Main purpose of making offerings of Mandala is to accumulate the stocks of wisdom and merits

 The main purpose of making offerings of Mandala is to accumulate the stocks of wisdom and merits. Death is sometimes caused by depletion of merits, hence Mandala offering could also increase life span. Both making offerings and almsgiving can eliminate greed and miserliness, therefore it would be most beneficial if one actively practices almsgiving along with doing this foundational practice. The practitioner should, within his or her means, try to procure a good quality Mandala plate for use in this practice.

The universe visualized in Mandala offerings was taught by the Buddha; we should not cast doubt into its truthfulness based on the limitation of our senses. We should understand the indifferentiability of mind and matter, so as to trust that the merits obtained from visualized offerings are no different from those gathered from actual material offerings, and that it is certainly not like child's play.

If there are two Mandala plates, one is used as representing the object of offering and the other for the act of making offerings. However, the following description of this practice use the visualized field of refuge as the object of offering, and therefore only one Mandala plate is needed.

The Kagyupas and Gelugpas both emphasize the visualization of 37-offering Mandala. However, the requirement is to make 100,000 repetitions of offering the 7-offering Mandala while repeating the following stanza:

Earth, the foundation, has been purified
With incense, Sumeru, the continents four,
The sun and the moon, I offer up to thee,
Together with the Pureland's radiant store.
May all sentient beings, that suffer pain,
Everlasting Supreme Enlightenment obtain.
(p. 412, Yogi Chen's Buddhist Meditation, 2nd ed.)

The Nyingmapas make offerings of Three-Kaya Mandala, which involves visualization of the thousand million world systems, the Sambhogakaya Pureland, and the Dharmakaya Pureland of Ever Tranquil Luminescence as offerings respectively to the three bodies of the Buddha: the Emanation Body (Nirmanakaya), the Pure Enjoyment Body (Sambhogakaya), and the Truth Body (Dharmakaya). What is actually required to be accumulated for 100,000 times is the offering of 5-offering (or 15-offering) Mandala which includes reciting the following Three-Kaya Mandala stanzas:
Offerings to the Nirmanakaya:
Thousand million of thousand million world systems,
Each full of seven treasures and wealth of gods and humans,
Together with my entire body and belongings are completely offered,
May I attain the throne of the universal monarch of Dharma.

Offerings to the Sambhogakaya:
The Pureland of Secret Adornment with unexcelled great bliss,
Complete with five definite attributes and the five aspects of Wisdom,
Offered with supreme offerings gathering as inconceivable masses of clouds,
May I attain the enjoyment of Sambhogakaya Pureland.

Offerings to the Dharmakaya:

The originally present, pure and youthful body in the vessel,
Being adorned with immutable compassion,
Identified with the Land purified of the attachments to body and drops,
By offering it, may I abide in the realm of the Dharmakaya.

This Nyingma method of offering is far superior to the 37-offering one because it includes much more than the latter. Therefore, I propose to practice as follows: the practitioner first becomes familiar with the content of the 37 offerings to assist in visualizing the Emanation Body offerings. Please refer to other works for the details of the 37-offering Mandala; e.g., Jamgon Kongtrul, Judith Hanson Trans., The Torch of Certainty, Shambhala, Boston, 1977. In practice, repeat the 7-offering Mandala and the stanzas of the Three-Kaya Mandala for 100,000 times. Since the Kagyupas require 1,000 repetitions of offering the 37-offering Mandala, we had better practice the three-layer Three-Kaya Mandala offerings 1,000 times. While Yogi Chen's Three-Kaya Mandala offerings take about 20 minutes each time, one can offer it at least once on each of the 10th, 15th, 25th and 29th days of the lunar months as those are special dates for making offerings to Gurus, Yidams, Dakinis and Protectors respectively. See Appendix B for a description of the Three-Kaya Mandala offerings.
The 7-offering Mandala is done as follows: While sitting on the ground, put a tray or wide container of rice on the lap or in front. With small amount of rice in both hands, hold the rim of the Mandala plate with the left hand. Rub the peripheral surface of the plate with the right inner wrist in clockwise rotation for 3 times, while reciting "Om Samaya, Ah Samaya, Hung Samaya" and then the Hundred Syllable Mantra. At the same time, visualize the negative Karma of oneself and all beings is thereby purified. Then rub in counter-clockwise rotation for 3 times (or more until finishing the Hundred Syllable Mantra), while visualizing the merits of the Buddha's three bodies descend into the practitioner and all sentient beings. After finishing the Hundred Syllable Mantra, sprinkle the rice in the right hand on the plate surface and recite "Om Benza Bumi Ah Hung" while visualizing a Vajra earth foundation. Take some rice with the right hand and sprinkle them clockwise along the rim of the surface while reciting "Om Benza La Ka Ah Hung" and visualize an iron mountain range along the edge of the world; it represents a protective wall of precepts. Then, while repeating "Om Ah Hung" place seven small heaps of rice on the plate surface.

When the seven heaps of rice have been placed, raise the Mandala with both hands up to the front of the forehead and recite the Three-Kaya Mandala stanzas and visualize accordingly. Then pour the rice toward oneself into the rice container and visualize Buddha returns blessings after receiving the offerings. Thus completes this 7-offering Mandala offering once. Then repeat a desired amount for the given session. After one session, most of the rice used should be given away outdoors for the birds, while a small portion is kept in the container to symbolize the continuing blessings of the Buddha. Adequate amount of unoffered rice is added for each subsequent session. The repetitions of the Hundred Syllable Mantra recited during Mandala offerings are not counted in the 100,000 repetitions of the same mantra in Vajrasattva Purification.

In Nyingma school, the Chod practice originated from the female Chodpa master Machig Labdron is also listed as a Foundational Practice. It is mentioned here because this practice is also a method for gathering the two accumulations of merits and wisdom by practitioners of extreme poverty. My book Chod in Limitless-Oneness and the references listed there contain valuable teachings on this practice. Interested readers please refer to those works.

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