A Place Of Contemplation:

The Buddhist Shrine Room

Installation view of The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room 

(October 26, 2018 - September 16, 2019)

The Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Photo:  David De Armas

Courtesy of  The Rubin Museum of Art

The need for a period of quiet reflection may always be there but is especially true for the holiday season when life becomes more hectic.  It helps to find a time and place to do it.   The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room at The Rubin Museum of Art provides space for it. 

Since the museum opened in 2004, the shrine room has been a permanent exhibit. Objects in the room are changed periodically to conform with the observance of a specific Buddhist practice.  Presently the room is set up according to the Sakya tradition, developed in the 11th century and one of Tibetan Buddhism's four major schools.

Installation view of The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room 

(October 26, 2018 - September 16, 2019)

The Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Photo:  Hillary Ganton

Visitors may sit and gaze upon the variety of artifacts set before them and listen to a continuous recording of chanting of hymns, prayers and sounds of ritual instruments.  The throaty, sonorous and singsong utterances have a soothing effect enhancing a mood for ruminations.

Jangjya (lcang skya) Lhakhang (lha khang), interior, shrine,

view with villager lighting butter lamps, 2002, 

Jangjya village, Rebgong District, Amdo (Qinghai province)
Photo:  Artstor

Tibetan Buddhist shrines are located in a variety of places such as domestic households, temples and monastic complexes in addition to caves and public village buildings.  They are sacred spaces dedicated to worship and devotional rituals.  Whether the space is filled with a few objects or hundreds, all senses are engaged:  Butter lamps and incense address the sense of smell; painted and sculptural images involve sight; sounds of chanting and musical instruments engages hearing; the taking of blessed liquids entails taste; the use of prayer beads relates to touch and, consciousness, considered the sixth sense in Buddhism, is invoked by thought.  Offerings of food, money and religious items accumulate among the layered, sometimes crowded placement of many types of artifacts.  

Installation view of The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room 

(October 26, 2018 - September 16, 2019)

The Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Photo:  Hillary Ganton

The Rubin's shrine room displays over 100 objects including paintings, sculptures, bowls, lamps, textiles, manuscripts, furniture and musical instruments.  Such a room would have belonged to a wealthy home. Mostly everything on view is from the museum's own collection while other items are from private collectors and other museums. Lenders include Robert and Lois Baylis, the Newark Museum, New Jersey and the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, Staten Island. The two latter museums have extensive collections of art from Tibet and the Himalayan region.

   Installation view of The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room 

(October 26, 2018 - September 16, 2019)

The Rubin Museum of Art, New York 
Photo:  Hillary Ganton

In the museum, lamps are not lit by a flame in clarified butter nor is incense burnt but the flickering electric lights give the impression of illumination encountered in an actual traditional shrine room. All things in the room are symbolic and meaningful.  Light focuses the mind and aids meditation.  It symbolizes the elimination of darkness and represents wisdom.  Prayer beads, available for visitors, are used to mark the repetitions of prayers and devotions.  

To help with understanding, there is an interactive screen outside of the room that identifies and explains what is on view.  The museum's Web site also has an interactive section on the installation with videos of actual temple chanting sessions and a domestic shrine offering.

You may want to take a pause in your life and visit The Rubin Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room.   

The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room

October 26, 2018 - September 16, 2019

The Rubin Museum of Art, New York