My altar on January, 25, 2015. I kept my old SGI Mandala Gohonzon closed inside the Butsudan and instead purchased a pair of statues to become my Gohonzon.The stupa with Sakyamuni and Many Treasures buddhas on either side of the Odaimoku and the statue of Nichiren were purchased on Ebay from Japan.
On June 23, I passed the 2,000 day marker on this 500 Yojanas Journey to the Place of Treasures. It occurred to me while chanting this morning that a pictorial view of the evolution of my altar would be a nice way to mark the occasion.
My blog post from the conclusion of the first 500 days offers a nice retrospective on how this journey began. But sitting in front of my altar today I am in awe of how my life has changed in such a short 2000 days. I’m not suggesting the elaborate changes to my altar space are particularly beneficial. I often think a simple altar with just a Lotus Sutra, a candle, flowers, incense and water would be a perfect tribute to the One Vehicle. Still, the evolution of my altar reflects my growing faith.
So, here’s a retrospective:
By the end of February 2015, I had added metal Lotus flowers to either side of the statues and a water offering bowl. In addition I had found tea-light candle holders in the shape of glass Lotus flowers. The blue cloth-wrapped bottle is Saki that was given to my wife and I on our wedding in 1990. It’s been an offering ever since.In July 2015, I asked Ven. Kenjo Igarashi to perform an eye-opening ceremony for my statues. He chose that opportunity to give me a Nichiren Shu Mandala Gohonzon to add to my altar. I gave my SGI Mandala to Rev. Igarashi to eye-close and dispose of.For some time I had been using a piano bench (left) as a table when knelling on the floor. In August 2015, I hired a Japanese craftsman in Sacramento to custom build a chest that could provide a table top and storage for the altar.In September 2015, I modified the Butsudan to elevate the statues. The box is one of my wife’s collection made by the same Japanese craftsman and sold by Sakura Gifts From Japan in Midtown Sacramento.In May 2016, I asked Rev. Igarashi to have a memorial tablet made for my parents. He ordered it for me from a shop in Japan and picked it up during his annual trip to Nichiren Shu headquarters.In July 2016, I purchased an uchiwa daiko, a traditional fan drum.In August 2016, my wife found these vases picturing Nichiren at Sakura Gifts from Japan.Several knickknacks were added to the altar in 2016. The miniature Mandala Gohonzan and the Kishimojin amulet were purchased from Rev. Ryusho Jeffus and became my traveling altar. A 2016 Father’s Day gift from my son became a treasured altar knickknack.In July 2017 I added a memorial tablet for my wife’s mother, who had died the year before.
In 2017 I went through a craftsy phase. I found a copper box to illustrate Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma quote: “He will be able to recognize by smell the gold, silver and other treasures deposited underground, and the things enclosed in a copper box.” I decorated toy vehicles to illustrate Chapter 3, A Parable. The box and Love Van have been retired but the Jeweled Vehicle holds a prominent spot on my side altar.
By 2018 the decorations associated with my altar have begun to take over the corner next to the altar. The pictures on the left side of the corner are by Ryusho Jeffus and the paintings on the right by Kanjo Grohman. Ryusho’s Kishimojin painting has been added to the altar and paired with his amulet.By the end of 2018 I had replaced my mother-in-law’s memorial tablet with one that included my wife’s father, who died earlier in the year. I also added a memorial tablet with my stepmother and my father. The jewels spewing from the jeweled vehicle are donations from my wife and symbolize the many necklaces given to the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra.In 2019 I found a set of Seven Happy Gods statues among donations to the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church rummage sale and added these to my altar after Rev. Igarashi eye-opened them for me. See this story and this story.The addition of the Seven Happy Gods prompted a rearrangement that spilled a bunch of decorations onto a side table.In January of this year, I installed glass shelves in the corner next to the altar to display the decorations that had been crowding the side table.The Seven Happy Gods belonging to my stepmother were moved to my new display area along with a book on the gods I purchased.During the COVID-19 pandemic I’ve been attending online services from the Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada. I have enjoyed Rev. Shoda Kanai’s services and plan to attend whenever I don’t have a local Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church service. It occurred to me recently that my son had left a statue of Kannon, World Voice Perceiver Bodhisattva, when he moved out. I rearranged the side corner to place the Chinese Kwan-yin statue in front of the Mandala Gohonzon from Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’s Incarcerated Lotus book. The blue Buddha drawn by Ryusho represents Medicine Buddha.Which brings us to the altar today, 2000 days into my Journey to the Place of Treasures
