altar above waist level

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jet.urgyen
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altar above waist level

Post by jet.urgyen »

one sets the altar above the waist level when one is standing or sitting? is necessary? why?
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namoh
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by namoh »

I was taught it’s waist high from standing position. It’s for respect and honoring the Buddha, etc.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by Kim O'Hara »

It is a sign of respect. Putting it above us physically is like putting it above us mentally: we look up to it.
Christian churches do it, too, if you think about it.

I haven't heard of the "above waist height" rule before, but anything above our (standing) waist height will be at or above our (sitting) eye level, especially if we sit on the floor or on a cushion.

:namaste:
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jet.urgyen
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by jet.urgyen »

i see, thanks!
true dharma is inexpressible.

The bodhisattva nourishes from bodhicitta, through whatever method the Buddha has given him. Oh joy.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

The thing is, it should be high in relation to low.
If it’s too high to really “function” that’s not too good either. As long as it’s not on the floor, high up is good.
Also, consider this photo. If you practice while sitting, then sitting level isn’t “disrespectful”.
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tingdzin
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by tingdzin »

Kim O'Hara wrote: Fri Sep 18, 2020 12:07 am It is a sign of respect. Putting it above us physically is like putting it above us mentally: we look up to it.
Christian churches do it, too, if you think about it.
namoh wrote: Fri Sep 18, 2020 12:03 am I was taught it’s waist high from standing position. It’s for respect and honoring the Buddha, etc.
There are a lot of such apparently arbitrary but actually significant things like this that are woven into the traditional presentations of the teachings. In this case,for example, it might not seem to matter how high the altar is, and one might claim that insisting on a certain height is a mark of clinging to duality or something. Actually, though, we have all kinds of habitual tendencies that traditional ways of practice are engineered to help us overcome, and until we understand at a gut level what they are all about, we should hesitate to "tweak" or "hack" or "improve" them. This may seem an obvious point to more experienced practitioners, but beginners are more apt to think, "well it doesn't really matter if I change the form, as long as I keep the right attitude", which can be a first step down a slippery slope.
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nyonchung
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by nyonchung »

javier.espinoza.t wrote: Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:58 pm one sets the altar above the waist level when one is standing or sitting? is necessary? why?
in a Tibetan setup, usually standing, but it can occasionaly be lower, like temporary altars during outdoors rituals (on a box, small folding table).
Kathmandu valley's Newar Buddhist shrines often have their statues (and so offerings) at ground level- note that people eat seated on the ground.
In a Western setup where we usually eat seated on chairs (at least for me), I find it more respectuous to put a shrine a litlle bit above the dining table. :namaste:
"Me and the sky don't hold views - Me and the river have no fixed practice
Me and the madman don't have a guide- Me and the rainbow have no experiences
Me, the sun and the moon have no certitudes - Me and the jewel bear no fruit" - Dampa Sanggyé as quoted by Domar Mingyur Dorjé (born 1675)
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明安 Myoan
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by 明安 Myoan »

My altar room is vertically challenged, with a small square to get in (an attic). I had to take my short altar table upstairs in pieces and rebuild it.

Just put the altar high enough that you can bow to it :smile:

I use a butsudan, which has the advantage of small doors you can close. So I only see the images when I'm kneeling and bowing.
It might feel different if your images out in the open and low in your gaze at the same time. I think that's what you want to avoid.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: altar above waist level

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

明安 Myoan wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:00 pm Just put the altar high enough
that you can bow to it
Perfect.
:good:

The main idea is that it should be “up” off the floor, away from foot level, dirt, etc.
But it’s also about offering the best that is possible. Putting a Shrine on a really nice little table which may only be a couple of feet off the ground is better than putting one high up on a stack of old crates or boxes.
EMPTIFUL.
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