Hi,
I have quite a large stone statue of Bhudda in my garden , and I think it should be moved to a better spot as it is getting overgrown where he is at present. I've always been unsure of the direction in which to face it. I originally thought it should face west as it is now, but if I moved it to the only suitable place ,he will be facing east.
Does it matter in which direction he should face? I might seem a bit daft but I always like to do things right out of respect.
Kind regards
G.J
...I didn't think Buddha had to be facing a certain way... I think it's only Islamic praying to Mecca that is directionally important - oh and some Feng Shui rules too, but I am sure I will be corrected if I am not right!!
xx
I tend to place things where they feel "right" to me.
I have a laughing buddha in the shop who was the very first item I unpacked, he was originally for sale but I realised that I couldn't sell him so he has become the "shop buddha". We rub his tummy regularly, as do most of our customers and their children, and he seems to like it! I have placed him in a spot in the shop that feels right to me - in the early days he was moved to another spot occasionally to make space for a display, but he never felt right there, and was quickly moved back to his spot - now displays have to fit around him!
I did have someone come in one day who said that they were buddhist and remarked on how I'd put him in the right spot. When I asked why it was right they said that he should either be facing south (which he is) or facing the door (which he is) and that he should be elevated off the floor (which he is). They also told me he should have a piece of silver underneath him (which he now does!). Now whether any of this is true or not I don't know, I just know he still feels as if he's in the "right place"!
I also heard that the buddha statue should be facing the door when placed inside the house .... as for the garden, go with what feels right. When you enter a Buddhist temple in Asia, there are buddha statues facing three different directions.
I know that this sounds pedantic but "laughing buddhas" aren't actually statues of Lord Buddha, they are a Chinese Monk called Sankhajai.
Dare I say you're both right and wrong?
Yes, the laughing buddha is based on a chinese monk, however....because of this monk's benevolent nature, he came to be regarded as an incarnation of the bodhisattva who will be Maitreya (the Future Buddha / the buddha yet to come), the Buddha predicted to succeed Gautama Buddha, and is incorporated into a number of Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto traditions.
This could lead to some interesting discussions Amber Like all religions there are different takes/stances in each area of Buddhism. In Theraveda (in Thailand) the future Buddha (Sriarayan Mettai) has yet to manifest him/herself to the world, therefore they won't question who this could be. I believe the other Buddhist traditions may well have found their answer already.
I'm sorry - my knowledge is only confined to Theraveda ........
My understanding is that it does not matter in which direction buddha faces. I do think that there is a preference to have Buddha facing a doorway, in my Dharma centre, a statue of Buddha greats us as we enter the building; in the Gompa (prayer and meditation room containing the shrine) Buddha is not facing the door, yet is opposite a window.
Ultimately it is not important, as placing statue of Buddha in your house/garden etc is a way to welcome Buddha into your life. Buddha's powerful omniscient mind means that were ever a statue of Buddha is, there is an actual Buddha and we should treat statues of Buddha as an actual Buddha jewel and respect it as such. It is for our benefit alone that we place the statues in our presence, as Buddha can come into our lives, bless our minds and our homes and the image of Buddha leaves positive karma imprints on our subtle mind and is a direct cause for gaining enlightenment in future lives to all who look at it.
Buddha himself will not be overly concerned as to where you place him, as he knows that all reality as we know it lacks inherent existance and that ultimately the only thing that matters is our intentions when placing him where we do. We should remember that everything is emptiness and consider our intention. Therefore if you place Buddha in a spot you think will be preferable (maybe it is in the sun, around beautiful flowers, cool fresh water etc) your positive intention to make Buddha comfirtable and happy in his spot will pour positive karma onto your mind and ultimately benefit you - it is all about benefit to us, Buddha is already enlightened and can even turn a weed ridden, dark, dingy spot into a beautiful oasis with his all powerful mind that directly realises emptiness.
The same arguement can be applied to statues of 'laughing Buddhas', there physical form is empty of inherent existance, it is our intention toward the statue that matters. Humans have created all these 'rules' through a mind that sees reality as having an inherent existance when it does not - when we act from this mind of ignorance we are only further condeming ourselves to further samsaric rebirths and postponing our enlightenment.
...I didn't think Buddha had to be facing a certain way... I think it's only Islamic praying to Mecca that is directionally important - oh and some Feng Shui rules too, but I am sure I will be corrected if I am not right!!
xx
Which way should Bhudda face?
Angels Whisper, so you need to Listen...
Like all religions there are different takes/stances in each area of Buddhism. In Theraveda (in Thailand) the future Buddha (Sriarayan Mettai) has yet to manifest him/herself to the world, therefore they won't question who this could be. I believe the other Buddhist traditions may well have found their answer already.
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