This is a traditional butter lamp, a ritual implement  used in Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout the  Himalayan region. Clarified yak butter, or ghee is  traditionally burned in the lamp, but vegetable oil is often used today. Butter lamps are believed to help focus the mind and aid meditation.

Offering lamps is also an important act for the Buddhist  practitioner. Offerings are made to bring success and prosperity,  to remove ignorance (lamps represent light and knowledge), and  to bestow blessings on loved ones who have died. In temples and monasteries, hundreds of lamps may often be  seen shining together before the sacred images, with each  lamp representing someone's heartfelt wish and devotion.