True Buddha School Dharma Propagation House Announcement
Clarification Regarding the Enshrinement of Zashi Lhamo and Her Place in the Path of Cultivation

Reference No.: Dharma Clarification Statement No. 004

Recently, some fellow practitioners have inquired whether a statue of Zashi Lhamo may be enshrined on a home altar or temple altar, and how it should be placed when shrine space is limited. To prevent confusion arising from differing opinions and to provide guidance for temples and practitioners, the Ayushmats of the True Buddha Dharmadhara House, based on the compassionate instruction given by Root Lineage Guru His Holiness Living Buddha Liansheng Sheng-yen Lu on May 27, 2026, at the Seattle True Buddha Foundation Office, hereby offer the following clarification:

1. Regarding the Claim That “Zashi Lhamo Cannot Be Enshrined on a Home Altar”
   The assertion that a Zashi Lhamo statue cannot be enshrined on a home altar is not a correct understanding. Zashi Lhamo is not a deity who is forbidden to receive offerings from practitioners, nor should one-sided statements lead fellow practitioners to fear, reject, or misunderstand her.
   
   If practitioners, due to karmic affinity and faith, wish to respectfully enshrine Zashi Lhamo on their home altar for protection, blessings of wealth, or safe travels, there is generally no objection to doing so. However, the enshrinement should be carried out with reverence, purity, and in accordance with proper Dharma principles, and practitioners should understand the position and role most appropriate for her within the altar arrangement.
   
   
2. Regarding Zashi Lhamo’s Placement on the Altar
   Zashi Lhamo may be enshrined on either a temple altar or a home altar. However, according to the hierarchy of sacred beings and the principles governing altar arrangements, if space permits, she is more appropriately placed in the protector or dakini positions on either side of the altar, rather than in the central position reserved for the principal deity.
   
   If a temple has ample space, a separate altar may also be established in a side hall or other suitable location for the enshrinement of Zashi Lhamo, allowing devotees to pay homage, make offerings, and pray for blessings. Since the worship of Zashi Lhamo includes particular ritual and offering practices, a more independent, spacious, and purified setting is generally more suitable for public veneration and offerings.
   
   If a practitioner’s shrine room or home altar space is limited and does not allow for a separate altar or side hall, Zashi Lhamo may be respectfully placed in a lower protector position on either side of the altar, or in another appropriate and clean location beneath the tiger side of the altar. The essential point is not the physical size or spaciousness of the altar, but rather that the hierarchy of the altar remains clear, the attitude of offering is reverent, and the direction of one’s practice is not confused.
   
   
3. Regarding Whether Zashi Lhamo Is Suitable as One’s Principal Deity
   When selecting a principal deity, practitioners should choose a Buddha, bodhisattva, or principal deity whose practice leads one toward rebirth in a pure land, liberation, enlightenment, and the attainment of bodhi.
   
   Although Zashi Lhamo is known for her efficacious blessings and protective power, according to the practice principles of our School, she is not generally regarded as suitable as a practitioner’s principal deity.
   True Buddha practitioners should rely upon the principal deity practices transmitted, taught, and authorized by the Root Lineage Guru, clearly establishing the proper stages of cultivation. Dharma protectors, wealth deities, or local guardian deities should not be mistakenly elevated to the role of a principal deity whose purpose is liberation and enlightenment.
   
   
4. Regarding the Protective Merits and Blessings of Zashi Lhamo
   Zashi Lhamo possesses the dual powers of a wealth deity and a protector of travelers. Practitioners may respectfully pray for her blessings according to their own needs and karmic affinities, whether concerning livelihood, business, safe travel, or auspicious journeys.
   
   However, requests for the blessings of wealth deities and Dharma protectors should always be grounded in right faith, right practice, right actions, and pure aspiration. One should not fall into superstition, greed, or practices that deviate from the true purpose of spiritual cultivation.
   
   True Buddha practitioners should understand that Dharma protectors safeguard practitioners in their cultivation, and that the resources bestowed by wealth deities serve as supportive conditions for accomplishing Bodhi activities. Neither should be regarded as a substitute for genuine practice, repentance, observance of precepts, or the generation of Bodhicitta.
   
   
5. Clarification Regarding Zashi Lhamo and the Historical Account of Sera Monastery
   According to biographical accounts of Zashi Lhamo, the reason she was not enshrined within Sera Monastery but instead worshipped in a small shrine outside the monastery was primarily due to the fact that the resident monastic community at that time consisted largely of monks. In consideration of the circumstances and monastic regulations of that era, a separate shrine was established for her. This was not because Zashi Lhamo could not enter a Buddhist altar, nor did it imply that she could not receive offerings from Buddhist disciples.
   
   Therefore, within True Buddha School cultivation venues and the homes of True Buddha practitioners, no such prohibition exists. Temples and fellow practitioners should not mistake historical circumstances and hearsay for a doctrinal restriction on enshrinement, nor should such misunderstandings create fear, division, or opposition among devotees.