Question asked by Paulo Sérgio
Hello, dear pastors. I hope everyone is well. I read a teaching here on this site about Ganapati Ragavajra. There is much similarity with Ganesha of the Hindus, though their stories are different. So I understand that Ganapati, being an emanation of Chenrezig, is an enlightened being. And Ganesha, for the understanding of Buddhism, is a worldly god. Now, being a Buddhist, and knowing this, I have gained a statue of Ganesha as a gift. And it was all very incredible how it happened, so I understood this as a sign, since I'm going through some professional and financial difficulties. I understood as a sign of the Buddhas that I should practice Ganapati, according to the Sadhana given by His Eminence Tsen Rinpoche here on the site. My question is: May I put a statue of Ganesha on my Buddhist altar and regard it as Lord Ganapati? Gratitude … Tashi Delek!
Dear Paulo Sérgio,
A Buddha statue is a wood or metal or other material carved or made into the form of a Buddha. The blessings of a Buddha statue come from different aspect. One of them is the iconography of the Buddha which is the symbolism of His enlightened qualities which if we meditate on will guide us on the path of liberation.
The blessings of a Buddha statue can also come from what we put inside the statue. In Tibetan Buddhism, we always insert hand-rolled mantras, relics, holy objects, Buddha images into a statue. Hence, by the power of the object themselves, anyone who sees or make offerings or prostrate to the statue will get the blessings.
The blessings can also come from the power of meditation and prayers. If we are good meditators who can generate strong visualization, we can invite a Buddha to enter any statue and visualize it as the Buddha himself, then we can get the blessings of the Buddha.
Therefore, there’s no right or wrong for you to put a statue of Ganesha on your altar and regard it as Lord Ganapati. You can pray and invite Lord Ganapati to enter the statue by performing the Ganapati sadhana given by H.E. Tsem Rinpoche with a sincere heart and still get the blessings. However in order to get the full benefit of Ganapati practice, of course it would be best if you can have a real Ganapati statue with correct iconography, be it just a printed photo, a thangka or a real statue.
Hope my answer helps.
Recommended reading:
1. Dorje Shugden: My side of the story (especially the bottom part of pt 4 of English transcript) https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/who-is-dorje-shugden-to-me.html
2. The Body of a Buddha: A Road Map to Liberation
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-body-of-a-buddha-a-road-map-to-liberation.html