Home Taoist Altar

[lienshan]

lienshan, if I do put up an altar it will be a way of expressing my Daoist practice..

 

My taoist practice is reading the exavacated versions of Tao Te Ching for example chapter 51

 

The dignifying of Tao,

what's the high-ranking Te, because nobody can ennoble it, thus all the time self-fulfilling,

is Tao made bearing breeding elevating producing erecting poisoning raising returning.

 

The message is the same as in his chapter 42 and in his TaYiShengShui:

Worship anything else but Tao in your Home Taoist Altar practice.

[Guest Jason Croft]

newTaoist, I've tried to post here 3 times and all 3 have been lost .

 

PM me or send a message to my e-mail: [email protected] and I will show you what you are searching for.

I am in China, my wife is Chinese, all of her family, as well as most Chinese are Taoists- they have alters, there are Taoist hospitals - there is a Taoist cannon (Taoist Library of family names etc) about a 2$USD, round trip, bus ride from where I live in Hong Kong.

Here is one of the Taoist websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wong_Tai_Sin_Temple

 

Here is a short excerpt from the webpage:

Wong Tai Sin Temple, a Taoist temple established in 1921, is one of the most famous temples in Hong Kong. It is also renowned among overseas Chinese in Southern Asia, Europe, and America.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/hongkong/kowloon/wongtaisin_temple.htm

 

Wong Tai Sin Temple is named after Wong Chuping. When Wong Chuping was 15, he began to follow Taoism. Forty years later, he achieved enlightenment and became immortal. People called him Wong Tai Sin from then on. It is said that he punishes evils, heals the wounded, and rescues the dying. His influence spread from Guangdong Province to Hong Kong in the early 20th century. With his mercy and his power, he is said to grant whatever is requested. Wong Tai Sin Temple is known for its fortune-telling. The fortune sticks (or lots) here are very accurate. Many people who visit the temple come to have their fortunes told. Generally, worshippers entreat the fate of the same year. They light worship sticks, kneel before the main altar, make a wish, and shake a bamboo cylinder containing fortune sticks until one falls out. The stick is exchanged for a piece of paper bearing the same number, and the soothsayer then interprets the fortune on the paper for the worshipper. Wong Tai Sin has many worshippers in Hong Kong, so the joss sticks and candles burn exuberantly all year round, especially during the Chinese Lunar New Year and Wong Tai Sin's birthday - the 23rd day of the eighth lunar month.

[newTaoist]

OK everyone, thanks for helping me in making my decision to build the altar and with what to "populate" it with. Now for the tricky part. Does anyone know what would be the standard rituals for daily practice? For example, when does one use the incense and how many times do I bow, chants, etc. I know I've been asking a lot but I really want to do this right.

Edited April 23, 2013 by newTaoist

[Walker]

The answers to your latest question and your earlier ones appear in vivid and thoughtful detail in the Silvers book, which is indeed the one with the subtitle you mentioned. By $5, I was referring to the price of using Interlibrary Loan services. I again highly recommend you get the book.

[newTaoist]

The answers to your latest question and your earlier ones appear in vivid and thoughtful detail in the Silvers book, which is indeed the one with the subtitle you mentioned. By $5, I was referring to the price of using Interlibrary Loan services. I again highly recommend you get the book.

Thank you Walker again for the recommendation. I am looking into the interlibrary loan as we speak. Just waiting to get more information from my library.

[newTaoist]

I found this cool video that shows a basic altar in detail. Check it out.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjNqvrP_Jp8

[Reed]

I found this cool video that shows a basic altar in detail. Check it out.

 

Yes, I thought it was pretty good and interesting to actually see something. She seems to be pretty much in line with Eva Wong's account I quoted earlier:

 

 

A sacred lamp: this is the light of wisdom. It is also the golden pill or elixir of immortality. The lamp is usually placed in the centre of the altar in front of the patron deity of the temple or the deity being honoured in the ceremony. The lamp symbolises the original spirit, which is the light of the Tao within. It is never extinguished.

 

Two candles: to the left and right of the sacred lamp are two tall candles. They represent the light of the sun and the moon in nature and the two eyes in the human body. The sun and moon are emanations of the light of the Tao, and the eyes are windows to the mind. If the mind is not tainted by dust, original nature will be bright; the light of the Tao will shine within, and the eyes will not be covered by the dust of the mundane world.

 

Tea, rice, and Water: directly in front of the sacred lamp are three cups. The cup in the centre holds grains of uncooked rice; the cup to the left contains water; the cup to the right contains tea. Tea symbolises yin, or female generative, energy; water symbolises Yang, or male generative, energy. Rice symbolises the union of these two energies, because it receives the Yang energy of the sun and absorbs the yin energy of earth.

