How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
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How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
How does a layperson consecrate ritual objects (eg dorje, bell, butter lamp) if they happen to become desecrated?
The book The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness mentions that the Mantra of Great Wisdom Bimala Ushnisha can be used to consecrate objects. Would reciting a mala of this mantra suffice?
Also, should we consecrate holy objects (whether with this mantra or another method) before we start to use them?
The book The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness mentions that the Mantra of Great Wisdom Bimala Ushnisha can be used to consecrate objects. Would reciting a mala of this mantra suffice?
Also, should we consecrate holy objects (whether with this mantra or another method) before we start to use them?
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
It largely depends on your sadhana. Most full sadhanas will have sections for consecrating bell, vajra, mala, etc.
དམ་པའི་དོན་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ཆེ་བ་དང་།
རྟོག་གེའི་ཡུལ་མིན་བླ་མའི་བྱིན་རླབས་དང་།
སྐལ་ལྡན་ལས་འཕྲོ་ཅན་གྱིས་རྟོགས་པ་སྟེ།
དེ་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ལ་ནི་ལོ་རྟོག་སེལ།།
"Absolute Truth is not an object of analytical discourse or great discriminating wisdom,
It is realized through the blessing grace of the Guru and fortunate Karmic potential.
Like this, mistaken ideas of discriminating wisdom are clarified."
- (Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, from his summary of "The Ocean of Definitive Meaning")
རྟོག་གེའི་ཡུལ་མིན་བླ་མའི་བྱིན་རླབས་དང་།
སྐལ་ལྡན་ལས་འཕྲོ་ཅན་གྱིས་རྟོགས་པ་སྟེ།
དེ་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ལ་ནི་ལོ་རྟོག་སེལ།།
"Absolute Truth is not an object of analytical discourse or great discriminating wisdom,
It is realized through the blessing grace of the Guru and fortunate Karmic potential.
Like this, mistaken ideas of discriminating wisdom are clarified."
- (Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, from his summary of "The Ocean of Definitive Meaning")
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
I don't have a sadhana. I'm talking about a one-time consecration, either for the first time you use the objects or if they have somehow become defiled/desecrated.conebeckham wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2020 2:12 am It largely depends on your sadhana. Most full sadhanas will have sections for consecrating bell, vajra, mala, etc.
Would the mantra mentioned in the OP suffice?
Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
Offering objects generally do not require consecration (like offering bowls, butter lamps, etc). Tantric forms of consecration for representations of enlightened body, speech, and mind require a practitioner to have at least completed the approximation retreat for a given deity. There is still much research to be done about the historical development of consecration rituals, and the differences between sutra forms and tantra forms of consecration. Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche's teachings on the Mantra of Great Wisdom Bimala Ushnisha suggests that it is a sutra form of consecration, but with holy objects like stupas and statues, you would still need someone with the expertise to fill the inside, so you may as well have them consecrate it too.KiwiNFLFan wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:57 amI don't have a sadhana. I'm talking about a one-time consecration, either for the first time you use the objects or if they have somehow become defiled/desecrated.conebeckham wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2020 2:12 am It largely depends on your sadhana. Most full sadhanas will have sections for consecrating bell, vajra, mala, etc.
Would the mantra mentioned in the OP suffice?
It would be good to have vajra, bell, malas, and other such ritual implements consecrated by your guru, then you would bless them every time you practice a sadhana. You said you don't have a sadhana, but since things like serkyem, vajra, and bell are usually used only after a person has entered a mandala and received initiation, what are you using them for if not tantric practice?
Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
Talk with your teacher about it. It's up to them. They might tell you not to consecrate the object because of how you would have to treat it afterwards, or not to use this one or that one...KiwiNFLFan wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:15 am How does a layperson consecrate ritual objects (eg dorje, bell, butter lamp) if they happen to become desecrated?
The book The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness mentions that the Mantra of Great Wisdom Bimala Ushnisha can be used to consecrate objects. Would reciting a mala of this mantra suffice?
Also, should we consecrate holy objects (whether with this mantra or another method) before we start to use them?
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
Just a follow up, why should we consecrate those objects? What is the benefit?
As for OP: Jigten Sumgon mentions that a very easy way to consecrate objects as statues etc, is with immessurable love.
As for OP: Jigten Sumgon mentions that a very easy way to consecrate objects as statues etc, is with immessurable love.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche
For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.
- Arya Sanghata Sutra
For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.
- Arya Sanghata Sutra
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
I thinks it’s a lot like Trimepema said, the act of consecration changes the way one relates to the object.
If we went with sacred and profane, the object now exists outside of ordinary time- it has mana at least to the practitioner themselves. The object then serves as another way to help the practitioner enter the sacred space.
There would also be the psychological effect. If we do a ritual with a consecrated object, we may have more confidence. Similar to an amulet that a person might wear before they undertake some difficult task, it can make them feel more confident about it.
If we went with sacred and profane, the object now exists outside of ordinary time- it has mana at least to the practitioner themselves. The object then serves as another way to help the practitioner enter the sacred space.
There would also be the psychological effect. If we do a ritual with a consecrated object, we may have more confidence. Similar to an amulet that a person might wear before they undertake some difficult task, it can make them feel more confident about it.
