Sacred Space and Objects
Creating and maintaining sacred spaces for practice
Teacher Experience
A contemplative invitation for educators to reflect on before teaching.What space in your home or classroom feels most sacred to you? Notice what qualities make it feel special—is it the objects, the light, the silence, or simply your intention when you’re there? Try creating a small personal sacred space with just three meaningful objects. Spend five minutes each day simply sitting with these objects, noticing how your relationship to them deepens through regular, respectful attention. Consider how this practice of recognizing the sacred in small things might influence your presence with students and your approach to learning environments.
Student Experience
A contemplative invitation for students to connect with this learning goal.Think about what is preeminently important to you, such as family, nature, and playing. Create an area that pays homage to that thing.
Understanding
Students will understand...All the world is sacred. Sacred spaces, shrines or altars, and objects are reminders of our connection to our highest aspirations and can support contemplative practice. We each have the ability to define what is sacred to us and can demonstrate respect for others by showing respect for what they see as sacred.
Action
Students are able to...Analyze the Buddhist understanding of sacredness in relation to the Three Jewels and practice objects; evaluate how creating and maintaining sacred spaces supports contemplative practice and community building; and design sacred space practices that honor Buddhist principles while fostering reverence for the dharma.
Content Knowledge
Students will know...The word sacred refers to what is most precious to us, usually in a religious sense. In Buddhism, the most remarkable thing one can do is aspire to awaken one’s own innate wisdom, so everything that reminds us of this purpose is seen as sacred. Everything that reminds us of the three jewels—the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha—can remind us to remember the view of sacredness, tune our motivation, and practice the teachings.
Many theistic religions regard certain beings and aspects of nature as imbued with a sacred divine presence. Specific books, places, buildings, and even individuals are considered particularly holy. Likewise, in Buddhism, things and places associated with the Buddha and his enlightenment are viewed as sacred.
To reinforce the idea of sacredness, various traditions employ different methods, such as elevating dharma texts and avoiding placing them on the floor. Like much of dharma practice, this approach can be somewhat tricky. We are training our minds to respect and admire certain things because they aid our practice, but this does not imply we should look down on everything else. Ultimately, it is taught that these sacred qualities extend everywhere and exist throughout everything; however, for ordinary, unenlightened sentient beings, this distinction between the sacred and the ordinary is useful on the path.
Guiding Questions
Implementation Possibilities
Research sacred architecture across Buddhist cultures and create comparative presentations examining how different traditions embody the Three Jewels in physical space. Design comprehensive altar keeping practices that integrate traditional elements with contemporary contexts, documenting the mind training aspects of sacred object care. Engage in ethnographic study of local sacred spaces through respectful visits and interviews with practitioners. Create collaborative projects that establish school or community sacred spaces using consensus-building and contemplative design principles. Implement long-term sacred space stewardship practices while tracking personal insights about how environmental reverence affects daily mindfulness and ethical conduct.
Assessment Ideas
Observe student engagement during sacred space care activities and note the quality of respectful behavior. Evaluate student-designed sacred space proposals, including rationale for object selection, arrangement principles, and community agreements; assess written reflections connecting sacred space practice to personal mind training development.
