Many readers have written in with excellent questions regarding the maintenance of your WEALTH VASES to benefit the family. Some of you have learnt how to make a wealth vase with us here as part of Lillian Too’s Master Practitioner Course in Feng Shui, or may have invited one home from our recent Spiritual Feng Shui event. Here are answers to some of your most pressing questions! We hope this helps you. May your wealth vase bring great good fortune and bless your family with the eight precious types of prosperity!
What is a Wealth Vase?
The nobility classes of China and Tibet have long had a heritage tradition of making wealth vases to bring prosperity to their families and also to be passed to their descendants; the family wealth vase is always a vital part of the family heirloom. But a Wealth Vase is also a holy object that contains the image of Wealth Buddhas, along with precious treasures, and then have been blessed with the divine energies of the Wealth Buddhas. There are many different traditions of Buddha wealth vases that can be made; the ones we are discussing here refer to Wealth Vases made according to the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition.
How do I get a wealth vase?
Generally in the past, people request their spiritual master to make one, or offer donations to a monastery to have one custom-made for their family. During her Master Practitioner Courses, Lillian Too teaches her students how to make feng shui wealth vases that are blessed by the presence of the White Dzambhala and his four offering dakinis. Recently, Lillian Too made wealth vases available at her Spiritual Feng Shui event and you might have brought one home from the event.
Is the wealth vase the same thing as a naga vase?
They are not the same thing at all. Although they may appear similar on the outside, they fulfil different purposes and are consecrated differently. A Naga vase is an appeasement offering made to the Water or Land nagas; these are usually dropped into rivers/oceans or buried into the ground. They are not meant to be kept in the home.
Wealth vases are kept inside the home. Wealth Vases usually contain the images of enlightened Buddhas like Tara, Dzambhala or Orgyen Norlha; hence these are kept in your shrine room. It becomes a holy object for you to make offerings and receive blessings of prosperity.
What do I do with the wealth vase when I bring it home?
Wealth vases should not be displayed for the public to see. They belong in a shrine room, and even inside the shrine room they are kept hidden away. Purchase a beautiful sturdy cabinet (that you can pass on to future generations) that has at least two or three shelf levels. Place your wealth vase on the top shelf, and fill the bottom shelf with offerings such as flowers, food and incense on the lower shelf. You can also offer bejewelled trees, sailing ships laden with cargo, Jewels, pearls, eight auspicious objects, seven precious royal emblems, mandalas and so forth.
Traditionally, food offerings placed inside the cabinet are bottled water and dried/canned offerings (that won’t expire for at least one year); these are offered inside the cabinet on the first 15 days of the lunar calendar, and then the cabinet is locked up. The offerings are renewed again in the first 15 days of the following lunar year.
Wealth vases should not be displayed for the public to see. They belong in a shrine room, and even inside the shrine room they are kept hidden away.
I have two wealth vases. Can I give one to a friend who is in financial trouble?
If you have not placed the vase inside your wealth cabinet yet, then it is OK to use it as a gift. But once you have placed it inside your wealth cabinet and made offerings to it, better not to give it away. Wealth vases that have been custom-made for your family should remain in your family. Wealth vases and wealth cabinets should only be passed down to your descendants or very close family members.
What if my wealth vase cracks?
Hopefully, if you look after your wealth vases well, they should not crack. But if for some reason it cracks, then you should not keep it inside your shrine. Bury it in a remote forest where no one will step over it, and turn away without looking at it again. If the wealth vase was made by your Guru, and contain family jewels, please take the broken vase to your master or seek the help of a qualified master to make a new wealth vase that can be re-consecrated. If you cannot do this, then it is best to bury the vase at the back of the home in a way where no one steps over it. Offering the vase then to the land nagas of your home will bless your family and you continue to benefit from having the wealth vase.
