household Buddhist alter?

Question

In Japan people have a household Buddist alter in their house.
Do Indian Buddist have one in their house, too?
Is it unique to Japan only?

Answer 1

Buddhist altar. Yes, most of the asian buddhist have one at home.

www.meditationthai.org

Answer 2

I live in the U.S. and was born here. Study Theravada Buddhism and Hindu. I have 3 altars in my house. One is to Ganesh and it's very simple. Just a yellow pillar candle with incense. One is to the Buddha of healing and that has a small candle with another matrix of candles and an incense holder. My other altar has shiva and shakti and I actually have Jesus on that altar as well with lots of really beautiful crystals, candles and other things.
All altars have flowers or some sort of offering. That's just what I do in my house. I really love altars. My aunt is a buddhist and she has an altar. I would say that most of the Lamas I know have altars. They are very simple.

Answer 3

They have somethings that iconically relates to their inner feelings of reality just as the Buddhist in Japan.

Answer 4

In the U.S. SGI Buddhists have an alter
in their homes that they use when chanting,
the scroll inside of it is called a Gohonzon.

Answer 5

I live in the USA so I really cannot say whether Buddhists in India have home altars. Anyway, a home shrine is not unique to Japan since I have one in my home.

Personally, I prefer to call my shrine/altar a "Special Place of Tranquility" or SPOT as explained by the BRIGHT DAWN Institute for American Buddhism. The terms "altar" and "shrine" tend to cause confusion among non-Buddhists as to what it implies. For example, when I was buying brocade at a local craft store as an altar cloth for my meditation area, a fellow customer asked me what I was making. I received some very strange looks when I replied it was for my home altar. Ever since this incident, I refer to my meditation area merely as my "Special Place of Tranquility" (SPOT).

Not surprisingly, since Buddhism is evolving in the West, we are seeing differences in the Buddhism practiced in Western countries. For example, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen Buddhist monk from Vietnam, states in his book Living Buddha, Living Christ that he has incorporated "…on the altar of my hermitage in France…statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas and also an image of Jesus Christ. I do not feel any conflict within me. Instead I feel stronger because I have more than one root." (Riverhead Books, NY)

Dr. Yutang Lin in the picture for his article Keeping a Record of Impermanence (which is available free on the Internet at http://www.yogichen.org/efiles/e0009.html) shows on his Buddhist shrine a crucifix.

Perhaps you can see from these examples there is a continued evolution of Buddhism especially in the West. Buddhism is a living and, as such, an evolving belief structure.

My personal feeling is that if one is to set a place for home meditation in the Buddhist tradition it should be done simply at first. A statue or picture of the Buddha Shakyamuni in a quiet area is sufficient until one decides upon which Buddhist tradition he/she intends to follow.

Remember that this is a place for home veneration and not for home decoration. As such, it should be located in a private place.

H. H. the Dalai Lama cautions, however, the primary importance for every Buddhist is studying the writings of the Buddha and texts written by teachers.

"It wouldn't be bad if you didn't have statues, but it has become indispensable to have Buddhist texts which deal with the structured path to train our mind. If you have Buddhist texts, read them for yourselves and to friends who visit. That way you can help others to understand Buddhist ideas. For instance, it is interesting to read Milarepa's life story and songs. We find in them many enlightening lessons. Buddha's image alone will not purify us of karmic obscuration…. It is very important to study the scriptures. They are not to be just stacked up on the altar. They must be cultivated in our mind. …[we] take great interest in having the symbolic representations of Buddha's body, speech and mind. I feel it is more important to acquire and read scriptures, the symbolic representations of his speech. You can pay homage to them, you can make offerings to them; above all, you should study them."

In general, however, how you set up your area of meditation is personal in the West. When I was first setting up my Special Place of Tranquility, I e-mailed a Tibetan monastery regarding the proper placement of the rupas (statues) in my care. The following concluded the bhikkhu's reply, "As long as your motivation is good, then the rest is not so important."

May all be at peace.

John

Any errors contained herein are due to my own carelessness.

Answer 6

I know some Chinese and Vietnamese who have it as well.