Altar

[enci 1]

Hi ...

From the Buddhist perspective..

Absolutely no problem in suspending a Buddhist Altar in the middle of the air, importntly is to fit the house design instead of a big n ugly altar which is supposed to be "fengshui fit" .

To live in accordance with the Buddha's teachings, to understand and to have Faith and rejoice is the highest blessing and the best "fengshui"

More queries ?

Feel free to contact me

[foreverhappy 0]

HI all

I am new in this forumn.

I was told that the Altar has to face directly at the window. is it a must cos got space contraint.

[MaCe 3]

HI all

I am new in this forumn.

I was told that the Altar has to face directly at the window. is it a must cos got space contraint.

this is a very old thread from 2006...

altar should face the main door.

[karen77sg 0]

Bt I dun tink so rite?

Mine face the windows....

Cos of the design of the house...

And my FS master says its good to put in my current

position cos if face main door, my neighbours are very inconsiderate

to have bamboo sticks put in the corridor and directly facing into the direction

of my main door...Sianz.....So dun tink put my altar facing the main door cos

they r hanging bras and underwears....**** inconsiderate lor....

[ahnah 0]

this is a very old thread from 2006...

altar should face the main door.

Hmm.. normally.

Bt I dun tink so rite?

Mine face the windows....

Cos of the design of the house...

And my FS master says its good to put in my current

position cos if face main door, my neighbours are very inconsiderate

to have bamboo sticks put in the corridor and directly facing into the direction

of my main door...Sianz.....So dun tink put my altar facing the main door cos

they r hanging bras and underwears....**** inconsiderate lor....

Hmm.... face main door or face the main window is NOT A MUST rule.

It depends on many factor.

[Miu Miu 0]

My husb & I intend to have 4-faced buddha in our flat... Heard from frens that 4-faced buddha has to be placed outside the house which is near the door... We intend to put at the balcony as our flat's layout is once u enter the main door, is the balcony already but shoe cabinent will be at the balcony too.. Isit disrespectful?... Also, we need to need to "house" the buddha too... so it has to be suspended in the air too... Need some advice

[raincole 0]

For those who have altar in the house, what can I do if we don't want it in further? Must invite them out or what?

[ahnah 0]

raincole : invite them back to the temple lor.

Example. there is a very big Temple at Toa Payoh who had this service.

[MaCe 3]

Bt I dun tink so rite?

Mine face the windows....

Cos of the design of the house...

And my FS master says its good to put in my current

position cos if face main door, my neighbours are very inconsiderate

to have bamboo sticks put in the corridor and directly facing into the direction

of my main door...Sianz.....So dun tink put my altar facing the main door cos

they r hanging bras and underwears....**** inconsiderate lor....

1st choice is always main door. it will block off all unwanted things including the bamboos.

My husb & I intend to have 4-faced buddha in our flat... Heard from frens that 4-faced buddha has to be placed outside the house which is near the door... We intend to put at the balcony as our flat's layout is once u enter the main door, is the balcony already but shoe cabinent will be at the balcony too.. Isit disrespectful?... Also, we need to need to "house" the buddha too... so it has to be suspended in the air too... Need some advice

most would buy or custom make a PEDESTAL to put the 4facebuddha, not suspended.

just dont put the shoe cabinet near the pedestal and keep the area around it CLEAN at all times lor.

[karen77sg 0]

1st choice is always main door. it will block off all unwanted things including the bamboos.

most would buy or custom make a PEDESTAL to put the 4facebuddha, not suspended.

just dont put the shoe cabinet near the pedestal and keep the area around it CLEAN at all times lor.

Really ah? Bt Bo pian lor....altar already not in main door liao.....Dunno will offend

the buddha or not??

[enci 1]

Really ah? Bt Bo pian lor....altar already not in main door liao.....Dunno will offend

the buddha or not??

To be exact, the four faced deity is not a Buddha but a Brahma, a hindu cosmic deity which many folkslore Buddhists honours n revers.

True Buddhist respect deities (devas) but do not take refuge nor worship them, a Buddhist should honour the Triple Gems "Buddha, Dharma and Sangha" not chinese, thai, bon, hindu deities.

And in Buddhist concept, there is No fengshui or position that will offend the Buddha, becos Buddhists honour the statue of the Buddha in remembrance of the enlightended qualities of the Buddha as well as seeing the Buddha image will bring peace, serenity and happiness to the family and anyone who enters the house.

Pls note tat Taoist statues needs to go thru very proper procedures and positioning wheras Buddhas and Boddhisattvvas statues are not bonded by any taboos. For Buddhists, it is highly adviseable that you clean yr Buddha statue and altar (incense urner if u have one) very regularly, becos it is a "chore" that brings about ouf respect n faith in the Buddha.

