Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. (Buddhist Quote)

Buddhist altar is a place of spiritual practice to develop qualities like gratitude, focus, devotion and wisdom.

• The elements that make up a Buddhist altar are
• Buddhist statue or image to serve as aspiration to enlightenment
• A flame to bring light to ignorance
• Incense to purify and bring pure actions in all directions.
• Fresh flowers a symbol of the fleeting nature of beauty, impermanence, and the blossoming of enlightenment
• Water to represent a calm mind, clarity and purity.
• Meditation tools like singing bowls, mala (prayer beads), or bells, used during chanting, meditation, and mantras to help mindfulness
• Texts and sutras to inspire understanding and reflection

---

Sound in Meditation

Sound in meditation can be used to keep the practitioner mindful, to purify the space, or to call on higher powers. The vibrations from instruments like gongs and signing bowls create high frequency energy (prana or chi / qi) that raise spirit and elevated emotions like love, compassion and gratitude. Tap a singing bowl, ring a bell or use tingshas at regular moments in your meditation practice to stay focused. Tap a bowl or gong and follow the sound into silence to develop focus and to appreciate the nature of sound arising from silence. Use the sounds from gongs and bowls to soothe your autonomic nervous system so that you move into balance, between agitation and lethargy.

---

Key Sutras

The Heart Sutra:

Bodhisattvas who practice the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore see no more obstacles in their mind, and because there are no more obstacles in their mind, they can overcome all fear, destroy all wrong perceptions and realize Perfect Nirvana.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha

(Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, awakening—so be it)

The Diamond Sutra:

As a lamp, a cataract, a star in space

An illusion, a dewdrop, a bubble

A dream, a cloud, a flash of lightning

View all created things like this

The Lotus Sutra:

If you want to dwell in the Buddha way And gain natural wisdom

You should always be diligent about making offerings

To those who receive and embrace the Dharma Flower.

Because he always teaches the unexcelled way,

He will be called Universal Light.

His land will be clean and pure.

And all its bodhisattvas will be daring.

The Dhammapada:

Conquer the angry one by not getting angry;

conquer the wicked by goodness;

conquer the stingy by generosity,

and the liar by speaking the truth.

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.