Page 3 of 7 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast
Results 101 to 150 of 318

Thread: home altar

  1. #101

    Re: home altar

    Quote Originally Posted by lipor
    This is my little altar at home...but it is a work in progress, as many as the things I still have to finish :wink:

    As my Buddha I chose three stones from my favorite place in town ... they remind me of the three refuges, and the balance with always possibility of falling (which sometimes happens ops: ), the impermanence of things and that everything in this universe actually is sacred.
    i like your buddha

  2. #102

    Re: home altar

    Quote Originally Posted by Jigme
    Not in the Zen tradition, so I hope you don't mind my sharing. This is the spot
    in my home-office where I sit.
    That is fantasic, and I doubt anyone minds you sharing it. I for one thank you _/_

  3. #103

    Re: home altar

    Haven’t looked at this thread in a while and I am so inspired…..from the use of old furniture to the simple barebones….ornate it’s all covered here. I’ve been going to get around to an alter for a long time, but got to get busy with it. OK don’t look for anything soon, but it’s going to happen.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jigme
    Not in the Zen tradition, so I hope you don't mind my sharing. This is the spot
    in my home-office where I sit.
    Not at all...your post was a nice surprise!

    Gassho,
    Jisen/BrianW

  4. #104

    Re: home altar

    Here's mine, which is very much a work in progress:



    The Jizo on the left is a representation of what led me to Buddhism and was one of my birthday presents this year from my husband. The little Jizo on the right is one that I made and I love his simplicity, cheerfulness and little toes! I also made the little lotus flower votive holder, and while it's not perfect, it's pretty and hides the fact that I'm not using a real candle. My husband has a serious fear of fire and I will not scare him with a candle that his OCD will cause him to check on several times a day! The coaster-like item on the left is a stone coaster with a dragonfly on it, and the brown stone on the right by my homemade Jizo is picture jasper which looks as though there's a mountain against a stormy sky. The yellow votive in front of the lotus is a honeysuckle candle and that, and my OM solid perfume is my substitution for incense (for the same reason as the fake candle). The painting of the birch/aspen trees behind the Buddha is another representation of nature (I love trees and those are by far my favourites!) and at the same time, a nod to Treeleaf. And lastly, the elephant simply balances the size of my large Jizo and is safe from breakage from it's previous home.



    It took me a long time to find a Buddha I liked that was "correct" in my mind. It is bronze and could be very old, with what I suspect is an artist's mark on the bottom of it. I am very happy with it, while it is not stone as I would have liked (or even a facsimile of stone, such as it is!), it has some weight to it and therefore, substance.

    As I said, it is a work in progress. I'm ashamed to say that my altar is built upon a leaf from an old table, which sits upon a cardboard box which sits upon a blue storage tote. We haven't accumulated much furniture since we moved and that was what was necessary to elevate it to the correct height. I hope to design and build my own table/altar for it, and soon! : )

    Gassho,

    Lisa

  5. #105

    Re: home altar

    Lisa,

    That's great, I love Jizo, you probably know that already.

    Gassho
    Gary

  6. #106

    Re: home altar

    Lisa;

    Your altar is beautiful. You have put together articles that have meaning to you and make a wonderful space.

  7. #107

    Re: home altar

    Shokai exactly expressed my feelings. Wonderful Lisa,
    Gassho
    Myoku

    inspired me to finally show mine as well:



    a selfmade (by my daughter and son; and a bit of me) buddha in the middle; my very first buddha to the right (hardly to see as its pretty small), all arranged on a former footstool.

  8. #108

    Re: home altar

    Lisa, I love your altar, and the picture of the back is really beautiful and serene

    Myoku's altar is great too That Buddha is unique, good work

  9. #109

    Re: home altar

    Quote Originally Posted by ZenHarmony
    . And lastly, the elephant simply balances the size of my large Jizo and is safe from breakage from it's previous home.
    Hi Lisa,

    Lovely, one does not need a reason to have an elephant on the altar ... for all creatures are sacred, are Buddha!

    But here are a few Buddhist elephant stories. 8)

    https://www.google.com/search?source=ig ... CknrZuS4VE

    Gassho, J

  10. #110

    Re: home altar

    Lisa, your elephant is beautiful! Thinking of elephants reminded me of Dr. Seuss' Horton the Elephant who sat and sat and was faithful 100%. Love, Grace.

    P.S. please forgive my typing and spaces.

  11. #111

    Re: home altar

    Thank you everyone for your kind responses!

    Myoku, I love your footstool/altar, that's the exact rustic wooden-ness I want as well.
    That Buddha is perfect, and the branch in the wooden holder just seems to fit right in.

    Gassho,

    Lisa

  12. #112
    altar_1.jpgaltar_2.jpg

    A little late for sure but I hope you won't mind.

    Gassho,

    Mike
    To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
    -Dhp. 183
    My Practice Blog

  13. #113
    Wonderful, Mike,
    is that buddha made of brass ? Want one too :-)
    _()_
    Myoku

  14. #114


    A butsudan I made for Hospice work, with battery-operated candles and liquid incense reeds; no open flames allowed.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Emmet; 06-20-2012 at 06:21 PM.
    Emmet

  15. #115
    One of our backyard nāgas taking refuge...



