History
The tradition of using offering cakes pre-dates Tibetan Buddhism, though traditional Indian offering cakes — called bali or balingha in Sanskrit — are flat instead of conical.
The Tibetan term comes from the root gtor-ba which means to "cast away, break up, or scatter". This implies both a sense of offering and of letting go or non-attachment.

Variations
Tormas have different uses. Some are created and placed on shrines for ceremonies or to represent deities. Others are used in feast practice and consumed by practitioners during the practice. Others are made to appease spirits, accumulate merit, or remove obstacles. They are mostly made of barley flour and butter, but traditionally other ingredients such as egg, milk, sugar, honey, and even meat may be included depending upon the purpose of the torma.

Deity tormas
Deity tormas (Wylie: rten gtor) are kept on the shrine, and represent a particular tantric deity. These tormas vary in complexity from a very simple cone painted white for peaceful deities like Tara and Avalokiteshvara, to very complex designs for semi-wrathful deities like Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara.
Food tormas
Food tormas (Wylie: skang gtor) are used in feast practices and are consumed partially by practitioners during the feast, with leftovers (Wylie: dme gtor) offered to lower beings after being blessed. In some traditions, food tormas are now made with more contemporary ingredients whereas others stay faithful to the barley flour tradition.

Offering tormas
Offering tormas may be made for and offered to deities (Wylie: sgrub gtor / mchod gtor), to Dharma Protectors, to obstructing spirits, or to other lower beings. Torma for obstructing spirits are called gektor (Wylie: gegs gtor).

Medicinal torma
A torma may be used in Tibetan medicine to extract an illness from a patient as a cure. The torma is then cast away.

Captured torma
A captured torma (Wylie: gta' gtor) may be used to speed completion of activities, by planning to offer the torma at the completion of the activity thereby encouraging successful activity.

Inner, secret and very secret torma
Practicing meditation with deity visualization is considered a form of torma offering, though no physical cake is created and then offered. Similarly, offering one's internal emotional and mental experiences and experience of suchness are non-physical forms of torma offerings.

Pilgrims also provide lamp oil in order to achieve virtue. The real lamps are managed by the monks at the monastery, who take great care to prevent igniting one of the tragic fires that have ravaged numerous monasteries over the years. Butter lamps are occasionally confined to a separate courtyard enclosure with a stone floor for safety reasons.

Some Pictures




The lights seemed to be banishing darkness from the outside. In terms of concept, they change ordinary matter into illumination, a transition analogous to the quest for enlightenment. They esoterically evoke the tummo yoga energy of Naropa's Six Yogas, an essential text for the Kagyu, Gelug, and Sakya schools of tantric Buddhism.

The different stone settings on top of the imitation amber vessel add an extra element of beauty and elegance to the piece. These stones can include a variety of different colors and types, such as turquoise, coral, and lapis lazuli. The stones are carefully selected and placed in intricate patterns and designs that are meant to enhance the overall aesthetic of the vessel.

In Tibetan religious practices, these flower vessels are typically used as a way to show respect and devotion to various deities. They are often used in rituals and ceremonies and can be found on altars in temples, homes, and other places of worship. These vessels are not only beautiful and unique, but they also serve a meaningful and important purpose in the religious practices of the Tibetan people.