And also, in Buddhism, there is no such beleifs that we cannot move the Buddha statue up and down to clean and leaving all the dust n dirt on the statue untill the end of the year or 1st n 15th then to clean it, these are more inclined to taoist and folks religion beliefs.

Many Buddhists are afraid to honour the Buddha statue at home becos they r afraid that an altar will make their house look odd or the incence, oil lamps etc will make the house stain and dirty.. So let me break this myth, to honour the Buddha, u can forgo the incense urner, oils lamps, fruits or watever u dislike ... for me, my Buddha statue will be incoprated into my design and there r no urners or oils lamps ... only a simple cup of water (oh pls .. mine is a crystal cup not those chinese prayer teacups) and sometimes, i will buy some nic flowers n offer a few tealight candles during my personal prayers ... its really no myth and no taboo and no restrctions

Buddha does not get angry over such things ... its a respectful heart of Faith n Joy that we honour and recieve the blessings from Him ...

[badger 0]

Hi enci,

Buddhist should honour the Triple Gems "Buddha, Dharma and Sangha" not chinese, thai, bon, hindu deities

Please mind your word ! Buddha 佛 or Bodhisattva 菩薩 will not mind but not the 鬼神 / 金剛護法, 不可得罪 you better repent for what you say.

四面佛是大梵天王, 在初禪的大梵天, 要尊敬 !

I don’t agree to what you say, everyone have a choice to choose who we worship. Does that mean that if I worship to Elephant God ( a Hindu deity, if not sure ask about the deity background ) am I consider weird or wrong ? No, we respect all individual decision and we pay respect & honour all religious higher being.

There are some people who have special affinity to certain deity and so they choose to worship, there are definitely valid reason behind it. We are all mortals, we do not know the past life history or connection, so respect individual rights.

佛法八萬四千法門為治眾生八萬四千種病, so let not be restrictive, choose wisely.

And in Buddhist concept, there is No fengshui or position that will offend the Buddha,

You are right to say Buddha will not get offended but it is more to do with the human, fengshui is just part & parcel of life, a rule of thumb is not to associate fengshui as a sure make money or wealth generating machine. It about maintaining harmony, peace & state of mind. There is nothing wrong in applying fengshui to your house whether you are Buddhist or non-buddhist follower.

Pls note tat Taoist statues needs to go thru very proper procedures and positioning wheras Buddhas and Boddhisattvvas statues are not bonded by any taboos.

You are wrong, there are procedure for Buddhas and Boddhisattvvas, you don’t just place Buddhas and Boddhisattvvas any place you want, the day is important and more crucial is to 開光, normally done by a monk or someone qualified, this is not done by any people, because if you do it wrongly, you will summon the wrong 神明 or 佛菩薩

Many Buddhists are afraid to honour the Buddha statue at home becos they r afraid that an altar will make their house look odd or the incence, oil lamps etc will make the house stain and dirty.. So let me break this myth, to honour the Buddha, u can forgo the incense urner, oils lamps, fruits or watever u dislike ... for me, my Buddha statue will be incoprated into my design and there r no urners or oils lamps ... only a simple cup of water (oh pls .. mine is a crystal cup not those chinese prayer teacups) and sometimes, i will buy some nic flowers n offer a few tealight candles during my personal prayers ... its really no myth and no taboo and no restrctions

Hello if you want to do it your own way by offering a simple crystal cup of water, then do it, let not discourage others, I don’t care what made is yours, what is important here is sincereity.

Again each of us have a choice to chose what we want to offer to 佛菩薩, even a broken porcelain cheap cup will still do the job, it the heart that counts. Please offer real thing !

[snowiee 2]

Hi, May i know can an altar table be facing a mirror?

[enci 1]

