple will allow Buddha’s sacred teachings and Lama Tsongkhapa’s precious lineage to be preserved in this peaceful, holy environment, bringing benefit to others for many generations to come. In return, you’ll receive a stream of daily merits for prosperity, good health, removal of obstacles, protection, abundance and fulfilment of wishes.
More Benefits of Supporting the Temple
- Bad karma will be decreased
- We will be protected and avoid misfortune
- We will evade all obstacles, suffering and vengeful enemies
- We will be free of harm from evil beings
- We will break away from afflictions and illusions
- We will have ample sustenance and good fortune and enjoy a high position
- Our speech and actions will be well respected by people and Heavenly beings
- We will accumulate merits and wisdom
- We will be reborn in favourable realms with good appearance, fortune and wisdom
- We will be reborn in places where Buddha’s teachings are being taught and attain Enlightenment quickly
About Incense and Incense Offering
Across all Buddhist traditions, incense is one of the most common and basic substances used as offerings to the Buddhas and enlightened beings. Within Tibetan Buddhism, incense is typically used as an offering to the Three Jewels — Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It is also employed as part of Buddhist ritual to purify offering substances such as water, food and light.
In traditional Tibetan Medicine, incense is often used as a medicinal substance to treat certain ailments. Due to the healing qualities of its ingredients, Tibetan incense can soothe and calm a mind affected by depression, restlessness, anxiety and stress. Specific incense formulas can also be beneficial for common complaints such as migraines, cough, dizziness and insomnia.
On a spiritual level, the offering of incense reminds us to hold our vows purely and creates the causes for us to do so. In Buddhist thought, morality is considered to be one of the Six Perfections of a Bodhisattva practitioner. As such, it is one of the keys to reaching full enlightenment.
“Incense offerings should be done daily and consistently with great confidence in the supreme Dharma that liberates our mind from all sufferings and to the holy sage Buddha who has traversed over samsara.”
– Tsem Rinpoche
As we make incense offerings to the Buddhas, we generate the merits to become like them and hold our vows perfectly. This collection of merits is based on our Bodhisattva aspirations, and will lead us to the realisation of higher views which sees the faults of serving oneself as opposed to serving the needs of all sentient beings.
Therefore, offering incense of the best quality with the highest motivation may seem to be a simple spiritual act, but it leads to higher insight, integrity of practice, consistency of practice, generation of merits, and the ability to hold our vows which leads to the generation of higher attainments and insight within our mindstream.
