Of course, the radiant and perfect bodies of the awakened ones have no real need of an ordinary perfume in their experience of spontaneous perfection, but we make the offering so that temporarily all negative patterns may be purified, such as aggression, ignorance and attachment, and that ultimately not only the habitual patterns of beings but also the outer environment may become purified and perfected. The seventh offering is the offering of food. The awakened ones have no need to indulge in material food offerings, but the purpose of such offerings made to the enlightened objects of refuge is to temporarily relieve suffering that beings experience through hunger and starvation, and to bring about an abundance of food. Ultimately, the offering is made so that beings may experience the perfect state of meditation, of samadhi, and that all beings may live on the spontaneous food of meditation. It is important that one knows the purpose and symbolism of these offerings, and that whether one is able to offer one single bowl or many, one realizes that the importance lies in the attitude with which one makes the offering to the enlightened objects of the refuge, the sources of all inspiration.
Offering is an occasion for the accumulation of inexhaustible merit.
One offers what one can. The more sincerely offerings are made, the more one will find themselves surrounded by an abundance of what has been offered. Making the seven offerings is not just a limited cultural thing, relating only to a tradition or cultural ritual. If that were all it signified, then it would be a waste of time to discuss it in a teaching session. But it is something that is universally important and meaningful.