Dear Master Lu, how should I burn Little Houses if I do not have a Buddhist altar in my home?<\/p>\n
\u2022 It is best not to burn Little Houses in Buddhist temples.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 If you do not have a Buddhist altar in your home, you can burn the Little Houses on your balcony, near the window in your living room, or in the backyard.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 You should offer the \u201cHeart Incense\u201d and say, \u201cI express my sincere gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva\u201d three times. You can then recite the Great Compassion Mantra once and the Heart Sutra once.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Raise the Little Houses slightly above your head, visualise yourself kneeling down and bowing, and say the following prayer: \u201cMay the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me, <your full name>, help me to give these Little Houses to <name of the recipient>\u201d; the recipient can be your karmic creditor, a deceased person, an aborted or miscarried child, or the karmic creditor of someone\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 When you are burning Little Houses (it is best to burn them from top to bottom, starting from the upper right-hand corner where it says, \u201cOffer To\u201d), you can say the following prayer: \u201cMay the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me with your compassion.\u201d You can then light the Little Houses using a lighter or matches. While you are burning Little Houses, simply say, \u201cMay the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva protect and bless me with your compassion.\u201d Do not recite or say anything further.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 After you have finished burning Little Houses, you can say the following, "I bow in gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva for helping me give these Little Houses to <name of the recipient>. I express my sincere gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva for protecting and blessing me." (Visualise yourself kneeling down at the altar and performing a full bow so that your forehead touches the floor.)
\nYou could also say corresponding prayers. For example, if you give Little Houses to the karmic creditor of <someone\u2019s full name>, you could pray to Guan Yin Bodhisattva to grant this person good health, safety and good fortune. If you use a Little House to resolve X\u2019s karmic conflicts, you could pray to Guan Yin Bodhisattva to help resolve the negative karmic affinity between X and Y.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Ensure that the entire piece of paper is thoroughly burnt. You can use metal tweezers to hold the Little House while burning it.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The best times to burn Little Houses are 8am, 10am and 4pm. Any other time during the day on a sunny day would also be fine. Generally speaking, the period between 6am and sunset is suitable for burning Little Houses if the weather is good. For more details please refer to another Master Jun Hong Lu\u2019s publication: A Guide to Reciting the Combination of Buddhist Scriptures: Little Houses.<\/p>\n