Thursday, August 16, 2012

Intermediate Work : Additions to the Buddhist Shrine in the Bamboo Room


Toothpick and text. Wood held by clamps in the background for bending.
August 13 - 16th 2012

Been on vacation but not much motivation yet to attack the build.  So...adding in a few things in the house. 

I decided the shrine needed an incense burner and maybe a little scroll.  I managed to find some pics of the Heart Sutra and made one into a scroll and another into a book form.  I managed to print them out on calligraphy paper without tearing so I can now make some wall hangings too.  Just a toothpic and some ribbon and the scroll was pretty much done.

Incense is used during prayer time in front of the Gohonzon (or mandala or whatever a person uses in their shrine) to purify the air.  It was the last element that needed to be added to my shrine which includes a living plant, fruit, water bowl and a bell which is chimed during the prayer ceremony.  I used leftover wood, soaked and bent it into shape then added the incense stick and painted it.  Lots of people like to “pile up” their burnt incense on the holder to show how much they have been praying (or for some other reason I don’t know) so I simulated that using some glue and some sand. 
Small leftover pieces to make the burner.

Ribbon to close the scroll and sand to simulate burned incense.









I plan on making another small Buddhist shrine in another room but one that would have a statue instead of a scroll.  There are lots of schools of thought and manner of worship in Buddhism (probably more than there are forms of Christian worship) but I still prefer that my Ryokan favors Buddhist sects than Shinto.  If you are interested in finding out more, click on the hyperlinks.

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