I hope the previous articles on Offerings & Paying Respect is of some help to you all.
Let refresh!
All we need to do is to offer according to our means & with our hearts.
The shrines I have seen so far, lots of them not too good & the Divinities did not sit in to their respective statues as well.
1. In Taiwan, DD showed me his shrine at home [HK]. It is in a very bad state & I told him if I passed by HK next trip I go do something for him. I kept my promise & did a cleansing and then invoke the Divinities to please descend upon the shrine to accept offerings.
Problem: he has lots of statues, bells & etc that cluttered up the shrine. Then he has lots of posters or Thangha of Divinities hung all around. Lastly he did not clear away used containers of oil & etc. further cluttering the shrine. Some vase of his blocked Amitabha Buddha's poster partly. He place any statues he got hold of on the shrine whenever he likes. HE also did not verify their origin & why others want to sell away or give away.
2. Another one full of statues & non sitting in too. Problem: The statues were moved in & out without first informing the Divinities to please move temporary back to Universe while you tidy the shrine. Disrespect for Divinities.
3. This one have some that are not placed correctly & simply rearranging them did the trick. I gave directions verbally after seeing a picture of the shrine in an iphone.
4. Another one immediately pushes his iphone in front of me & ask me to look.
This one is done by some "big shots" & my Dharma protectors warn me not to comment.
He is very rich & can afford to buy many statues & also specially custom a shrine too.
The "big shots" & senior Dharma students (took refuge more than 20years) helped him set up his shrine. What can a junior or freshie to TBS said???
Well, I had a brief glance. Padmasambhava is not too happy where he is & he is about to leave.
I think he has left because this happened last year.
5. This one has a postcard size picture of GM & mounted on a wooden stand. This is the only one in the shrine. There are lamps & offerings nicely placed.
Guru radiates brilliant golden-yellow light all around that shrine.
6. Mine in Malaysia. I have no statues to start with, so I pasted A4-sized pictures of various Divinities on the wall. Fellow Dharma student with "seeing" ability said she has not come upon such a good shrine in the past 10years.
7. T's one also blessed by the "big shots" & the Divinities have long gone. Did a cleansing too & re-invoke all the Divinities to descent upon the shrine to accept offerings.
8. R's only have one statue of Avalokitesvara & two serving attendants. This one also not conducive & Avalokitesvara left for sometime when I visited. I did a clean up too & re-invoke Avalokitesvara. R took refuge in TBS too.
When I took refuge, lots of well meaning fellow students told me I must have this one and that one then I can cultivate them as my Principal Divinities or Dharma Protectors.
Haha! Thank GM & all Divinities & Dharma Protectors, they are watching me well & I try my best to be "good".
Don't let others talk you into getting too much to clutter your shrine. These somehow clutters your life & your hearts.
Amituofo
Lotuschef
TBS
Pure Karma Vihara
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