    Last edited by Emmet; 08-04-2013 at 12:43 AM.
    Emmet

  16. #116
    Mike, you have a neat looking altar I would like to find a bell like yours but had no luck so far :P

    Piobair, I like very much your altar, I am planning a cabinet with doors like that somewhere near this summer, and your garden Buddha is great too, I have one a little different, will post a picture as soon as I get home
    Thank you for your practice

  17. #117
    I love seeing everybody's altars, each one is so special and unique and beautiful in its own way. I like to collect buddha figures so I have a little display cubes in the wall where I keep some of them. However, I just got a nice wooden table at Winners (discount store in North America) and set up an altar a few weeks ago. And I found my buddha on the way out the store for dirt cheap. I like to think I 'rescued' him

    Anyway, here is a picture of my little altar and a picture of the hallway beside it where I (rarely) sit. I need to start sitting daily and work my way up to twice daily. Baby steps :-)

    altar.jpghallway.jpg

  18. #118
    It is Myoku. I think it's a Chinese style looking at the robes and it's definitely solid brass.

    Gassho,

    Mike
    To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
    -Dhp. 183
    My Practice Blog

  19. #119
    Quote Originally Posted by lipor View Post
    Mike, you have a neat looking altar I would like to find a bell like yours but had no luck so far :P

    Piobair, I like very much your altar, I am planning a cabinet with doors like that somewhere near this summer, and your garden Buddha is great too, I have one a little different, will post a picture as soon as I get home
    Lipor,

    Thanks. They sell them online at a few different stores. PM me if you want the link.

    Gassho,

    MIke
    To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
    -Dhp. 183
    My Practice Blog

  20. #120
    Chatteringmokeys,

    Beautiful altar! Is that In the Buddha's Words or Great Disciples of the Buddha on the lower shelf? Mettaya.

    Gassho,

    Mike
    To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
    -Dhp. 183
    My Practice Blog

  21. #121
    Thank you Mike. It's In the Buddha's Words. I just got it a week ago and I want to work my way through it (bit by bit). Although things have been kind of crazy lately with summer school, so "leisure" reading is taking a bit of a hit right now

    Gassho,
    Darrell

  22. #122
    Quote Originally Posted by chatteringmonkeys View Post
    Thank you Mike. It's In the Buddha's Words. I just got it a week ago and I want to work my way through it (bit by bit). Although things have been kind of crazy lately with summer school, so "leisure" reading is taking a bit of a hit right now

    Gassho,
    Darrell
    Thank you, Darrell. I very much love that book, In The Buddha's Words. Remember that the book expresses the Buddhist Teachings from the South Asian Sutta Tradition, and Buddha and Sutras come in many flavors. All lovely flavors.

    Here is a little reading that may help you with a bit of history and tradition as you dive into all these "Same but different, different but just the same" Buddhas and Teachings ...

    http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showt...-ENLIGHTENMENT

    Gassho, Jundo
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  23. #123
    Hi Jundo,
    thanks so much for the link! I love reading about the various traditions and different sutras.

    Gassho,
    D-

  24. #124
    ImageUploadedByTapatalk1342288678.596463.jpg
    Just got my portable altar sorted at last. I have a large Buddha in the centre that I like because he's touching the earth reminding me to always remain grounded in the present, there is almost a smaller Buddha towards the back which I think is more traditional to Zen, he's the guy who comes with me when I'm away from home. There are 2 stones from our local beach one has a hole through it that symbolises an Enso, of course an image of Avalokiteshvara and finally a vanilla scented candle.

    Gassho
    Gary
    Drinking tea and eating rice.

  25. #125
    Love the simple clear setup
    _()_
    Myoku

  26. #126
    Very nice, Gary! Love the beach stones.

    Gassho,

    Lisa

  27. #127
    Lovely altar Gary - have just been scrolling through as missed this thread.

    Your altar is very thoughtful Lisa - has inspired me to put a bit more thought into mine.

    Gassho

    Willow

  28. #128
    Last year my wife suggested that as the practice is such a central part of our lives, we rework and relocate our altar so that it is the central feature of the central room of the house; the "heart" of our home. With the exception of the Buddha, most everything has been gradually accumulated second-hand from thrift stores and whatnot. One of the things I like is the fold-down, slide-out rakuzu drawer.





    Last edited by Emmet; 08-04-2013 at 12:38 AM.
    Emmet

  29. #129
    Love it, Piobair, especially the steps up to the Buddha! Now that I have access to wood, I'll need to make something similar.

    Gassho,

    Lisa

  30. #130
    Quote Originally Posted by ZenHarmony View Post
    Love it, Piobair, especially the steps up to the Buddha! Now that I have access to wood, I'll need to make something similar.

