In the meditation hall, I have an altar dedicated to Amida Buddha and the bodhisattvas Kannon and Jizo. It contains three statues, which bear their respective images along with candles and an incense burner. The statues are of good quality, but they aren't that different from other figurines. They're white, standing approximately six inches tall. I bought them on Amazon, and for most of the day, there's nothing special about them. That changes, however, when I perform my Buddhist liturgy. Twice a day, I light the candles on my altar, I burn incense as an offering, and I bow to those ordinary, everyday statues. In that moment, they are transformed into celestial beings. They become a source of comfort. They become spiritual guides. They become holy and sacred in a way that other statues are not. This transformation occurs because each time I bow in front of my altar I shift my relationship to the statues. I treat them as holy objects, so they become holy. More than
The Same Old Zen
by Sensei Alex Kakuyo