Butter lamp

{{Short description|Lamps traditionally burning clarified yak butter}}

{{about|the form of temple lighting|the 2013 film directed by Hu Wei|Butter Lamp|the Festival|Butter Lamp Festival}}

File:Tibetan Butter Lamp.JPG

File:A Tibetan Pilgrim Lighting Ghee Lamps.jpg

File:Light butter lamps.jpg

File:Preparing butter lamps at Thag-Thok Gompa. 2010.jpg. 2010]]

Butter lamps or butterlamps ({{bo|w=dkar me|t=དཀར་མེ་}}; {{zh|s=酥油灯|t=酥油燈|p=sūyóu dēng}}) are a common feature of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout the Himalayas. The lamps traditionally burn clarified yak butter, but now often use vegetable oil or vanaspati ghee.

The butter lamps help to focus the mind and aid meditation. According to the Root tantra of Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, "If you wish for sublime realization, offer hundreds of lights".[http://www.khandro.net/ritual_offering_light.htm Khandro]

Pilgrims also supply lamp oil to gain merit. The monks in the monastery manage the actual lamps, taking extreme care to avoid starting one of the devastating fires which have damaged many monasteries over the years. For safety, butter lamps are sometimes restricted to a separate courtyard enclosure with a stone floor.

Externally, the lights are seen to banish darkness. Conceptually, they convert prosaic substance into illumination, a transformation akin to the search for enlightenment. Esoterically, they recall the heat of the tummo yoga energy of the Six Yogas of Naropa, an important text for Kagyu, Gelug, and Sakya schools of tantric Buddhism.