Buddhist Candle Offerings and Indeung Lamps: Meaning
A candle offering means lighting a candle before the Buddha, wishing for the wisdom that clears away darkness; an indeung is a small lamp with a name on it, hung in the hall and kept lit for a set period. Both put a wish for your own and your family's peace into a single light. In the Main Buddha Hall of the online temple Hapjang (합장) you can light one candle (10 minutes) or an indeung lamp with your name tag (30 minutes), and every visitor can see the lights you light.
- One candle
- Burns for 10 minutes
- Candle offering stands
- Two two-tier stands on either side of the altar, 24 candles each. Three on each stand (6 in all) are always lit
- Indeung lamp
- Lamp wall at the back, 30 minutes, with your name tag
- Where
- Main Buddha Hall
- Visible to
- All visitors
What offering a light means
In Buddhism a lamp is often a symbol of wisdom. There is a long-told story of a poor woman's single lamp, lit with all her heart, burning longer than the great lamps of the rich (the "one lamp of the poor"); it is passed down to show that the heart behind an offering matters more than its size.
How is a candle different from an indeung lamp?
- Candle: you light one on the spot and stay with it for a little while.
- Indeung lamp: a lamp with a name written on it is hung in the hall and kept lit for a set period. At real temples it's often offered for several months or a year at a time, and the practice varies by temple.
When it feels right
A candle or lamp suits moments when you want to light something while thinking of family far away or someone who has passed, or when you want to quietly leave a wish that's hard to put into words.
Lighting a candle in a real temple hall
Don't blow out or move candles others have lit; light yours in an empty spot. Don't blow out the flame with your mouth, and keep sleeves and hair away from the fire. After lighting the candle, put your palms together and give a half bow, or make three bows.
Try it in Hapjang
Go to the candle offering stands on either side of the altar in the Main Buddha Hall to light one candle. Each stand has two tiers holding 24 candles, and three candles on each stand, six in all, are always lit. Your candle burns for 10 minutes and shows on every visitor's screen through the server. At the lamp wall at the back you can light one indeung lamp; it stays lit for 30 minutes with your name tag on it. There are no points or rewards; lighting one with care is enough.
Frequently asked questions
What is an indeung lamp?
It's an offering in which a small lamp bearing a name is hung in a temple hall and kept lit for a set time, with a wish for your own or your family's peace.
What does lighting a candle in a Buddhist temple mean?
It's commonly explained as a wish that, just as a candle lights up the dark, wisdom will clear away the darkness in the mind.
Related pages
- Main Buddha Hall (Daeungjeon) — Sit and Bow OnlineThe Main Buddha Hall is the heart of a Korean temple. In Hapjang, sit on one of 312 cushions to breathe, bow, copy sutras and ring a singing bowl.
- How to Offer Incense at a Buddhist Temple: Steps & EtiquetteHow to offer incense at a Buddhist temple: light it, wave out the flame, place it with both hands. Its meaning, etiquette, and offering it online.
- How to Hang a Wish Lantern and What to Write on ItWhat a temple wish lantern means and tips for writing one. Hang a private lantern or a shared one in Hapjang's Lantern Courtyard, an online temple.
- How to Do 108 Bows and Three Bows (Korean Buddhist)What three bows and 108 bows mean in Korean Buddhism, how to do them step by step, how long they take, and how to bow along online in Hapjang.
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