Chinese cloisonné offering bowls

Object location: Shrine room

This beautiful set of seven old Chinese cloisonné offering bowls were originally used by Sangharakshita on his personal shrine in the Triratna Vardhana Vihara in Kalimpong in the 1950s and early 1960s. 

The traditional Indian manner of welcoming a guest is reflected in the offerings made throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. On special occasions Tibetan Buddhists present the seven external offerings literally, arranged in a row open the shrine. First, there are two bowls of water, one for drinking, one for washing the feet. Next is a bowl of rice with a flower stuck in it.... Next comes a bowl of rice with lighted incense sticks in it. Then there is a lighted butter lamp, and a bowl of perfumed water. Finally there will be a sacrificial cake on a plate, or sometimes a bowl of rice with a small fruit on top.

The Complete Works of Sangharakshita, vol. 13, p.255