Why do Buddhist offer flowers?
The offering of flowers is one of the important daily rituals in Buddhism, also called flower offering. Offering flowers means placing flowers in appropriate vessels and offering them in front of the Buddha. Offering flowers can achieve many merits and virtues. “The Sutra on the Difference of Karma and Retribution by the Elder Buddha Shoujia” says: “If there are sentient beings who offer incense flowers, they will gain ten kinds of merits.” Offering flowers expresses respect, dedication, and gratitude to the Buddha, as well as learning from the Buddha’s teachings and taking the Buddha as a teacher.
Buddha had a special and close relationship with flowers throughout his life. According to legend, before the birth of the Buddha, Lady Maya had a strange dream. She dreamed of a white elephant carrying a white lotus in its mouth. It entered the palace, circled three times around her bed, and then entered the womb through her right rib. Anzhu, soon she was pregnant. When the time of delivery was approaching, Mrs. Maya followed Indian custom and returned to her natal city of Kolli to wait for the birth. On the way, she passed by Lumbini Garden and saw beautiful flowers blooming on the Ashoka tree. She couldn’t help but reach out to pick them, and the prince was born.
Plants bloom first and then bear fruit, so flowers are causes and fruits are fruits. Offering flowers is the cause, and receiving the Buddha’s prophecy is the result. So offering flowers means a lot. In the early days, lotus flowers were mainly used in front of the Buddha. Buddhism attaches great importance to the lotus and considers it to be the most noble. Not only does it mean that the lotus emerges from the mud but remains unstained, but more importantly, the flowers and fruits of the lotus mature at the same time. The vitality of the lotus flower gives people a sense of positivity.
In addition to lotus flowers, there are other types of flowers that can be used to offer offerings to the Buddha. So, which flowers are more suitable to offer in front of the Buddha? Among them, the more suitable ones are fresh flowers, artificial flowers, plastic flowers and lotus lanterns. If you place flowers, remember to prune them in time, and deal with withered flowers in time to keep the bouquet fresh as a sign of respect. If artificial flowers, plastic flowers, lotus lanterns, etc. are offered in front of the Buddha, although they can avoid the trouble of frequent pruning, they will be easily contaminated with dust after being kept for a long time and need to be cleaned in time.
Offering flowers in front of the Buddha has also derived from the art of flower arrangement, which is ikebana. In the meticulous and quiet process of arranging flowers, Buddhists use their talents to promote the monastery with exquisite works. This not only reflects the cultivation of a person who is devoted to Buddha, but also shows the attitude of meditating toward Buddha. It also combines ikebana with traditional cultural forms to show a beautiful artistic conception.
