Offering to buddha in virtual world

[dondrup]

If theres an app that you can download from apple app store , android market which it can let you make offering in you ipad/iphone or any android tablet/phone to the buddha image in it,will one gain any merit by the action without any real incense,water or flower ?

if yes ,then why should we offer real incense ,water or flower to buddha statue ?

if no , then why when we do our daily sadhana ,we visualize that we offer up ocean like of offering to buddha ?

There are many ways and levels to make offering.  For practitioners who do not have the visualization ability, then making physical offering is recommended.  For advanced practitioners, mentally imagined offerings can be as powerful as the physical offerings.

Making offering is a spiritual practice. Practitioners should check their motivation of making offering. The act of making offering to the image of Buddhas give rise to merits.  The amount of merits gained depends on your motivation and correct method (according to the teachings of Buddha). 

Would cyber offering be an attractive game?  Most of the current computer games in the World are dealing with the 8 worldly concerns.  Not many games are dealing with virtues like making offerings.  Making offering through computer Dharma applications will leave imprints on the players’ mind.  Whether these applications really develop the players into serious Dharma practitioners is yet to be seen.  Compare this: going for an actual pilgrimage to Bodhgaya to going for a virtual pilgrimage to Bodhgaya.  Which experience is beneficial and better?  Of course, the actual physical experience!

[ilikeshugden]

It is okay for a virtual offering. It is the sincerity that counts. Usually people would offer the most wonderful things to the Buddha instead of just a free virtual item. If you get real incense etc., it is showing more sincerity. In conclusion, it is okay for you to do anything to offer up to the Buddha. The merit is dependent on your sincerity.

[kris]

This is indeed very interesting question

However, I would like to point out that apps will have more functions than just making offering. As we all, if an app is playable and addictive, people will continue play it. A person who is lazy to do offerings of any sort, after using the apps, may start to do offering, and to me, that is a good thing.

May be the apps can suggest what what items to use for offerings, for example, what would be a good representation of "Food", or "Sound", etc, and may be even link to shops around the person who can buy the items

[Benny]

 "I believe an offering constitutes time, effort and resources. In other words, an offering could come in the form of doing something that is in accord with the Dharma for others that takes time. Another would be the amount of effort that would be needed to make the offering and last of all, the amount of resources that we employed in order to make that offering. The greater the offering is reflected in the greater amount of time, effort and resources spent in making that offering. Hence, the virtual offering is valid but would be less of an offering when compared to making the real offering because it takes much more in the 3 areas I mentioned."

I agree with Big Uncle's quote above , it makes a lot of sense. In my opinion an offering to the Buddhas should come from ones own sincerity and it should be the best that one can offer . Although a virtual offering is acceptable it is not comparable to real offerings to most . However this does not mean that the the virtual offering cannot involve all the above three factors and if it does then , it would be just as good as real offerings . 

[diablo1974]

To me, its a yes and no. If you think that you are a junior practitioner then i would recommend you do it with real stuff...real incense, flowers and candles. Making offerings shouldnt work in our conveniences, we must make an effort to it...its part of the preliminaries for higher practices in future.

But instead, if you are a highly attained practitioner, you might not be necessary making offerings pysically but also it will b as powerful in visualisation due to many years of stable meditative practices.

I would conclude to say theres no right or wrong, but to which method is the best method and effective.

[dsiluvu]

To me, its a yes and no. If you think that you are a junior practitioner then i would recommend you do it with real stuff...real incense, flowers and candles. Making offerings shouldnt work in our conveniences, we must make an effort to it...its part of the preliminaries for higher practices in future.

But instead, if you are a highly attained practitioner, you might not be necessary making offerings pysically but also it will b as powerful in visualisation due to many years of stable meditative practices.

I would conclude to say theres no right or wrong, but to which method is the best method and effective.

Diablo... I think it would be a very clever and smart idea to have such an app... but I would probably create an app where I can easily get all my prayers just by keying it in and immediately getting it wherever I am.

As for virtual offerings... I suppose it would be okay if ur traveling a lot and on the go that u cannot find time to make offerings on your shrine but then again there are prayers for offering up food which one can do even when traveling... so not really necessary. Just offer what you eat before you eat, 3 meals a day?

As for other offerings, if you have HYT and a trantric practitioner, i heard there is a kind of visualization and prayer am sure where you offer up what you see, smell, hear that is pleasing to yourself. So no need app for that at all. So in fact Buddha is really really amazing and has taught us so many ways to accumulate merits in all possible way!

I guess you could use a virtual shrine as an educational tool to teach people to actually do real offerings, how to do them and the benefits of it all would be really cool.

So having said all that... it is much more personal and nicer to actually go out there, make the effort and be generous and actually buy the offering, hold it in your hands and do your prayers infront of your Buddha and offer... the focus, meditation, action, effort... everything creates an accumulative cause for the result we want.... attainments