Festival of Lights

Festival of Lights 2014 – Offering Lights at Root Institute

This year, the Festival of Lights has been envisioned to enable participants to make light offerings all year round to the holy Mahabodhi Stupa, in order to generate a vast amount of merit for oneself and to send blessings out into the world.

“Those who offer one thousand lights will be reborn when Maitreya Buddha shows the deed of gaining enlightenment and receive his first Dharma teaching.” — Arya Maitreya Sutra

Every night, from 6 pm to 6 am, 50,000 lights will be offered with the special light offering prayer composed by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, together with reading the names and dedications of the sponsors. The lights adorn Rinpoche’s house, the Maitreya Buddha statue, the main Gompa and the Stupa garden.

The four great Buddhist festivals:

As a bonus, all sponsors’ names and dedications will be read aloud at the Mahabodhi Stupa during Root Institute’s annual Festival of Lights and Merit, when 100,000 lights are offered around the Bodhi Tree to celebrate the four major events in the life of the Buddha:

1. Days of Miracles: 2-16 March 2014
2. Enlightenment and Parinirvana: 12-14 June 2014
3. First Teaching: 30 July – 1 August 2014
4. Descent from Tushita: 12-14 November 2014

The merit from making any offering on these days is said by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche to be multiplied one hundred million times, and offerings made in Bodhgaya are said to be eight times more powerful!

“All comfort, happiness and peace in this world are received by making offerings to the Triple Gem, therefore those who like to have happiness, comfort and peace, always attempt to make these offerings.” — Tenth Wheel of the Sutra of the Essence of the Earth

Offerings:

You are most welcome to join the daily light offerings in Root Institute by sponsoring:

50,000 lights – $500
25,000 lights – $250
10,000 lights – $100
5,000 lights – $50

During the Four Buddhist Festivals you can also sponsor:

- Pujas (Tara, Guru and Protector Pujas) performed by the monks at Namgyal Monastery in Bodhgaya ($35 each puja)
- Prayer flags around the lake in the Mahabodhi Stupa gardens ($30 per string)

By accumulating skies of merit through making extensive offerings at this most holy place and then dedicating that merit appropriately, we can each fulfill Rinpoche’s wishes for our own success, our spiritual practice and our ability to serve others.

The merit of your offerings will be dedicated for:

* The sponsors personal dedications
* The long lives of our holy gurus: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Osel Rinpoche and all FPMT lamas and teachers
* The preservation and spread of the pure Dharma
* The temporal and ultimate happiness of the sponsors and their loved ones
* The happiness of all sentient beings
* World peace
* And for all obstacles to FPMT projects to be removed and the quick success of all the projects.

Note: It is also a good idea to sponsor these lights and dedicate the merits generated to anyone in your family who is sick or has passed away during the previous years.

Click here to sponsor online: http://www.rootinstitute.com/holy_objects/light-offering.html

many blessings!
Neo
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