What do you do with the food offerings on a Buddhist altar?

Question

I recently set up an altar in my room, but I can't find very much information on food offerings. The most I know is that they are supposed to be removed at sunset, but beyond that I got nothing. Also, would you do something different with different kinds of offerings? For instance, an offering of tea and an offering of solid food?

Answer 1

Well if you're prepared to adapt oneof my pagan traditions....

I'll do tricks like shake out a picnic blanket with a "A gift to the Goddess in the form of ants", take my stale eggs out to the front tree "A gift to the Goddess in the form of crows".

Hope that's helpful.

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Answer 2

Hi. I am a Buddhist also. The focus of the alter in Nichiren Buddhism is the Gohonzon,the object of devotion . We often set up our alters with candles, incense,evergreens ,water and more as a expression of respect and appreciation . And the offerings serve to honor the Gohonzon which is our own innate unlimited potential.

And the most important offerings one can make is the sincere prayer .

The items hold symbolic meaning and are rooted in Buddhist tradition.
Based on the circumstances, one can decide whether or not to place certain items.

Water and fresh produce ( mostly fresh fruit) might be offered to show gratitude and appreciation. Water has long been a symbol of purification. Fresh water is placed in a small cup before we start to pray every morning . some fresh fruit on dish should be removed while still good.
I'm hoping this will help.

Answer 3

I don't know about the altar in your room, but in parts of Asia I observed that the food at outdoor altars was eaten by birds, monkeys, dogs, or whatever animals were in the vicinity.

I think that in some of the larger temples the food is disbursed to the poor in the community.

Answer 4

consume the meals. Pour the water into houseplant pots, or pour it on the floor outdoors. do no longer throw it down the drain. Wipe the offering bowls dry (make sure the towel/textile is sparkling), and place them face down on the altar till the next day. a million/2-stack them (overlapping). Throw away vegetation that are no longer any further sparkling. placed out the candle by today waving your quit it to create a breeze. do no longer blow it out (supposedly you're blowing away the ease you have created once you have been chanting). Incense will burn itself out. Use a small piece in straightforward terms once you gentle it, so which you do no longer ought to concern approximately putting it out once you upward push up out of your consultation. We weren't recommended to apply physique spray, so i'm no longer able to help you with that one. we grant song relatively of physique spray (the bell, our chanting). My instructor is a Tibetan, a monk via fact that 13 (and now in his 50's) from the Dalai Lama's monastery in Dharamsala, India.

Answer 5

I study Tibetan Buddhism, and we are instructed to eat or drink the food we put as an offering. For example, if you put fruit, put if back in the fruit bowl for your family consumption after you remove the offering at night, and put back fresh fruit in the morning. Drink the water or use it for the plants or flowers at home, or even for your pets. If you put flowers, remove them when they start to fade and put them in the garden or in a high place to desintegrate.
The point is not to throw in the trash the offering items.

Answer 6

The monks probably eat it for Buddha