The idea of offering torma is somewhat symbolic in this case. I don’t think we can get rid of our ups and downs by giving them some little Tibetan offerings. That would be far-fetched. Forgive me, but that is true, actually. It needs more of a gesture than that. If we have a real feeling about offering something which represents our existence and put it out as an expression or demonstration of our opening and giving up, that could be okay. But that comes at a higher level. In particular, people in this environment are not trained in that kind of ritualistic world, so people have very little feelings about such things. Ritualism becomes more a superstition than a sacred ceremony. That has become problematic. Few people have experienced anything of that nature and had it become meaningful. It means that we actually have to commit ourselves rather than just having somebody sprinkling water on us, trying to make us feel good and happy. We have not experienced the depth of ritualism to the extent that we could actually put out cakes for the döns so that they will not attack us again. In order to do that we need further suitability of our own state of being as well as a sense of immense sanity. So I would not like to suggest that you put out substitute doggy bags for anybody –although it might be good for the local dogs and cats.
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche from Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving Kindness; speaking on making offerings to the Döns.
