Question: Where is the best location for a shrine at home? If I get a statue of the Buddha, does it need to be blessed? Is there a ritual to be performed?
Answer: My advice is to place the shrine where there is ample light, where it is readily seen (yet respectful), where many will pass by it or be near it – e.g. in the living room. This is not really about ‘fengshui’! This is so as the shrine should serve as an obvious reminder of the Buddha and his teachings. But if you wish to chant or meditate before the shrine, you might have to balance this with privacy too. In the ‘extreme’ case, the shrine might be better in a study room. Then again, it is not a must to chant or meditate before the shrine.
About consecration of the image, my advice is at http://moonpointer.com/new/2011/01/consecration You can start by chanting lots of your favourite Buddhist chant in the presence of the image while holding a glass of water to bless it with the chanting, before sprinkling it lightly on the image. Different people will advise differently, but this is my simple advice.
Related Article:
Did the Buddha Teach Fengshui?
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/05/did-the-buddha-teach-fengshui
