The 13th Dalai Lama - Quotes

Point of View

Is is important when approaching the Dharma to constantly remember that every teaching is meant only as a method to tame and cultivate the mind. The point of the Buddhadharma is not to make one clever in argumentation or debate but to help one to overcome delusion and inner negativities, the sources of suffering and confusion. Dharma is not an elite secret to be greedily shared with the guru, but a personal instruction meant for inner practice and implementation. We should study from this perspective. (p. 190)

Info on Altars

Once the place of meditation has been thus cleaned and purified, one should arrange an altar with representations of the body, speech and mind of the Enlightened Ones...... There is no need for a complicated altar. If one understands that the various physical symbols are but reminders of the active enlightened wisdom, any simple Buddha image or picture of one's guru will do.

However, it is said that one's altar should be built in accordance with one's means. This contributes to a more powerful spiritual energy and to the accumulation of merit and wisdom. If one is of humble means, a simple rock or mound of grain will do. One simply imagines that the substance symbolizes the Enlightened Beings. The important thing is mental attitude.

There once was a great Tibetan yogi by the name of Je Kun-pang-pa. He had renounced all worldly possessions. His altar had only a stone to represent the Buddha, and some clay bowls that he had made himself that he used in order to offer water. But his motivation was pure, and thus the merit of his altar and offering was great. The important thing is attitude and contemplation, not the physical objects that are used

On the other hand, there are some people who quote the life of Je Kun-pang-pa merely as an excuse to avoid spending their wealth on a decent altar piece. They are not renunciates; they just have cheap attitudes. The problem is their priorities.

A beautiful altar is not merely a household decoration. It is an energy field meant to encourage mindfulness of the Dharma and the spiritual path. A beautiful altar is spiritually inspiring, but when it is just made in order to impress others with one's supposed religiosity, or as a status symbol, it merely becomes another cause of negative karma.

It is important that the sources of one's images, scriptures and so forth are pure. An image made by or purchased from a profit-monger is unacceptable. People who make religious images and print spritual books should do so out of a pure motivation.... From our side we should take care that the artifacts we acquire are purchased from sincere people. (p. 144)