ALTAR SETUP
Bring the temple home
A home altar makes daily practice possible — a small consecrated space where the Buddhas, the lineage, and your own devotion meet. The temple sets it up and blesses it properly, in the True Buddha School tradition.
01 — WHY A HOME ALTAR
Practice is easiest where there is a place for it. A consecrated home altar gives the day an anchor — a clean, raised, quiet corner dedicated to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the lineage, where lighting a stick of incense in the morning or reciting before sleep becomes a natural rhythm rather than an effort.
It is not decoration. Once consecrated by an ordained master, the altar becomes spiritually alive — a genuine centre of devotion within the home, and often the single strongest support for keeping a practice steady through the busy seasons of life.
DONE WITH CARE
Set up and blessed
The setup follows established principles — a quiet, clean, raised location, properly oriented, with images at the centre and offerings of water, light, flowers, and incense arranged in order. The consecration is the moment the altar becomes spiritually alive: mantra is recited, the deities are invited to take up residence in their representations, and the household is blessed before its newly consecrated altar.
- Located, oriented, and arranged by traditional method
- Consecrated by an ordained master
SETTING UP YOUR ALTAR
Choose the space
A quiet, clean part of the home, not heavily trafficked and raised above seated daily life. The temple master helps assess your home’s appropriate location.
Set up the altar
Central images of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or lineage heart deities are placed, with offerings of water, light, flowers, and incense arranged in proper order.
Consecrate and bless
The master performs the consecration — at home or in the temple — inviting the deities to reside in their representations and blessing the household before the living altar.
02 — COMMON QUESTIONS
Can we set it up ourselves, or do we need the temple?
The setup may be done by the household with care, but the consecration — the transformation of the altar into a sacred space — must be performed by an ordained master. The consecration is what gives the altar its spiritual function.
Is this only for serious practitioners?
No. A home altar is appropriate at any level of practice. Even households just beginning their relationship with the Dharma may benefit; in fact, the altar often supports the gradual deepening of practice over time.
Begin a home practice.