home altar

[Amelia]

Re: home altar

I don't know. Words are just words. Names are just names. The Dao that can be named is not the Dao. :P

Re: home altar

Jinyu's description is pretty accurate. It is not too different from Buddhism (and yet very different from Buddhism!). There are the concepts of karma and oneness, there is also ahimsa. There are meditation practices and all that... There is just a lot more of that New Age flavor that turn a lot away. I like to think that I was a Wiccan without a bunch of frills. I hardly did ritual-- what I was interested in was meditation and learning. I also wanted to know if there were certain patterns of thought which would create certain situations in my life, and I can't deny that "magic", however it works, has some effect. To me though, it is just further evidence to suggest that we are what we think. No rituals needed-- no worship of any particular deity. However, I don't really consider myself having switched from one religion to another-- it's more like I enjoy learning about all religions, I keep the information I like and find useful, and I let go of the rest, or pick it up again when appropriate. Right now, I am finding Buddhism most useful, though I also really enjoy Daoism.

I wonder if Wicca is a bit like Taoism in drag....like a western version of Taoism....just a thought.

Chet

[Amelia]

Re: home altar

Jinyu's description is pretty accurate. It is not too different from Buddhism (and yet very different from Buddhism!). There are the concepts of karma and oneness, there is also ahimsa. There are meditation practices and all that... There is just a lot more of that New Age flavor that turn a lot away. I like to think that I was a Wiccan without a bunch of frills. I hardly did ritual-- what I was interested in was meditation and learning. I also wanted to know if there were certain patterns of thought which would create certain situations in my life, and I can't deny that "magic", however it works, has some effect. To me though, it is just further evidence to suggest that we are what we think. No rituals needed-- no worship of any particular deity. However, I don't really consider myself having switched from one religion to another-- it's more like I enjoy learning about all religions, I keep the information I like and find useful, and I let go of the rest, or pick it up again when appropriate. Right now, I am finding Buddhism most useful, though I also really enjoy Daoism.

[Jinyu]

Re: home altar

Amelia,

Can you explain to me how you went from Wicca to Zen? I can hardly think of two more different religions.

No judgement, just puzzlement.

Chet

I know people who were wiccans in their adolescence and came to practice Buddhism, especially Vajrayana Buddhism to be honest.
They shared that Wiccan practices opened their eyes about the beauty of rituals, that the dual practice of the "Great Mother" and the "Horned God" was transcended into a certain sense of unity, that the community was also essential and that the core of the practice was something like "If you harm no one do what you want".
And all these things are used, with Tibeto-indian archetypes in the path of transformation of Vajrayana Buddhism. Even the credo of harming no one is called the "source or core precept in Vajrayana Buddhism".

Now I don't want to talk for Amelia, and Zen has not all these esoteric aspects (well, esoteric practices and rituals exists in modern Chinese Chan but they are not the core of the practice, they are more rituals and expedient means, upayas, that were added when esoteric Buddhism was the mainstream school in China).

Anyway, hope that helps a little bit...
Have a nice day everyone!

gassho,
Jinyu

Re: home altar

Amelia,

Can you explain to me how you went from Wicca to Zen? I can hardly think of two more different religions.

No judgement, just puzzlement.

Chet

[joshbrown]

Re: home altar

[Amelia]

Re: home altar

Julia,

I am really trying to minimize on my objects, and one of the things I am trying to do in the process is only keep things out which I find pleasing to the eye, or things that are used very often, and then craftily hide everything else in cabinets and such if they can't be got rid of or given away. My altar is starting to become a subject of minimalist stress to me because I don't actually do anything at my altar. When I was Wiccan, even, I didn't feel like ritual was something necessary beyond just having an intention for something. So, these days, when I am feeling like giving thanks, or praising the beauty of the world, or meditating, I still don't go to my altar-- I'll hold my hands together for a moment and "think out" to the world how grateful I am-- or how I am hoping for healing somewhere or for someone-- or how I really could use a more lucrative job situation... then I just try to continue flowing in the Dao-stream...

Whenever I see my altar, I am reminded of the fact that I don't use it. Then, I ask myself, "Why do I even have an altar?" Well, I guess the answer is simple... I like the objects, they are pleasing to my eye, because it definitely isn't around because I use it for anything. Even when I sit, it is never in the same place on my floor.

It seems the moment I try to ritualize anything-- even bowing Gassho-- an alarm goes off in my head that says, "You're playing copy-cat-- the true meaning is in the intention!"

Amelia

[murasaki]

Re: home altar

Chris -- I've got a beginner's mind just like that! Your altar is fantastic.

Amelia, it's always been interesting to me to consider the decorative aspects vs. the utilitarian aspects of having an altar. I haven't posted a picture of mine yet (that's forthcoming) but I sometimes feel like I've "dressed it up" too much. I try to keep it simple, but I definitely have an aesthetically sensitive streak in me that wants to make everything around me pretty. :roll: One of these days I should maybe just strip it down a bit, get rid of a couple of things and feel the space that's left, and breathe.

Gassho
Julia

[Amelia]

Re: home altar

I have a little Wiccan stool altar made of wood with a bunch of crystals and rocks I've collected and a little Tara Buddha statue. There is also a candle. It changes a lot, since it is more of a decorative piece than a mediation focus.

Amelia

[Seiryu]

Re: home altar

Me too Chris, that is a great altar!!

Gassho

Seiryu

[Myozan Kodo]

Re: home altar

Love the altar Chris. Perfect.
Soen

[ChrisA]

Re: home altar

I can't believe I used the word "permanent"! ops: My beginner's mind requires no effort whatsoever!!

[Jundo]

Re: home altar

I have yet to figure out the best way for a permanent altar

As Magnificent as a Cathedral! Lovely!

There are no "permanent" altars, only "timeless" altars. 8)

Gassho, J

[ChrisA]

Re: home altar

A very different set-up in my home. I sit in the study, which has large picture windows facing the back yard. For logistical reasons (two kids and a dog) I have yet to figure out the best way for a permanent altar, and I tend toward minimalism in general. So here's the set-up:



Folding step-stool with two levels. I use the lower one for liturgical reading materials (that's Daido Loori's book and a printout of the Heart Sutra). The upper level looks like this:



The fabric is one of those Japanese prints (whose Japanese name I have forgotten; if anyone knows please share) that we bought at Isetan in Tokyo. It had been sitting in a drawer until I found it when looking for something to put over the step, and it's pretty perfect for the purpose, with little fish and bubbles in a steam motif. Atop that is a couple of river stones, one small one propping up the larger front one.

It's hard to see in the image, but beneath the rocks sits a small piece of paper folded in half. My daughter wrote the words "this here now" on it, and I've stuck it there. Just a little reminder.

The whole thing, of course, is just a raft, and I expect it will shift as my practice develops. But for now it's doing the trick.

[Fuken]

Re: home altar

I am interested in that Avalokiteshvara. would you post a close-up?

Thanks, there was a similar image at the temple I used to visit in Portland. Sometimes I enjoy the nostalgia.