Engraving Plates

Buddhists- What should I put in my shrine?

I wanted to make a little Buddhist shrine in my room, what do you think I should get? I already found a beautiful swastika engraved plate, and some carvings of the eight symbols. What else?

My own altars (I have two in my house) reflect both my inspirations and aspirations for practice.

I always appreciate seeing images of the people in my life who inspire my practice – my teacher, my family – and also objects from the natural world in which we all live. So my altars have items that reflect these inspirations.

Also, my altars have statues of the Buddha – including one made by my daughter when she was young – that focus my aspirations, or what I hope to offer through my practice.

Personal altars can be personal in this way. A statue or image of the Buddha or a bodhisattva can be wonderful, but perhaps the same quality could be created by a beautiful stone or plant. Your engraved plant sounds lovely, along with any other symbols that have personal meaning to you.

Traditional altars have symbols of the four elements on them. Fire, represented by candles. Air, represented by incense and an incense burner. Water, represented by a bowl of fresh water. And Earth, represented by flowers, a plant, or a bowl of rice. A personal altar need not have all of these, but it can be nice to have at least one or two. This establishes a link to the ancient tradition.

You can see my personal altars at my blog, if you’re interested:

http://www.oxherding.com/my_weblog/2008/07/home-altars.html

http://www.oxherding.com/my_weblog/2008/09/home-altar-updated.html

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To the right honorable Randal William McDonnell, ... this plate representing the common method of beetling, scutching and hackling the flax; is inscribed by ... Wm. Hincks (Reprint measured in inches 24 x 19) $20.00 High quality reproduction of original photograph from the Popular Graphics Arts Collection of over 7,100 images from the Library of Congress. Please be aware that some of the prints in this collection depict popular biases and prejudices at the time of original publication and are considered extremely racist or otherwise offensive today. Library or archive stamps will be digitally removed. The...

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