 

Five plates of fruit: the five fruits represent the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each element is associated with a colour. Wood is green, fire is red, earth is yellow, metal is white, and water is black.

[newTaoist]

Yes, I thought it was pretty good and interesting to actually see something. She seems to be pretty much in line with Eva Wong's account I quoted earlier:

Reed, you're absolutely right about what you posted re: Eva Wong. Thanks again for the info.

[Reed]

Here are a couple of fun ones. I'm not really sure who this guy is or what his organisation's like, though.

 

 

Altar of Jade Emperor

 

 

 

 

God of Health and Longevity

 

 

http://www.tao.org/temple.html

Edited April 29, 2013 by Reed

[newTaoist]

Here are a couple of fun ones. I'm not really sure who this guy is or what his organisation's like, though.

 

 

Altar of Jade Emperor

 

 

 

 

God of Health and Longevity

 

 

http://www.tao.org/temple.html

Cool. Thank you Reed

[Reed]

No worries

 

I think they're quite nice to put on your desktop as a background, as a kind of virtual altar, and just meditate on them.

[newTaoist]

Yesterday I posed this question, espescially about the ritual involved, to Master Deng-Ming Dao not really expecting a response. However, he did respond on Facebook and is writing a 3 part series about these issues. I'm so thrilled and honored that this famous writer and Taoist would do this for me and all of his Facebook followers. Cool, No?

[Reed]

Nice going I just found part one. I think that's pretty cool of him to do that.

[newTaoist]

Making Your Own Altar 1/3: The Altar Tables by Deng-Ming Dao

In a response to Neil, I’m giving general guidelines for setting up your own altar. When it comes to Taoism and all things Chinese, there are plenty of local customs and variations. These details are as I learned them from my teacher.

In fact, take these as guidelines and make an altar that suits you. Unless you’re following a specific school, create an altar that’s meaningful to you.

Every Taoist has an altar. In the past, Taoists held “altar wars” where two competing Taoists would set up public altars and duel with each other over ritual and magic. That was silly, of course, but it does underscore how the altar was so much a part of Taoism.

You begin with two tables. The larger of the two tables should be high—at least as high as your chest. This is the table where the main deities are placed. Some people have alcoves or high altar cabinets. Temples have entire chapels where the life-sized deity sits in a special enclosure surrounded by carvings and beautiful silk embroidery. But if one is setting up a home altar, a high alcove or high table should be fine.

The smaller table is lower than the large one by at least a few inches and is the place where one presents offerings.

My master told me that the altar tables should be of the best wood available and of the finest quality that one can afford: I built his tables and I’ve built my own altars. This is really all about devotion to your spirituality and your gods, so you offer the very best you can.

On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with poverty and simplicity. Those who cannot have a formal altar write the name of the deity on a plank of wood or a piece of paper, set the god on a high place, and making offerings before that simple shrine.

It’s the heart of the devotee, not the fanciness of the altar that matters.

Tomorrow, I’ll write about the gods and offerings.

==

Photo showing an altar to the Three Pure Ones prior to consecration, which is why their faces are still covered. Photograph by Saskia Dab.

[rene]

Sincere apologies, newTaoist. I thought it wise to preserve these two older posts before they were edited.

 

sree, maybe you should start a new thread and express your ideas/views there?

becoz, you make some interesting statements and ask good questions,

i would respond to a few of them but i dont want to go too far off topic on this thread.

 

 

I would do as you say if you would tell me why I need to go away. It is hurtful when someone asks you to leave a party or go play in some other sandbox and don't say why. It's like telling a black guy to shove off or asking a gay fella to leave. They know why they are not wanted even if you don't spell it out.

 

What happened to tolerance? I need to call you out on this, zero. It's for the common good.

 

- sorry for the interruption.

Edited April 30, 2013 by rene

[newTaoist]

No problem rene.

[newTaoist]

Making Your Own Altar 2/3: Gods and Offerings by Deng Ming-Dao

Yesterday, I wrote about setting up your own altar tables. Today, I’ll write about what to put on those tables.

Once you have your altar tables, you have to have gods to worship. In general, the gods are assigned to you by a priest of your master, or, if you’ve had a successful relationship with a god—perhaps you invoked them at a time of need and were answered—then you would worship that deity. I’ve also seen people select gods based on their profession or their needs. If someone was a scholar, then the God of Literature would be a clear choice. If someone was poor, they might understandably make offerings to the God of Wealth.

If possible, your altars and your gods are be consecrated at a temple. The priest will also give you the sutras and mantras to go with your gods.

As soon as your god is consecrated, you treat the figure as a live person. You invite them into your home, and carry them upright and facing forward to your altar.

The god is set at the center and back of the large table. Vases of flowers (never white ones), red candles (people use electric ones for safety), and dishes of fruit are set before the deity and on each side of the table. An incense burner (if possible, incense is always burning, or one can only light the incense during ritual; electric incense is also possible) and three cups of tea are set in the front and center. The tea should be changed daily, and the fruit and flowers must always be fresh.

Tomorrow, I’ll write more about ritual.

==
Photo of Guanyin in the front, the Three Stars—Happiness, Prosperity, and Longevity (Fu Lu Shou) in the back. Photo by andelieya.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=493754667359594&set=pb.373617489373313.-2207520000.1367320909.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-snc7%2F394528_493754667359594_293067102_n.jpg&size=404%2C606

[rene]

The item behind GuanYin reminds me of the Three Vinegar Tasters!

 

Thanks for posting these, newTaoist. Very cool.

[newTaoist]

The item behind GuanYin reminds me of the Three Vinegar Tasters!

 

Thanks for posting these, newTaoist. Very cool.

Yeah, it sure does. I'm glad you like them. BTW thanks for checking in . I appreciate it.

[shanlung]

Yesterday I posed this question, espescially about the ritual involved, to Master Deng-Ming Dao not really expecting a response. However, he did respond on Facebook and is writing a 3 part series about these issues. I'm so thrilled and honored that this famous writer and Taoist would do this for me and all of his Facebook followers. Cool, No?

 

Deng Ming Dao is a fraud.

Thread below all on that fraud.

Deng & Blofield works. Is it ethical?

http://thetaobums.com/topic/27637-deng-blofield-works-is-it-ethical/

[newTaoist]

Deng Ming-Dao
Making Your Own Altar 3/3: Worship

Once you’ve set up your altar tables and placed the consecrated gods there, what do you do?

The altar is the center for your devotions. Generally, you’ll pray at least morning and evening, bowing to the altar, lighting incense, and then sitting in meditation. The priest may have given you a mantra to chant, and you may have been instructed on reciting sutras. These scriptures contain important precepts and devotional thoughts about the god or gods you are worshipping.

On ritual days, more elaborate offerings are possible—wine, rice, food, pastries, candies, and so on are set on the smaller front table.

Having an altar is quite involved—but that’s really the point. It’s adoration, devotion, and discipline. By having to adhere to a strict regimen, our minds are constantly brought back to the divine.

We who are modern may see ritual as hollow, some mere dutiful enactment. But the ancients saw ritual differently: ritual was the reality itself. Worship was not supplication or insincere form. Worship itself was the goal. Some people view worship as a means to get something: “I’ll ask this god to help me.” But the greater view is that worship is our expression of who we are.

Devout worship gives expression to the sacred in our hearts.

==
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/p480x480/428488_493755024026225_1588968568_n.jpg
Photo of Taoist ritual by Saskia Dab.

[shanlung]

Deng Ming-Dao

 

Tell me what is so devote about following the words of a fraud like Deng?

The better you can worship at such altars advised by a fraud?

 

Who plagiarise left and right intersperse with stuff he lifted from B grade fantasy novels?

 

 

To each their own.

Enjoy your fantasy world created by a fraud.

[newTaoist]

Now that I know how to prepare my altar, my only question is that since I don't have access to a Temple or a Priest, how will I find out the proper chants or sutras for my chosen Gods? Anyone have any ideas? As always, thanks in advance my friends.

[Reed]

I have forgotten who your chosen gods are. It might help people give you better advice if you remind us who they are

 

eta: I just saw it again on fb: "I intend to worship the God of Wealth in addition to the Three Stars."

Edited May 1, 2013 by Reed

[newTaoist]

The Three Stars and the God of wealth, Zhao Gongming are who I'll initially put on my altar.

 

I'm thrilled that Deng Ming-Dao again responded to the above question: "For Neil: The Three Stars includes the God of Prosperity (although there's another god of wealth, Zhao Gongming). The good news is that you should be able to find these figures easily, and even online if it came to that. I think you can start with creating your own altar until you find a temple as well as someone to teach you the pronunciation. I was with my master when he was once discussing the matter with a priest and the subject of pronunciation for non-Chinese speakers came up. The priest said that sincerity was far more important than clinging to accurate ritual."