Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Tibetan Altar, Tibetan Shrine, Tibetan Choshom

Late 19th or early 20th century choshom, Amdo style.

Surprise! Many people who visit this site are seeking information about Tibetan altars, including those who, eliminated from the Spelling Bee in the very first round, are seeking information about Tibetan alters, and most particularly those who, with a better grasp of matters, are seeking information about Tibetan shrines, or choshom.

Detail of Amdo choshom shown above.

The pictures shown here are representative examples of current and past approaches. The large cabinets with niches for the display of statues are choshom, not to be confused with the basic cabinets one sees, or the pegam, which are sometimes sold as shrine tables, but are actually reading tables.

Above: Pegam, or common reading table.

Actual antique choshom, as distinct from recent knockoffs.

Beautifully done modern choshom, from Nepal.

Typical shrine room, in Western "Dharma Center" practice.

Practice room in a Sino-Tibetan country residence in America.

Shrine room in a temple.

We have addressed the issue of how to dress, or set up a basic Tibetan Buddhist shrine previously: here.

We have also previously noticed some basic shrine or altar designs: here.

There is a really splendid home-sized shrine pictured: here.

For the benefit of search engines: Tibetan Buddhist altar, Tibetan alter, Tibetan shrine, how to set up traditional altar, Tibetan altar design, Tibetan shrine design

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1 reader comments:

JR said...

Actually I have a question about Pema Wangyal of Dolpo (Great pic BTW). Pema-la had shown me a medical manuscript (in Staten Island) which had the origins of human life (biological) depicted in illustration. I clearly recognized the depiction of meiosis and mitosis and later cell division and development. It was a rare manuscript. This was around the time Pema had developed a cancerous tumors from the paints, and had enrolled me in treating it (with poisonous pigeon crap to induce an infection - and then he put some medicines he made on it - it was a very interesting process and it was gross but it worked). He needed to have gotten some medicines from India but I don't know that he ever did. He died before I ever met up with him again. I was just wondering what happened to all his rare manuscripts, I hope at a museum or back in D'sala - I do hope they are safely stowed, the knowledge is incomparable.