Making Space by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781937006075
Publisher: Parallax Press
Published: 2012-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

A home altar is a way to pay respect to our ancestors and the world around us. It reminds us that whatever we love is also within us.

SEVEN

MAKING AN ALTAR

IN YOUR BREATHING ROOM OR BREATHING CORNER, consider making an altar. On the altar in my hermitage in France are images of Buddha and Jesus, and every time I light incense, I’m in touch with both of them as my spiritual ancestors. When you touch someone who authentically represents a tradition, you touch not only his or her tradition, but you also touch your own.

In East Asia, every home has a family altar. Whenever there’s an important event in the family, like the birth of a child, we offer incense and announce the news to our ancestors. If our son is about to go to college, we make an offering and announce that tomorrow our son will leave for college. When we return home after a long trip, the first thing we do is offer incense to our ancestors and announce that we are home.

Putting pictures of our blood and spiritual ancestors on our altars helps us feel rooted. If we can find ways to cherish and develop our spiritual heritage, we feel more whole. Learning to touch deeply the jewels of our own tradition allows us to understand and appreciate the values of other traditions, and this benefits everyone.

On your altar you can place a bell, or an incense holder, a small statue, one or two candles, flowers, or a small rock. Anything that feels important to you can be there. It’s important that each person who lives in your home feels a connection to the altar. If they’d like to add something, they might go for a walk in nature and come back with something that represents beauty, solidity, or goodness for them—perhaps a stone, a leaf, a pinecone, or a flower.

If there are words that help to ground you, you can add them to the altar as well. Some people write the words from the breathing meditation:

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