Badger,

I think u have seriously forgotten your refuge vows

弟子XX尽形寿唯当归依佛法僧三宝不侍诸天鬼神等众 。。。。 大梵天也好功德天也罢帝释天。。佛教里的28诸天是接受了婆罗门教的思想而建立所以佛教从来不否定诸天善神的存在而是要把佛教信仰的中心点建立在于三宝。 佛说人生有八难其中之一就是生于长寿天为什么呢因为一个佛教徒如果远离了三宝而开始把鬼神都变成佛教的供养对象就是堕入六趣的开始。 佛陀在祝福经里劝导善信要礼敬诸天因为天人有福报。可是佛陀却郑重的提醒佛教徒不应该归依诸天乃至侍奉及供养诸天而应该广种三宝福田将此功德回向诸天得闻佛法得解脱乐。 天人五衰你懂吧 Well, it is up to indiviual if one wanna apply fengshui or not ... BUT the impt thing i as a Buddhist need to make it clear is that fengshui is not something associated with Buddhism, neither fengshui beliefs or practises are taught by the Buddha. The Buddha taught that no external power is greater than the power of self ! 再来佛说八万四千法门是比喻方法众多(佛的三说 <现量比量圣言量) 。。可是你必须认清什么才是法门不是路边的土地神印度教的象身乃至任何鬼神都放进佛教的香炉里佛法接受它教的存在与价值不过从来不混淆佛法的真谛 开光 谁能为大觉的佛陀开光 是开佛的光明还是自性的光明呢 The Buddha never taught any auspicious date or auspicious hour to honour statues ! and worst of all, statues of Buddha only appeared 500 years after Buddha's Nibbana ... b4 that were all symbols being in memory of the buddha !! And PLEASE !! who says that buddhas and Boddhisattvas are to be summoned ??? 佛是尽虚空遍法界 。。。无处不在 PLS do not mix taoist or chinese folks beleifs into Buddhism ... I wun stop anyone from makin any kind of offerings ... it is a good issue to make sincere offerings to Buddha ... my concern here is that MANY COUPLES choose not to put a Buddhist altar becos it makes the house looks odd, I am provding a alternative for our modern couples here to continue the practise and uphold the Buddhist faith into yr new modern homes without much traditional packages... esp when Buddhists has often been mixed with folks chinese beliefs .. And let me clarify, i am not promoting high end crystal cups offering here ... ANY forms of sincere ofering, even a paper cup will gain vast merits !!! The story of the woman who made a lamp as compared to the king's thousand lamp and yet, her lamp grew brighter and longer than the king's thousand lamp .. WHY ? its becos the Faith that keeps the single lamp burning while the King's thousand lamp are burnt using oil.

Homage to Lord Buddha !

Hi, May i know can an altar table be facing a mirror?

if u r honouring a Buddhist statue ... no problem ... if taoist one .. must seek professional advise then ...

[badger 0]

Hi enci,

No I have not forgotten my vow. Each school of thought is different. 你是修哪一個法門 ?

归依佛法僧三宝 correct, the fundamental must be there, however Buddha also show compassion, why 佛法八萬四千法門 that is to say there are more than 1 way to reach the final destination or achieve enlightenment and the Heaven is not just confine to 阿彌陀佛, 觀世音菩薩佛土, there are many level.

Depending on what you practice, you will be accorded accordingly. 鬼神等众 is important, they can help you in your 修行 don’t look down on them and vice versa if you achieve enlightenment, they will also benefit as well. 修行路難走, you will need all the help you can get, especially 土地公 / 福德正神

安土地真言咒语 ( 這個咒語，可以改變命運 )

南无三满哆。毋驮喃。唵。度鲁度鲁。地尾萨婆诃

红财神 or elephant god in Hindu or 印度教的象身 as you mention, it origin

红财神是五姓财神之一，为金刚萨埵之化现,他身为红色，因此而得名为红财神。

Who is 金刚萨埵, find out yourself.

雪域佛教所称的王族萨迦世系祖师们所传承的教诲中，有红财神的密修方法及教言。这种密修教诲由智慧空行瑜伽主布阿巴(八十大成就者之一)首先传给了班智达嘎呀巴拉，此后再传弟子有卓米译师、阿里慧精、吉曲哇、萨欠上师、莲花生、密勒日巴等。藏传佛教五姓财神中，绿财神及红财神是双尊拥抱的形象，其余的三财神是单身象所现。这位红财神是萨迦派密法中的一位功德无比的财神，他有能招聚人、财、食等诸受用自在富饶之功德。

红财神一面二臂，二目善怒面，以各种宝物为饰，五佛冠为首饰。右手拥抱明妃持如意宝物，左手轻抓口吐珠宝灰鼠。左脚内屈，右脚半屈，与佛母双运，以如意姿安坐莲花月轮上。佛母“兴旺母”，身红色，一面二臂。右手持如意宝，表示施给修行者如意财宝，左手持盛满甘露的颅器，表示给众生甘露之成就。双脚左伸，右缠抱父佛，双尊以妙法大乐与智慧光明空性等之妙法智慧二者归於一性而现。

佛经中讲修习此法，持诵念咒，可获得红财神庇佑，能财源茂盛，免除穷困及一切经济竭蹶。佛经中又讲，修此法分为三等，超出一般的至高无上者可获不共成就，介於中间者可获转轮王之成就，劣等者也可获得满足食物的欲望。

開光佛像, 可以召請佛菩萨的靈光降临. Agree that 佛是尽虚空，遍法界 。。。无处不在 however if that 佛像 is not 開光 at all, then it remain in doubt who are you praying to, although on the surface it is 药师佛, but do you know that other than 佛菩萨 , there are others who can also occupy this statue ? Let me ask you why 佛牙寺佛菩萨 need to 開光 ?

Well, whatever I say you will never agree with me because 我是修密法的, so our belief & practice is different. 修法不要那麼執著, 要學會變通 !

Let the reader have a choice and let them choose wisely.