    Gassho,

    Lisa
    Thank you. The platform was originally cardboard & tape; trimmed and reconfigured until the layout and proportions suited us. The final version is 3/4" and 1/2" oak plywood, with oak veneer edge banding. I was fortunate to find a stain which very closely approximates the table top.
    Emmet

  31. #131
    This is not an altar, in the strict sense of the word. It is more of a small shrine that I keep in my front hallway. The altar in the room where i sit is less complicated.

    Gassho,

    William


    altar.jpg

  32. #132
    Here is mine, good old Sidharta sitting, as a reminder that Buddha is inside of all us. My "dharma pillow books" , space for inciense and my bowl. IMG_0274.jpg
    Dancing between stillness and motion I find peace.

  33. #133
    20130822_110507.jpg
    This is one way I have to show that Buddha lives at 164 Queen Street and gets dusted whether he not-needs it
    合掌,生開
    gassho, Shokai

    仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai

    "Open to life in a benevolent way"

    https://sarushinzendo.wordpress.com/

  34. #134
    I figured I would share my new "treeleaf friendly" alter for the start of Ango. The main alter is a cross section of a tree trunk that I stained and sealed. The stand was a cheap beat up flower pot stand. The small table is my laptop/candle/incense table for that hot G+ action!

    IMG_2472.jpgIMG_2474.jpg
    If I'm already enlightened why the hell is this so hard?

  35. #135
    You created a nice atmosphere there Catfish! I like warm wood tones, well done!

    Gassho

    Enkyo
    Mu

  36. #136
    Thats sweet Catfish, very nice alter.
    Gassho, Jakudo.
    Gassho, Shawn Jakudo Hinton
    It all begins when we say, “I”. Everything that follows is illusion.
    "Even to speak the word Buddha is dragging in the mud soaking wet; Even to say the word Zen is a total embarrassment."
    寂道

  37. #137
    Wow beautiful and warm

    Gassho
    Thank you for your practice

  38. #138
    knock-out beautiful table.
    and neither are they otherwise.


  39. #139
    Wow, Charles, that's really incredibly beau-ti-ful!


    Gassho,

    Timo
    no thing needs to be added

  40. #140
    I just moved house so have a new shrine arrangement:
    Shrine (with unpacked box next to it!)
    Calligraphy

    Gassho
    Andy

  41. #141
    Very cool, Andy. And if Buddha Nature pervades the entire universe, it's also in the unpacked box.

    Gassho,
    William
    "First you have to give up." Tyler Durden

  42. #142
    That is a very good way of looking at it, William!

  43. #143
    image.jpg

    studio altar
    Last edited by Oheso; 09-12-2013 at 08:46 PM.
    and neither are they otherwise.


  44. #144
    Hi, Koshin!

    I really love your altar. It's a poem for me, my friend. Very, very beautiful.

    Gassho.

    Quote Originally Posted by Koshin View Post
    This is my little altar at home...but it is a work in progress, as many as the things I still have to finish :wink:

    As my Buddha I chose three stones from my favorite place in town ... they remind me of the three refuges, and the balance with always possibility of falling (which sometimes happens ops: ), the impermanence of things and that everything in this universe actually is sacred.



    Attached files

  45. #145
    Treeleaf Unsui Shugen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Redding California USA

    home altar

    Very nice altars!


    Shugen
    Meido Shugen
    明道 修眼

  46. #146
    Treeleaf Engineer Seimyo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Yuba City, California, USA
    Really beautiful table Catfish. Actually just a really nice sitting area. Much nicer than my 70's shag.

    Gassho.
    Seimyo

    明 Seimyō (Christhatischris)

  47. #147
    Of course, Zen is not about furniture or Asian flavor. Even though most Buddhist temples tend to have nice ... unbelievably expensive ... furniture.



    On the other hand, it can be about Asian furniture (I have lots in my house, because I live in an old Japanese house).

    Putting the Buddha on a delicate Chinese table ... a cheap formica table ... putting Buddha on an old cardboard box ... just the old cardbox box alone ... just emptiness ... all the same really, if the heart is clear.

    Gassho, J
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  48. #148

  49. #149
    This is my set up in our family room.


    Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk 2
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Gassho, Shawn Jakudo Hinton
    It all begins when we say, “I”. Everything that follows is illusion.
    "Even to speak the word Buddha is dragging in the mud soaking wet; Even to say the word Zen is a total embarrassment."
    寂道

  50. #150
    Thank you everyone for sharing,
    very inspiring!
    Gassho
    Myoku

Page 3 of 7 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. RECOMMENDED 'At Home' Liturgy
    By Jundo in forum RECOMMENDED 'At Home' Liturgy
    Replies: 78
    Last Post: 03-16-2024, 07:26 AM
  2. Zen at home
    By Onken in forum Archive of Older Threads
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 08-08-2011, 07:27 PM
  3. How do you sit at home?
    By Dainin in forum Archive of Older Threads
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 07-10-2008, 06:01 PM
  4. Back Home
    By Jundo in forum Archive of Older Threads
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 06-12-2008, 08:39 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •