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 What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. 
#13827253 - 01/21/11 04:51 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Basically my understanding of a temple is that it is a sanctuary from the world. The world is full of chaos, chaotic advertisements, discordant music, noise pollution, loud people, emotionally unstable people, problems, yelling, stuff to clean up, trash, litter, and flashing colors, and lots of random people doing random things.
For someone who tuned into all that stuff it can cause people to get a bit flustered. I think this is why some people have headphones on... to tune out the chaos.
And so a temple as a refuge from the world would maybe consist of a number of components. Possibly some aromatherapy if one is inclined to that sort of thing... some sort of scent.
Also it would consist of the option of putting on peaceful meditative music.
Maybe some statued or other figures that are on a table with a white cloth(altar).
It could consist of certain pictures. And it could have some prayer and/or mantra beads. It could have a place to sit and it could have a pillow for ones feet.
To mean the main function of a temple is to create a area of peace and calm. Maybe what I was describing would be more accurate to call a household shrine though.
So what are your thoughts on components of temples and/or household shrines?
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Stranger
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: lines]
#13827262 - 01/21/11 04:53 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Example of pillow being used for feet
name of painting: Circe
artist: John William Waterhouse
Edited by lines (01/21/11 04:56 PM)
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 c0sm0nautt
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: lines]
#13827265 - 01/21/11 04:54 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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I think shrines are supposed to have external objects which symbolize internal processes. The picture of the guru a symbol of devotion, the prayer beads an aid in mantra, etc etc.
I agree with you that the temple/church is supposed to act as a place of sanctuary, but nowadays they seem more like social nodes than anything esle.
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deff
just love everyone
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: c0sm0nautt] 1
#13827790 - 01/21/11 06:56 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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here's my (dusty) altar: 
having an altar is great... or really having any space dedicated solely to meditation and inner work. everytime i sit down in front of mine, my mind automatically goes into meditation just from the familiarity.
they also act as great means to express love towards one's path/guru/truth/etc - very beautiful expressions, and it's always a pleasure to get new flowers etc, spiff it up
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Stranger
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: deff]
#13827843 - 01/21/11 07:06 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
deff said:
dedicated solely to meditation and inner work.
neat altar
can you elaborate on what you mean by inner work?
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deff
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: lines]
#13827942 - 01/21/11 07:27 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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prayer, mantra, visualizations, aspirations, rituals, etc
anything that doesn't depend on engaging with (outer) sense phenomena i guess
also cultivating inner qualities like love, compassion, equanimity etc. - usually through various meditations
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deCypher
Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 56,232
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: deff]
#13827986 - 01/21/11 07:35 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Behold, the temple of Mammon!
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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
  
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MarkostheGnostic
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: lines] 1
#13835015 - 01/23/11 12:28 AM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Why just one? Every space needs a focal point. This is a matter of creativity. There is no right or wrong in the projection of one's inner symbols to the outer world. The outer can then feed back to the inner, in order to remind one of the cosmic perspective in every seemingly mundane moment. In Reality, every moment, every mind-moment, is profoundly sacred! I can't squeeze it all into a symbol or two. Can you?
  
Vajrayana-Jewish Christian Entheogenic Gnosticism-Alchemy
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MarkostheGnostic
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 Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: deff]
#13835050 - 01/23/11 12:36 AM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Nice!
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γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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MarkostheGnostic
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 Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: deCypher] 1
#13835058 - 01/23/11 12:37 AM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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 Right on!
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γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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Chronic7
Registered: 05/08/04
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: lines]
#13835587 - 01/23/11 05:18 AM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Cool pics Markos & Deff, apart from the numerous Buddhas scattered around my flat, and apart from consciousness itself, this is the closest thing i have to a temple, although in total i've only read about 7 of these books, i find less is more when it comes to Advaita 
The pictures not as clear as the one of your bookshelf you posted a while back Markos but im sure you can pick out some familiar ones in there...
Cool soxhlet btw!
My favorite of the Buddhas, Mr Shunya Mudra...
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Edited by Chronic7 (01/23/11 07:34 AM)
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Poid
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 Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: Chronic7]
#13836758 - 01/23/11 01:15 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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This one is my favorite:
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Well I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you to be just like them. -- Bob Dylan   fireworks_god said:It's one thing to simply enjoy a style of life that one enjoys, but it's another thing altogether to refer to another person's choice as "wrong" or to rationalize their behavior as being pathological or resulting from some sort of inadequacy or failing so as to create a sense of superiority or separation as yet another projection of a personal fear or control issue.
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r72rock
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: Poid]
#13837331 - 01/23/11 03:01 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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I love seeing how people create shrines. 
Minus all of the crap I have from wall to wall, this is a nice little place where I like to meditate and philosophise. The little running water fountain that I have gives off a very nice going with the flow feeling
For me, it's a place that I take refuge. Not really just in a physical sense, but mostly in a mental and spiritual sense. I can just sit down, and tap back into a quiet space where I feel like I do real work, and focus on impermanence, self, and compassion. It's a small space I have, but I feel it's all I need to do what I do. 
There's a chair propped up in front of it that I sit on, but that's what the camera's sitting on. 
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Current favorite candy: Peanut Butter Kisses
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MarkostheGnostic
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: Chronic7]
#13837607 - 01/23/11 03:58 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
The Chronic said:
Cool pics Markos & Deff, apart from the numerous Buddhas scattered around my flat, and apart from consciousness itself, this is the closest thing i have to a temple, although in total i've only read about 7 of these books, i find less is more when it comes to Advaita
The pictures not as clear as the one of your bookshelf you posted a while back Markos but im sure you can pick out some familiar ones in there...
Cool soxhlet btw!
My favorite of the Buddhas, Mr Shunya Mudra...
Thanks. i wanted a Soxhlet even when I was in elementary school after seeing a picture in a Time-Life science book that my folks bought me (Perkin's mauve aniline dye being extracted). Nice pile of books! I like the Buddha too, although I'm partial to Tibetan, Nepalese, and Thai forms. My first Buddha, from an aunt, was Japanese, black ceramic, in mudra of meditation.
To the left of the lab pic, is yet another shrine with tiny paper prayer flags, a Buddha in the mudra of fearlessness (abhaya), a Yab-Yum, a kartika, and a bell & dorje, all on a green prayer flag of Amoghasiddhi.
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γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
Edited by MarkostheGnostic (01/23/11 04:04 PM)
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Stranger
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: Poid] 1
#13837918 - 01/23/11 04:54 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Poid said:
This one is my favorite:
Where is this picture from? The statue giving people "the finger" really demonstrates what meditating is to a certain extent, it is sort of like telling the world that your just going to forget about it and go into your own inner world.
I do think that it is important for people to be active in the world and do good deeds but there are also times when a person needs to just forget about the world and go within.
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Poid
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: lines]
#13837993 - 01/23/11 05:11 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
lines said:
Quote:
Poid said:
This one is my favorite:
Where is this picture from?
Google Images.
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Well I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you to be just like them. -- Bob Dylanfireworks_god said:It's one thing to simply enjoy a style of life that one enjoys, but it's another thing altogether to refer to another person's choice as "wrong" or to rationalize their behavior as being pathological or resulting from some sort of inadequacy or failing so as to create a sense of superiority or separation as yet another projection of a personal fear or control issue.
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MarkostheGnostic
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 Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: lines]
#13854881 - 01/26/11 03:46 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Backyard Buddha.
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γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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Chronic7
Registered: 05/08/04
Posts: 13,679
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Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: MarkostheGnostic]
#13854893 - 01/26/11 03:49 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
MarkostheGnostic said:
Backyard Buddha.
I could make a tongue in cheek joke about Ram Dass
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MarkostheGnostic
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 Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: Chronic7]
#13856000 - 01/26/11 07:08 PM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yeah, couldn't we all? 
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γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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random_wanderer
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 Re: What is a temple and/or household shrine and what is contained in it? Your thoughts. [Re: MarkostheGnostic]
#13858192 - 01/27/11 04:15 AM (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have a picture of Ramana Maharshi that my friend brought back from arunchala on my living room wall, and one on the tall boy by my bedside table and this mad picture of shiva. I dont really consider them to be objects of worship, but i find it comforting to look at them when i am sad.
I am not really one for statuettes and things like that, i do have ornaments and keepsakes and things, but i do not see them as objects of worship.
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