Toh 2196An Extensive Ritual for Torma Cake Offerings to a Nāga

Commentary on An Extensive Ritual for Torma Cake Offerings to a Nāga

Context

The scripture “An Extensive Ritual for Torma Cake Offerings to a Nāga” (klu gtor rgyas pa) is a practice text from the Tengyur, the Treatise Collection of the Northern Canon tradition, situated within the Mahayana system of Tibetan Buddhism. Scriptures connected with offerings of torma (gtor ma) especially serve deities or spirits closely related to the natural and human worlds.

Nāgas (klu, dragons in Tibetan) in Buddhism are not independent entities, but are regarded as visible clans capable of acting for the benefit or harm of human beings. They are guardian spirits of water, rain, and the abundance of the land. According to Mahayana philosophy, these nāgas are capable of practicing the Buddha Dharma and moving toward awakening, but they may also create obstacles if the rites are not performed correctly. Therefore, making torma offerings to them is not only an act of courtesy, but also a means of practice for transforming conditions, building positive accumulations, and protecting the community.

Main Content

This scripture describes an extensive rite (rgyas pa, extensive or elaborate) for offering torma, ritual cakes shaped from flour, butter, and similar materials. Torma symbolizes material offering, but in the Mahayana Northern Canon tradition it also carries profound meaning concerning the transformation of spiritual energy.

This extended ritual includes steps for preparing the mind through visualization, invoking the nāgas with mantras and basic recitations, offering torma according to specific forms, and concluding with prayers for the dedication of merit. The practitioner must observe the five precepts so that the action is pure and effective.

In particular, the scripture emphasizes that making offerings is not an act of cringing or fear, but an expression of respect, understanding, and the aspiration to help all beings transform. The nāgas receive the torma as a reminder that they too have the potential for awakening, and the practitioner also builds merit through an act of compassion.