the chalzay done right
My sister says that the little butter and oatmeal sculpture (called a chalzay) she did yesterday wasn't quite right. For one thing we used oatmeal from my kitchen and it's better to use supplies just for the offering. Then, evidently, on the little disks, the colors are supposed to go from light to dark with the white dot in the middle. So, she fixed it:
She's very satisfied with the new chalzay. What is a chalzay? It's just meant to be some kind of pretty food offering. Those little things at the bottom are supposed to represent jewels, but who knows what the rest of it is supposed to signify. Usually everything in vajrayana buddhism means something, so I was a little surprised when she said, "Those disks are just for decoration. It's supposed to be pretty."
Then, you throw it out for the animals to eat when you're done. I bet we'll have some very happy butter eating raccoons by the end of retreat.