“Prayer for Offering Food & Drink”

Young People’s Programme – Sunday 24 February 2008 by Geshe Tenzin Zopa

OM AH HUM (3 times)

La ma Sang gya la ma chho

The guru is Buddha, the guru is Dharma

De zhin la ma ge dun te

The guru is Sangha also

Kun gyi je po la ma te

The guru is the creator of all (happiness)

La ma nam la chho par bul

To all gurus, I make this offering

Before we eat and drink we can say a powerful prayer to make our food medicine. By doing this, we can accumulate merit – to bring us good health and make us rich (inside and outside). Also, if we encounter contaminated or unclean food and we bless it before eating it, this can transform the food, so that we will not get a stomach ache or fall sick.

For example, there was a yogi on the Himalayan mountain meditating. One day a woman offered him some food with good gesture and respect in action but her intension at heart was not good. The yogi knew this so before he ate the food, he chanted the mantra “Om Ah Hum” three times and the power of the mantra transformed the food. The Yogi showed the lady the power of the mantra by regurgitating some of the food (with poison in it) and spitting it onto a rock cave. The rock split and turned into powder.

There is another case about a lama who was offered poison yogurt by a lady. The master who had not eaten for 11 years declined the yogurt but the lady would not return to her village unless he ate the yogurt. So he ate it but chanted the mantra “Om Ah Hum” three times before doing so. He then brought his 8 disciples and the lady to a rock and purposely vomited. As soon as the vomit touched the rock, the rock started boiling and cracked. Last year, I saw the melted rock. So this is the power of the prayer.

If you are in public and do not wish to chant the mantra out loud, you can say it in your mind. The power will come from your thought and the mantra. If you have the opportunity to do so, add four more lines (above) either before or after the “Om Ah Hum” mantra. Please memorise the Prayer for Offering Food and Drink in Tibetan and in English.

Other times when you can say “Om Ah Hum” are

  • In the centre or at your alter at home, when you make an offering to all the Buddhas
  • When you wake-up everyday to offer your “body, speech and mind” to all Buddhas and all sentient beings
  • When you meet teachers and gurus
  • When you remove wasted food from alters or throw-out food – this will make the food become charity to those who do not have the karma to enjoy the food before it becomes wasted.

Summarised By Zhou Chan and his Mum Janet