It is inauspicious for the statue to be empty?
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Recently, I read that it is inauspicious for the statue to be empty inside.
Our family prays to Guan Yin. And the statue is made of ceramic and it is empty inside.
I asked Tibetan Buddhist and Chinese Buddhist. They all told me that it is inauspicious for the statue to be empty.
So what is the options available for me? -
{Disrespectful posting deleted}
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Don't pay attention to the post above me. That's nonsense.Originally posted by Arena:Recently, I read that it is inauspicious for the statue to be empty inside.
Our family prays to Guan Yin. And the statue is made of ceramic and it is empty inside.
I asked Tibetan Buddhist and Chinese Buddhist. They all told me that it is inauspicious for the statue to be empty.
So what is the options available for me?
Oh and... I think it's not the matter of 'auspicious' or not auspicious. In Buddhism we generally don't talk about such things. -
the big statue in bright hill, is it filled up?
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I think many famous statues are also hollow.
I am not so sure if all the statues of Buddha are filled. I think many are hollow and I think it's not an issue. -
It's meant to be shocking, not disrespectful. And I said the same thing as you did in the later post.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Don't pay attention to the post above me. That's nonsense.
Oh and... I think it's not the matter of 'auspicious' or not auspicious. In Buddhism we generally don't talk about such things.
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Anyway to add on... Respect to the Buddha is more important, not the form of the statue. As long as the statue is proper (i.e a full body statue) it's fine. Ultimately the essence of Buddha is beyond form, it is omnipresent. The Buddha said to seek him in form or sound is to practise the deviant way.
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mmm ask a venerable could be betterOriginally posted by Arena:Recently, I read that it is inauspicious for the statue to be empty inside.
Our family prays to Guan Yin. And the statue is made of ceramic and it is empty inside.
I asked Tibetan Buddhist and Chinese Buddhist. They all told me that it is inauspicious for the statue to be empty.
So what is the options available for me?
then ur mind will be more at peace if u ask the appriopate people with the knowledge... -
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
and oh yea.. i agreed with AEN
Anyway to add on... [b]Respect to the Buddha is more important, not the form of the statue. As long as the statue is proper (i.e a full body statue) it's fine. Ultimately the essence of Buddha is beyond form, it is omnipresent. The Buddha said to seek him in form or sound is to practise the deviant way.[/b] -
I think it's not so much about whether or not the statue is empty. But I do think that the statues needed to be blessed by a practising sangha. In Tibetan Buddhism tradition, they do fill the statue by substances and sutras.
As a practising Buddhist, what's inside doesn't matter. It's the respect you gave the statue, and the significance of it that counts. -
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
The Buddha is omnipresent? Didn't know about that. Please explain further.
Anyway to add on... [b]Respect to the Buddha is more important, not the form of the statue. As long as the statue is proper (i.e a full body statue) it's fine. Ultimately the essence of Buddha is beyond form, it is omnipresent. The Buddha said to seek him in form or sound is to practise the deviant way.[/b] -
Hmm.......i think we should do this in EH also.......Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:{Disrespectful posting deleted} -
EH mods never touch ppl's posts ever?Originally posted by laoda99:Hmm.......i think we should do this in EH also.......
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Praying to statue will not help in your path for gaining the enlightenment.
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Oh yes.. the Buddha is omnipresent/all pervading in everywhere and everything and is our true nature.. called Buddha Nature. Even grass, trees, have this Dharma Nature (in inanimate things we call 'Dharma Nature', in animate things we call 'Buddha Nature'). It is the pristine awareness that is everpresent, everlasting, without which nothing would "exist".. it is like a mirror that never stops reflecting. Because our true nature is one with Buddhas, we, the universe, are one without separation, and there is no separation called 'you', 'me', etc. These are appearances due to dualistic discriminations.Originally posted by OrangeFreak:The Buddha is omnipresent? Didn't know about that. Please explain further.
Our Buddha Nature is also all-encompassing and space-like. For example when you pour water into a space in a cup, this space will not reject the water. At the same time this space is not diminished. Without Buddha Nature, Planet Earth cannot be in the space. Cars cannot works. Every thing is benefited by Buddha Nature. Enlightened people recognises it/lives in this reality all the time.
And this is not just a theory. It is not impossible to awaken to this truth intuively, directly, in fact, other than my dharma teachers and uncountable practitioners and masters in the world, quite a few people in this forum already has seen for himself that Buddha Nature is real, is our true essence. The goal of Buddhism is to 'ming xin jian xing' - to see one's true nature. If we practise earnestly, we will be able to 'achieve' that.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Buddha's body is always apparent,
Filling the entire cosmos,
Always intoning far-reaching sound
Shaking all lands in all quarters.
Buddha manifests bodily everywhere,
Entering into all worlds,
Revealing occult spiritual power
According to the inclinations of beings.
Buddha appears before all beings
In accordance with their minds;
What the sentient beings see
Is the Buddha's mystic power.
His radiance has no bounds
And his teaching too is infinite;
Buddha children enter and observe
According to their knowledge.
The Buddha's body has no birth
Yet can appear to be born.
The nature of reality is like space:
Therein do the Buddhas dwell.
No abiding, yet no departing:
Everywhere the Buddha's seen;
His light reaches everywhere,
His fame is heard afar.
No substance, no abode,
And no origin that can be found;
No signs, no form:
What appears is like reflections.
- Avatamsaka Sutra p. 164-165 -
Ermmmm.....
Heres a story about a coffee shop in Singapore.
The owner striked TOTO and thus opened a coffee shop.
In his shop, he has a statue of a diety (I dont remember what diety it was and I dont know what coffee shop owners pray to). He stuffed a full gold bar in 'diety'.
During bad times, he prayed to 'diety' and removed the Gold Bar to help the coffee shop survived thru the Sars Period where businesses was so bad.
Mind you, his coffee shop was robbed twice, but none had looked into the statue to contains any valuables.
Ermmm.....is that understandable?
Me....I believe in the mind. Even without a statue, as long as you believe, you have the faith. -
In Zen tradition...They can prostrate towards the buddha without a Buddha statue ? Told by someone but i didnt check out about it too.. just google abit.. can't find much.
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Zen masters find Buddha everywhere.Originally posted by Isis:In Zen tradition...They can prostrate towards the buddha without a Buddha statue ? Told by someone but i didnt check out about it too.. just google abit.. can't find much.
But we prostrate to the image of Buddha as a means of respect or rememberance of Shakyamuni Buddha who compassionately taught us the dharma.