fruit offerings at Dharma Drum

Spent the day volunteering at Dharma Drum with the fruit offerings. Volunteers make towers of oranges, dragonfruit, pears, and guava in a big warehouse to offer to Buddha. They are very careful, removing the ones with spots; they want them to be beautiful. Sun Far says that lunch offerings are made every day to the Buddha, but special fruit offerings are made on the 1st and 15th of the month as well as on birthdays and deaths of Bodhisattvas. Offerings are a show of respect and appreciation but not thought to be eaten by bodhisattvas or providing nourishment - two people said, "of course, they do not need to eat."