This article is about the form of temple lighting. For the 2013 film directed by Hu Wei, see Butter Lamp. For the Festival, see Butter Lamp Festival.
A Tibetan butter lampA Tibetan pilgrim lighting ghee lamps in a sacred cave on the Tibet plateauLighting butter lampsPreparing butter lamps at Takthok Monastery. 2010
Butter lamps or butterlamps (Tibetan: དཀར་མེ་, Wylie: dkar me; simplified Chinese: 酥油灯; traditional Chinese: 酥油燈; pinyin: sūyóu dēng) are a common feature of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout the Himalayas. The lamps traditionally burn clarified yak butter, but now often use vegetable oil or vanaspati ghee.
The butter lamps help to focus the mind and aid meditation. According to the Root tantra of Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, "If you wish for sublime realization, offer hundreds of lights".[1]
Pilgrims also supply lamp oil to gain merit. The monks in the monastery manage the actual lamps, taking extreme care to avoid starting one of the devastating fires which have damaged many monasteries over the years. For safety, butter lamps are sometimes restricted to a separate courtyard enclosure with a stone floor.
Externally, the lights are seen to banish darkness. Conceptually, they convert prosaic substance into illumination, a transformation akin to the search for enlightenment. Esoterically, they recall the heat of the tummo yoga energy of the Six Yogas of Naropa, an important text for Kagyu, Gelug, and Sakya schools of tantric Buddhism.
Butterlamps or butterlamps (Tibetan: དཀར་མེ་, Wylie: dkar me; simplified Chinese: 酥油灯; traditional Chinese: 酥油燈; pinyin: sūyóu dēng) are a common feature...
ButterLamp (simplified Chinese: 酥油灯; traditional Chinese: 酥油燈; pinyin: Sūyóu Dēng; French: La lampe au beurre de yak) is a 2013 Chinese-French short...
Chotrul Düchen, also known as Chonga Choepa or the ButterLamp Festival, is one of the four Buddhist festivals commemorating four events in the life of...
rancid butter on the skin (fresh butter is not useful in tanning). "Yaks, butter, and lamps in Tibet". WebExhibits.org. Retrieved 3 July 2011. "Butter Sculpture...
fine human life. If you do not make this meaningful, It will be like a butterlamp in the wind of impermanence. Do not count on this lasting a long time...
meat and vegetables.: 33 In antiquity, butter was used for fuel in lamps, as a substitute for oil. The Butter Tower of Rouen Cathedral was erected in...
Artificial butter flavoring is a flavoring used to give a food the taste and smell of butter. It may contain diacetyl, acetylpropionyl, or acetoin, three...
Compassionate One: The Lamp That Illuminates Darkness. One well-known story of Pema Lingpa tells of his diving with a burning butterlamp into the Burning Lake...
An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of...
and Mihal Brezis Boogaloo and Graham – Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney ButterLamp – Hu Wei and Julien Féret Parvaneh – Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger...
during the past year by offering small butterlamps along the processional route. They also present butterlamps to relatives and friends on the way as...
Hinduism and Buddhism, similar offerings exist, which include diyas and butterlamps. Candles are lit for prayer intentions. To "light a candle for someone"...
bridge that crosses the narrowest part of the gorge, where they store butterlamps to make offerings at the sacred site. In many areas around the lake there...
Residents evacuated the city of Lhasa during the Monlam Prayer Festival and ButterLamp Festival of 1921, fearing violent confrontation between the monks and...
believed to have been caused by electrical short-circuiting or flickering butterlamps lighting the hanging tapestries. A monk also died during the fire. The...
century CE. The monastery houses a life size statue of Avalokiteshwara. A butterlamp kept near the altar is believed to be burning uninterrupted since the...
machinery is used to make the lamps. Other lampsButterlamp Diya lamp Nilavilakku lamp Sky lantern Types of Indian oil lamps Related topics Aarti Diwali...
Lhakhang or the monastery, followed by the 'butterlamp house', four chortens, 'Tsenkhang', a new butterlamp house and finally terminating at the 'Guru...
adorned with very elaborate butter sculptures. On the fifteenth day, the highlight of Monlam Chenmo in Lhasa would be the "ButterLamp Festival" (Chunga Chopa)...
to the recipients personally. The prize consists of a humble Tibetan butterlamp that serves as a symbol of the extraordinary light that every recipient...
and Mihal Brezis Boogaloo and Graham Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney ButterLamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak) Hu Wei and Julien Féret Parvaneh Talkhon...
Mongolia. Butter made from yaks' milk is an ingredient of the butter tea that Tibetans consume in large quantities, and is also used in lamps and made...
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