What follows is on the nature and role of tormas in Vajrayana Buddhist practice as I understand it. Hopefully it will provide some useful information and if you find the following helpful, that’s good. If you have questions feel free to send me an email through the contact function on this site and I’ll respond as best I can.

As for tormas, they are associated with many aspects of Tibetan Buddhist practice. A common description by western observers is something like “Tibetan ritual cakes.” In fact, tormas may indeed be edible—a bit like a colorful, shapely fruitcake of barley flour, butter, and sometimes with a little booze. Those are intended to be shared, consumed, and enjoyed by tantric practitioners in sacramental feasts, also known as tsok. But many tormas used in ritual practice are made of durable, non-edible materials. These sculptural objects are intended to reside more or less indefinitely on a meditation shrine as an offering, or as a symbolic representation of a particular deity. These embody the color, beauty, and meaning inherent in Buddhist Vajrayana, also known as Tantrayana. There are many types, forms, and styles of tormas—far too many to try to describe here and certainly more than I am familiar with. Try doing an internet search for “tormas” and select “images”. Explore what comes up a little. It’s quite something. An excellent and remarkably thorough gallery of torma images may be found by selecting this link.

The roots of the practice of offering torma are ancient, originating in India some millennia ago. The practice later became widespread in Tibet beginning around 1,500 years ago and now appears in the West beginning rather recently. The Tibetan Buddhist system is based on discourses attributed to the Buddha in India dating to around 450 BCE. Some of those discourses are referred to as the Buddhist sutras, and some as tantras (both terms Sanskrit). Some tantras contain references to torma offering. It is the influence of the tantras, discussed more below, that make Tibetan Buddhism distinctive among the various schools of Buddhism worldwide.

According to Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from whose teachings many of my comments here are derived, the word tantra means “thread” or “continuity”. From that point of view there is an emphasis on recognizing wisdom—wakefulness—in immediate experience at all times. Awake is the thread—the thread that weaves through our experience, whether we recognize it or not. All the aspects of tantra practice such as offering, mantra recitation, visualization, and so forth are methods intended to help stabilize that recognition. Tibetan Buddhism is replete with methods. One of those is making torma offering within the context of ritual practice. Ritual to Westerners can seem empty, or shallowly superstitious, due perhaps to some of our unfortunate experiences with conventional religion in our culture or religious upbringing. However, making offering may have some power when joined with a deep understanding of the true nature of mind.

The term tantra is sometimes compounded with another Sanskrit term, yana, which is generally translated as “vehicle”—a means of going forward—or alternately translated as “path.” So the compound word tantrayana (essentially synonymous with vajrayana) may be understood to mean the vehicle of practicing the tantras, or perhaps, the path of recognizing the continuity of awakened mind in experience continuously.

Although the recognition of the true nature of mind is by its character immediate and complete, developing a sense of that in life as we live it tends to arise gradually and requires some considerable training. Meditation practice, rituals, torma offering, and a variety of other methods provide a progressive set of means for stabilizing the continuity of that recognition. It would be an over-simplification to say that the brief explanation above is adequate to describe how tormas fit into a path of awakening. But, it is fair to say that the use of tormas is integral to an authentic practice of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Understanding the nature of making offering in tantra practice is essential to grasping the role of tormas. When offering a permanent shrine torma the process is generally one of visualization and attitude. Though ritual is involved, religion and religious belief—or faith—may not characterize the process in the same way that faith characterizes the relationship of a worshiper to the worshiped in theistic traditions. Nontheism implies that whatever energy or unseen force is offered to, the understanding is one of no separation. Despite the emphasis on deities, protectors and guru devotion in the tantrayana, the intent of offering is opening to, and recognizing, one’s wisdom. Wisdom does not reside externally—it’s the true nature of mind. That is the essential meaning of nontheism and it is the deep understanding that the practice of tantra cultivates.

So making offering generally, and offering tormas specifically, is primarily a way to connect with that nontheistic understanding. From the point of view of the tantras, wisdom is existent. Whose wisdom it is, is irrelevant. Wisdom has no owner, thus there is nothing to worship. The nature of your own mind and heart is identical to the wisdom of the guru, the Buddha, or any unseen force or wakeful energy in your world. Offering torma with an open attitude and with sincerity is, at its most essential, opening to and recognizing the true nature of mind. It is also a means of generating merit, cultivating generosity, and several other positive things—all of which support that recognition.

The Tibetan word "torma" has two parts. The first syllable "tor" is a verb that means to throw out. In the Vajrayana sadhana practices, tormas made of barley flour, butter and other ingredients are a part of the ritual, and eventually are placed outdoors as a gesture of making offering, and of generosity. This literal gesture and expression of offering provides sustenance for beings who encounter the offered torma (squirrels, birds and other local beings benefit). Such an offering may also be a gesture on the part of the practitioner to a world of unseen forces that one wishes to influence, purify, and even to control.

The inner sense of throwing out may be understood as the severing of attachment to desirable things—cutting through one’s entrapment in desire, known in the tradition as klesha. This does not imply the disappearance of desirable things. Our world is filled with desirable things which can’t really be avoided. Rather than avoidance, the inner sense of offering implies an opportunity to look deeply into the nature of desire itself and from this point of view, the arising of desire is an opportunity not to be missed. The arising of desire is a chance to recognize wisdom. Thus the arising of desire is not necessarily a problem—the problem with desire is self-centeredness. This "throwing out" then, brings with it a sense of abandoning the self-referential neurosis of desire. It is severance from, or purifying, klesha—the blinding conditioned emotional reactions that cause much suffering for oneself and others. All well-worth throwing out.

The second syllable of the word torma, "ma," is a feminine ending, which evokes a maternal, nurturing quality. Understanding the true meaning of this simple syllable is a means of cultivating loving kindness toward all beings, much as a mother feels love for her children. So, with the first syllable one severs attachment to self-centeredness—an act of generosity and self-awareness. Having removed that obstacle, with the second syllable one may radiate love and sympathy to others. The entire offering takes place with an attitude of loving kindness.

The above was derived in part from my notes of remarks made by Lama Tashi Dondrup at Sopa Choling three-year retreat center, Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton Nova Scotia, circa 1998. Translated by Elizabeth Callahan.

As for these tormas, I make them following traditional Tibetan guidelines for shape, color and other traditional features. My training at Sopa Choling came through two closely related Karma Kagyu torma-making traditions—from Lama Tashi Thondup, and Lama Karma Phuntsok—trained at Rumtek and Sherap Ling monasteries, respectively. All salient features of the tormas I make reflect those traditions. Traditionally, many of the tormas call for tordze (torma substance) and a mantra to be inserted inside the torma, which I do. The materials, on the other hand, are modern and western. Many of the bodies of the tormas are cast from a tough plaster called Hydrostone™ and the ornaments are in large part made from Sculpey™, which is a high quality polymer sculpting medium. These materials are sturdy, the colors durable and vivid. The torma bodies are painted using high-quality enamels. The tormas if properly packaged may be transported for use in retreat situations and if cared for should remain relatively unchanged for decades. You could put your torma in your will, assuming you have heirs interested in such things. In other words, it’ll last you.

I very much appreciate you visiting my website. I enjoy making these tormas and yes, they are a form of livelihood for me. Please look around the site and contact me if you’d like to be in touch.