The Butsudan in Our Daily Lives
(Nichiren Buddhist International Center)
Do you have a Butsudan?
Some of you may wonder what a Butsudan is. The Butsudan is a family altar. As you know, most of
Christians have the cross or icon at home. The Butsudan in a Buddhist’s house is like the cross at a
Christian’s house. It is very important for us as Buddhists, so I would like to tell you about the
Butsudan. For more information, please refer to the “SHINGYO HIKKEI (A handbook for members of the Nichiren Sect)”, page 39.
Some people might know little about the Butsudan. The Butsudan is like the Buddha’s house, and is the altar dedicated to the Dai-Mandala (the objet of worship), the Buddha, Nichiren Shonin, and our
ancestors. The Butsudan also shows us the Buddha’s world. It is usually box-shaped, but there are
many different kinds of Butsudan. No matter what shape, size of color the Butsudan is, the most
important thing is to dedicate it to the Buddhas and others. We sometimes see only the Buddha’s statue
on the shelf. That is not good because the Buddha is not just an artistic statue, but the objet of worship
for Buddhists. We sometimes put a beautiful doll in a nice glass case. Why don’t we take better care of
the Buddha and others, much more than just a doll? We should treasure the Buddha and others as the
objet of worship with the Butsudan.
Why should we have a Butsudan? The Butsudan expresses the owner’s faith. The Butsudan at home
means that Buddhism is very close to a family. The Butsudan leads the family closer to Buddhism. In
addition, the Butsudan also shows us the relationships between the Buddha, Nichiren Shonin, and our
family including our ancestors, and shows the Buddha’s great world in which Nichiren Shonin and our ancestors live. The cross, on the other hand, shows us only the relationship between God and our
present family. In other words, the Butsudan is the window between the Buddha’s world and this
world. If we have the Butsudan at home, we can see the Buddha, Nichiren Shonin, and our ancestors
whenever we want. When sitting in front of the Butsudan with gassho, we can see our parents,
grandparents, and other ancestors enjoying their lives in the Buddha’s world, and we can fully realize the salvation and compassion of our Lord Buddha.
By the way, someone said that he did not need to have a Butsudan because his parents have one. Is that true? No. We should have the Butsudan for each house, just as we need to have electric power and water supply for each house. We should believe in the Buddhism not only at the temple but also at home. It is useless if we do not believe in the Buddhism in our daily lives. To fully appreciate the Buddhism, we should put our belief in the Buddhism to practical use. For the sake of belief in our daily lives, we need the Butsudan at home, dedicated to the Buddhas.
How do we set up a Butsudan? First, we should put the Dai-Mandala on the furthest wall in the
Butsudan. The Dai-Mandala is one of the most important Gohonzon (the objet of worship), originally
written by Nichiren Shonin. It shows us the true Buddha’s world. Nichiren Shonin manifested the
salvation, compassion and wisdom of the Buddha with the Dai-Mandala. We may put the Buddha’s
statue in front of the Dai-Mandala. This means that the Buddha is in the center of the Universe. On the
second shelf, we put Nichiren Shonin’s statue. This means that we receive the teaching of the Buddha
through Nichiren Shonin. On the next shelf, we put our ancestors’ ihai (memorial tablets) and kakocho
(family ancestral record). It shows us that our ancestors live happily in their next lives with the Buddha
and always keep their eyes on us. Thus we should take good care of the Butsudan. We should keep it
clean, and set it on a mantel or table in the living room where family members always gather, not on the floor. If we have a new one, we should ask a minister to perform the eye-opening blessing. The
eye-opening blessing is a ceremony not just for opening it, but also for welcoming the Buddha to our
home, and for vowing to believe strongly in the Buddha.
Here’s how to take care of your Butsudan.
1. Offer a cup of fresh water every morning.
2. Offer a lighted candle and incense every morning.
3. Hold a service every morning & evening.
4. Offer flowers and other nice things.
5. Keep it clean.
6. Report things that happen to the family.
If our hands become dirty, we wash them with water. Water has the power to clean. The teaching of
the Buddha has the same kind of power to make our minds clean. To offer a cup of water means to
praise the Buddha with water, which has the same kind of power, and to quench the Buddha’s thirst.A candle burns, brightens, breaks the darkness, and makes people feel at ease. It is said that the candlelight symbolizes the wisdom of our Lord Buddha. It brightens and breaks our ignorance.
Offering incense means to offer the fragrance of the incense to the Buddhas, and also to purge us with its fragance. It is said that offering incense symbolize the compassion of the Buddha. Its fragance spread all over equally no matter what kind of barrier is. In addition, both the candlelight and the fragrance of the inciense spread as the teaching of the Buddha spreads.
Holding a service every morning is to say good morning to the Buddhas, to vow to have stronger faith, to express our gratitude for their help, and to pray for a good day. The Buddhas always care for us. So hold a service every morning, and also say something to the Buddha like “See you later” and “I am home” when you go out and return.
Offering flowers means to offer beauty and to ornament the Buddha. Do not offer artificial flowers. You can offer other things such as rice, fruit, sweets, etc. Please offer something that your ancestors like on their memorial day. For example, if your father loved coffee, offer coffee to him on his memorial day. Do not leave dying flowers or other things that are not fresh. Take good care of them as if you were offering them to the living. The Buddhas are by your side always. We live together although we can not see them. If you think and believe like this, your family will grow to understand that it is important to take care not only of the visible but also of the invisible. Your children and your grand children are greatly influenced by you. Keep the Butsudan clean because the Butsudan is like a mirror reflecting your mind. If you do not have strong faith and a good life, it will quickly show in the appearance of the Butsudan.
Reporting something that happens to the family means to talk about everything with the Buddhas and to appreciate it. Do not worry about topics. For example, you can tell of a baby’s birth, the start of school, graduation, marriage, etc. Unimportant topics are also OK. Let’s talk with the Buddhas!
Now you understand more about the Butsudan, don’t you? If you have any questions, please feel free
to ask your minister. Your minister will be of great help to you.
(Written by Rev. Chishin Hirai)
