How To Offer Incense In Buddhism

A lotus. Offering flowers is among the most familiar ways of honouring the Three Jewels. An article on the Vietnam Buddhism portal explains that a fresh flower will wither, which reminds the giver of impermanence. Master Chin Kung teaches that the flower stands for the cause, since the flower comes before the fruit. Neither text names a species. The library drew a lotus.

The pure vase and willow branch. In the liturgy compiled by Most Venerable Thích Trí Quảng, the rite for peace (cầu an) chants the Universal Gate chapter, the text on the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Quán Thế Âm). Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ explains that the pure vase stands for virtue, the nectar water for compassion that cools suffering wherever it falls, and the willow branch for patience. The icon shows only the vase and the branch, never the Bodhisattva.

The floating flower lantern. The rite for the departed (cầu siêu) in Most Venerable Thích Trí Quảng's liturgy chants the Amitabha Sutra. An article on the Vietnam Buddhism portal records that flower lanterns are floated on rivers to pray for peace in the land and for the deliverance of the dead, at Vesak, at Vu Lan and on days of remembrance. The article does not describe the lantern's shape. The lotus form is the library's drawing.

The bell and the wooden fish. Most Venerable Thích Trí Quảng cites the five practices of repentance taught by Master Zhiyi: praising the Buddha, bowing to the Buddha, repenting of wrongdoing, making vows and dedicating merit. In the liturgy of the Vietnamese Buddhist Family, the Repentance text is preceded by the instruction to sound the bell and the wooden fish. These two instruments keep time for the chanting.

The bodhi leaf. To make a vow is to promise before the Three Jewels what one will do. The chanting liturgy holds four great vows, opening with the line that living beings are numberless and one vows to carry them all across. The bodhi tree is where the Buddha awakened, so it is called the tree of awakening. The library drew its leaf to point to where a vow of practice leads.

The lamp. Master Chin Kung teaches that the lamp on the altar stands for the lamp of wisdom. A handbook for lay people from the Buddhist Publication Society, in the Theravada tradition, describes candles and lamps as the light of the Dhamma driving out the darkness of the defilements. Dharma Drum Mountain teaches that what is worth hoping for is wisdom and compassion growing through practice, while greed, anger and delusion lessen.

The rose on the lapel. Vu Lan (Ullambana) is the season of gratitude to parents, with the Ullambana Sutra as its text. The custom of pinning a rose to one's clothes comes from the short essay A Rose for Your Pocket (Bông hồng cài áo), written by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh in 1962. According to the Vietnam Buddhism portal, those whose mother is living wear a pink or red rose and those whose mother has died wear a white one. The custom belongs to Vietnamese Buddhism since the 1960s and is not an ancient rite.

The great temple bell. At the start of spring many temples open the Medicine Buddha Sutra to pray for peace in the land and gentle weather, as reported by Giác Ngộ newspaper. The verse for sounding the bell wishes that its sound may spread through the whole Dharma realm and bring a pure mind to all who hear it. The library drew the temple's great bell to stand for a prayer that reaches everyone.

One candle lighting others. Hồi means to turn, hướng means toward. After a good deed a Buddhist does not keep the merit but wishes to share it with all. An article on the Vietnam Buddhism portal compares this to a candle that lights hundreds of other candles while its own light does not lessen. The icon follows that comparison. It is not a ritual object.