Riwo Sangchö

རི་བོ་བསང་མཆོད་
Vocabulary Lists May 8, 2025

Riwo Sangchö (རི་བོ་བསང་མཆོད), or "Mountain Smoke Offering," is a profound smoke offering practice in Tibetan Buddhism that serves to purify negativities, repay karmic debts, accumulate merit, and benefit both seen and unseen beings. It is a terma (treasure teaching) revealed by the great 17th-century Tertön Lhatsün Namkha Jikmé (1597–1654), a highly realized master and treasure revealer from Sikkim. The practice is most closely associated with the Nyingma school but is widely practiced across various Tibetan traditions due to its powerful and accessible benefits.

Riwo Sangchö integrates Dzogchen view with practical offerings, using fragrant smoke as a means to make offerings to the Three Jewels, Three Roots, protectors, local spirits, and all sentient beings. A key aspect of the practice is the clearing of karmic debts (ལས་རྒྱུན་), which manifest as spiritual, emotional, or physical obstacles in one's life. By making offerings through smoke, practitioners reconcile with karmic creditors (ལས་གྲོགས་), harmonize with local energies, and open the path to spiritual clarity.

Riwo Sangchö is often performed on mountains or rooftops to send the offerings skyward, symbolizing the vastness of generosity and the aspiration to benefit all beings. It is commonly practiced during auspicious days, retreats, or to dispel illness, misfortune, and energetic disturbances in one's environment.

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The complete English translation of this text is available at the Lotsawa House, a repository of translations. We gratefully acknowledge their work in making this text available.

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Riwo Sangchö - Mountain Smoke Offering

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