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
The other thing, for ritual objects. We can say that once they are consecrated they have more power.
Just like they say if you walk around the stupa it has this and this effect. But walking around a trash can doesn’t have that same effect, right ? So there is something about the object involved that has a lot of bearing on the effects.
Just like they say if you walk around the stupa it has this and this effect. But walking around a trash can doesn’t have that same effect, right ? So there is something about the object involved that has a lot of bearing on the effects.
Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
when you think the Stupa is a silly tower but the trash-can ist the holy object where Terton Lingpa found the latestFortyeightvows wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:36 pm The other thing, for ritual objects. We can say that once they are consecrated they have more power.
Just like they say if you walk around the stupa it has this and this effect. But walking around a trash can doesn’t have that same effect, right ? So there is something about the object involved that has a lot of bearing on the effects.
Yidam-sadhana then all changes...
what if the trash-can is consecrated?
it is not buddha's tooth
it is a dog-tooth
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
imo, th trash-can is also a message itself.lelopa wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 7:57 amwhen you think the Stupa is a silly tower but the trash-can ist the holy object where Terton Lingpa found the latestFortyeightvows wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:36 pm The other thing, for ritual objects. We can say that once they are consecrated they have more power.
Just like they say if you walk around the stupa it has this and this effect. But walking around a trash can doesn’t have that same effect, right ? So there is something about the object involved that has a lot of bearing on the effects.
Yidam-sadhana then all changes...
what if the trash-can is consecrated?
it is not buddha's tooth
it is a dog-tooth
i mean you are right.
true dharma is inexpressible.
The bodhisattva nourishes from bodhicitta, through whatever method the Buddha has given him. Oh joy.
The bodhisattva nourishes from bodhicitta, through whatever method the Buddha has given him. Oh joy.
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
I don’t know much about it, but I have heard some teachings where they used words like ‘indirect perceiver’ ‘direct perciever’ ‘valid cognition’ and all that.
Anyways, I don’t remember much of it now, it they we’re talking about the way we label different things and that the labeling could be considered conventionally valid if the label was applied to a ‘valid base’.
I feel like this would be applicable here
If I remember right the valid base is defined by whether or not the objects functions. Like labeling a rope as a snake is not valid because the rope doesn’t function as a snake, where as a dog labeling a pen as a chew toy would be valid since it functions as a chew toy.
Like I said I don’t know much about it, but I think some of those types of teachings are probably applicable here
Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
One person had a sacred object, but not consecrated. When she wanted to have it consecrated, the answer was "your way of seeing it, your way on using it, your attitude concerning it has already empowered the object. No consecration ceremony is necessary. It is already empowered".
See what represents your object, have deep respect for them and use them accordingly. They will get empowered.
Look also at yourself as holding Buddha nature. And you empower yourself.
Set your inner eye right, and you will empower yourself and the world.
Some master just by the way at looking at you, and what they see in you, allow for your buddha nature to express itself and they transform yourself. Just by their presence. Without even a ceremony.
See what represents your object, have deep respect for them and use them accordingly. They will get empowered.
Look also at yourself as holding Buddha nature. And you empower yourself.
Set your inner eye right, and you will empower yourself and the world.
Some master just by the way at looking at you, and what they see in you, allow for your buddha nature to express itself and they transform yourself. Just by their presence. Without even a ceremony.
Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
In many traditions there is a short practice that you do, before a retreat or a tsog, where you bless your ritual implements before starting with the kator. Typical it is the blessing water in the shell, varja and dorje, phurba and drum. Also in the end you request the deities to remain in the objects on the altar.
Normally when you buy a new ritual you show it to your master, it is considered enough if he touch them. In our sangha we collect all new items people bought and in the end of the teachings our master through some rice and do a short recitation for all of them, this is also considered enough.
/magnus
Normally when you buy a new ritual you show it to your master, it is considered enough if he touch them. In our sangha we collect all new items people bought and in the end of the teachings our master through some rice and do a short recitation for all of them, this is also considered enough.
/magnus
"We are all here to help each other go through this thing, whatever it is."
~Kurt Vonnegut
"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
~Kurt Vonnegut
"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
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Re: How to consecrate ritual objects (as a layperson)?
Yes, but that’s all because of our mental projections.Fortyeightvows wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:36 pm The other thing, for ritual objects. We can say that once they are consecrated they have more power.
Just like they say if you walk around the stupa it has this and this effect. But walking around a trash can doesn’t have that same effect, right ? So there is something about the object involved that has a lot of bearing on the effects.
“Consecration” itself only matters because until fully enlightened, we are bound to an existence of fabricated illusions. The stupa is also a kind of trash can. The only difference is that it contains really special trash (“trash” meaning that which has been discarded. Maybe it’s the the bones or ashes of a great teacher; that teacher has no
more use for it, has discarded it).
I’ve always thought concepts such as “consecration” very strange. It’s like the concepts of political borders, or “royalty” ...only existing because we think they do.
My own mental projection is this: if you yourself see dharma related objects as lacking true, inherent existence, yet simultaneously recognize their relative value and importance to toward your own liberation and the liberation of others, that consecrates them right there and then.
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EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.