This page records how a Hòa Hảo Buddhist worships at home, following books of the faith published on hoahao.org and on the site Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo. The library's Hòa Hảo shrine follows what is written below: the altar holds only the brown cloth, plain water, flowers and incense, with no statue, no bell and no wooden fish.
IHow Many Sticks
The books of the faith that the library has read do not fix a number of incense sticks. They say only: hold the incense, bow three times, kneel and pray, place the incense, bow to the ground four times. The number three at the shrine is common custom, not a rule of the faith.
What the books do state clearly is the offering: to the Buddha one should offer only plain water, flowers and incense. Plain water stands for cleanness, flowers for purity, and incense is used to clear away foul odours. Beyond these, nothing else should be offered. The books also say that practice lies in cultivating the heart and character more than in outward ceremony.
At the library's Hòa Hảo shrine, each offering of incense counts as one sincere visit.
IIWorship At The Three Altars
IIIEight Prayers And Where Each Icon Comes From
A Hòa Hảo Buddhist does not compose private requests before the altar. The prayers are set: the prayer before the ancestors' altar, the Refuge prayer and the five vows called Tây phương ngũ nguyện. The library gives the opening of the first two, all five vows, and one sentence on repaying the Four Debts which the library composed from the names of the four debts. The Vietnamese follows two sites kept by members of the faith. The English lines are the library's own rendering.
The censer on the ancestors' altar. The follower worships at the ancestors' altar first. Holding the incense, one bows three times, kneels, raises joined hands to the forehead and says this prayer. Its next two lines say: now I have awakened and take refuge in the Buddha, and I set my will on a gentle practice that builds good conditions. The incense is placed, one stands, says four more lines of thanks to the ancestors, then bows to the ground four times.
Rite of the faith · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Sự cúng lạy của người cư sĩ tại gia (worship of the lay follower at home). Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, the prayer before the ancestors' altar. hoahao.org, Để Hiểu Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, chapter 3: forms of practiceThe brown cloth (trần dà). Before the altar of the Three Jewels the follower invokes Śākyamuni Buddha three times, then says the Refuge prayer. This altar has no statue. It holds only a cloth of the brown colour called dà. The commentary says this brown is made by joining other colours, so it stands for harmony among humankind.
Rite and altar object of the faith · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Sự cúng lạy của người cư sĩ tại gia (worship of the lay follower at home). hoahao.org, Chú Giải Sấm Giảng, section Cách thờ phượng (ways of worship)Four brown squares. The Four Debts of Gratitude are what the Founder, Huỳnh Phú Sổ, taught his followers to repay: to ancestors and parents, to the country, to the Three Jewels, to compatriots and humankind. The book Để Hiểu Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo explains that the four bows are bows to the Four Debts. The sentence here was composed by the library from the names of the four debts. It is not a set prayer. The four squares are the library's own drawing.
Teaching of the faith, sentence and icon by the library · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Đền đáp Tứ Đại Trọng Ân (quoting the Founder's collected teachings). hoahao.org, Để Hiểu Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, chapter 3: forms of practice. Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), on simplicity in Hòa Hảo rules and ritesThe Heaven altar (bàn Thông Thiên). The Heaven altar stands in the open air in front of the house. The follower takes it as the main direction and prays to the four directions, bowing four times at each. Facing the main direction one says the Refuge prayer, and at the other three only the five vows. The first vow asks for peace in the world.
Rite and place of worship of the faith · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Sự cúng lạy của người cư sĩ tại gia (worship of the lay follower at home). hoahao.org, Để Hiểu Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, chapter 3: forms of practice. Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), on simplicity in Hòa Hảo rules and ritesThree cups of water on the ancestors' altar. The second vow asks that the Nine Generations and Seven Ancestors be reborn in the Pure Land. Để Hiểu Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo says that on the ancestors' altar, besides the censer, there must be three cups of water. Plain water stands for cleanness.
Rite and offering of the faith · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Sự cúng lạy của người cư sĩ tại gia (worship of the lay follower at home). hoahao.org, Để Hiểu Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, chapter 3: forms of practice. hoahao.org, Chú Giải Sấm Giảng, section Cách thờ phượng (ways of worship)A vase of flowers. The third vow asks that living parents gain blessing and long life, and that parents who have passed go straight to the Western Land. Flowers are one of the three things a follower offers, and stand for purity. Pairing the vase with this vow is the library's choice.
Offering of the faith, pairing by the library · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Sự cúng lạy của người cư sĩ tại gia (worship of the lay follower at home). hoahao.org, Chú Giải Sấm Giảng, section Cách thờ phượng (ways of worship)The four directions around the Heaven altar. The fourth vow asks that all the people have kind and loving hearts and be freed from delusion. At the Heaven altar the follower prays to all four directions: in front, behind and to both sides. The four pointers are the library's drawing of that practice.
Rite of the faith, icon drawn by the library · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Sự cúng lạy của người cư sĩ tại gia (worship of the lay follower at home). Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), on simplicity in Hòa Hảo rules and ritesThe book of Sấm Giảng. The fifth vow asks the Buddha and the Buddha Master in compassion to pardon the disciple, end misfortune and grant clear wisdom, so that all attain the fruit of the Way. Sấm Giảng Thi Văn is the book of the Founder's teachings that followers read and study. Pairing the book with this vow is the library's choice.
Scripture of the faith, pairing by the library · Source: Tuổi Trẻ Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, Sự cúng lạy của người cư sĩ tại gia (worship of the lay follower at home). hoahao.org, Để Hiểu Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo, chapter 3: forms of practiceThe library does not draw a portrait of the Founder, Huỳnh Phú Sổ, nor a Buddha statue, a bell or a wooden fish. The altar of the Three Jewels holds only the brown cloth, so the eight icons are altar objects, offerings and directions of bowing.
IVAfter The Offering
So at the Hòa Hảo shrine, once the incense has risen, the library invites you to read the chosen prayer silently. The shrine does not invite reading aloud, because the books of the faith teach prayer within the heart, with no bell and no wooden fish. After the prayer a follower usually bows to the ground four times.
The sentence that what matters most is to live by what you have vowed is the library's own. It sums up the teaching that practice lies in cultivating the heart and character more than in outward ceremony.
VWhat The Library Is Not Sure Of
Are you a Hòa Hảo Buddhist and see something wrong? Please send a correction with its source to thayungkhiem@gmail.com. The library will fix it and credit you.
VISources
Sources read on 5 October 2026. Van Dao Duong describes. It does not replace a real rite and does not represent any Hòa Hảo church or committee.
Go to the Hòa Hảo shrine to offer incense
?Quick Questions
How many incense sticks do Hòa Hảo Buddhists light
The books of the faith that the library has read fix no number. In daily life three at each altar is common. What the books do state is the offering: only plain water, flowers and incense.
How many bows
Four bows to the ground at each altar. A book introducing the faith explains the four bows as bows to the Four Debts of Gratitude. At the Heaven altar the follower prays to four directions with four bows at each.
Which altar comes first
The ancestors' altar first, then the altar of the Three Jewels, and last the Heaven altar outside.
Why does the altar hold only a brown cloth
The altar of the Three Jewels has no statue. The commentary says this brown is made by joining other colours, so it stands for harmony among humankind.
Are the prayers said aloud
The books of the faith teach prayer within the heart, with no bell and no wooden fish. So the library's Hòa Hảo shrine invites silent reading only.