Saturday
Arts and Poetry, Opinion PiecesKitchen Shrine at Dorje Dzong
Phyllis Segura offers recommendations for a kitchen shrine, inspired by our recent interview with Sangyum Wendy Friedman and Kusung Dapon Noel McLellan on Shambhala Households.
Click on images to enlarge:
The offerings here are a rice paddle and chopsticks. The shrine should also contain a rice offering and water or sake offering. And a JAM calligraphy, the seed syllable for Jambhala, a deity representing prosperity and abundance.
The Kitchen Shrine should only contain these objects. No pictures are necessary. No tsotchkes. And no incense, as that interferes with the cooking smells. You can make the shrine as elegant as you like.
The variations are many within these simple bounds. Choose beautiful bowls. Place the shrine above chest level, not too low and not too high, so that you can reach it.
The poem by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche reads:
WARMTH IN THE HOUSE
Garuda’s wings
Dragon’s roar
Confused child
Lion’s cuddle
Tiger brings food –
Shambhala household
Read more articles about Shambhala Households.
Jan 24, 2010
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Thanks, Phyllis. Are these your personal recommendations for outfitting a kitchen shrine or is this official guidance from above?