Lakpura Pirikara is a set of a Buddhist monk's everyday requisites, prepared as an offering to a temple or to members of the Sangha. In Sri Lanka such a set is presented at alms-givings, religious ceremonies and other Buddhist occasions, and giving it is regarded as an act of generosity and merit that supports monastic life.
The Ata Pirikara option is the traditional set of eight requisites. It brings together a double-layer robe and a single-layer robe, an inner robe, a waist belt, a needle with sewing thread, an alms bowl, a cloth for straining water and a shaving knife. Each of these is something a monk uses in daily life, which is why the eight-item set has long been treated as the fundamental form of the offering.
The Pirikara option is offered as a pirikara set of a monk's essential items, presented in the same ceremonial manner. Choose it when you want a pirikara offering without specifying the eight-requisite Ata Pirikara.
The set shown in the photographs is arranged for presentation. A lidded alms bowl with a golden lid sits on folded saffron-coloured robes inside a red and gold card tray, its sides printed with a gold frieze of a procession of figures and elephants. The whole offering is wrapped in clear film, held with a red band printed in Sinhala script and tied with a thin gold ribbon, so it can be handed over at the temple just as it arrives.
