Misconceptions on Incense Offering -- Ling Wang

The Spring Festival is coming. Again we see people flock to monasteries and temples to pray and pay homage to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Influenced by my grandma, a devote Buddhist believer, I have been a frequent visitor to monasteries since when I was a child. Nevertheless, I was quite blind in many of the practices regarding praying and paying homage before I became a disciple to Master Zhenlin from whom I learn the proper ways. After all, Buddhist temples, in many places, are nowadays run like a business, and those running them con the prayers into paying more than is necessary by claiming, without the least bit of shame, that “it is what the Buddha wants you to do”.



I now would like to talk on the three aspects on which many are deceived regarding the offering of the incense.



Misconception No. 1—You must buy the incense sticks from the store owned by the temple. Otherwise, it won’t be efficacious!


I have been told of this several times. On some occasions, they would tell us politely not to use the incense sticks I brought along but have to pay for new ones there, while on some other occasions, mine got confiscated.



Master: The Buddhas and Boddhisattvas do not discriminate. Anyway, how different can the incense sticks sold at a temple store from those sold elsewhere? In the final analysis, it is all driven by self-interest that they say so. There is no need to argue with them if you meet such a situation. Just do as what you think is right.



Misconception 2: You get the most blessings if you are the first to offer incense to the Buddha on the first day of the year in the Chinese Lunar Calendar.



So people throng the temple, making it crowded to the extreme on that day. Some even go into fierce fighting or quarreling in order to get to the position, making quite a scene out of themselves before the Buddha. In some places, bidding is organized. Those who bid the highest get to be the first.



Master: The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not habour any discriminative mind. Therefore, one certainly does not get the most blessings or more than others simply because he or she makes it to be the first to offer incense to them.



The biggest blessings will be bestowed on those who make the offering with utmost reverence and sincerity. It has nothing to do with whether one makes the offering ahead of all the other people. It all depends on whether one shows respect, sincerity, and faith.



Misconception No. 3 – The number of incense sticks burnt depends on which Buddha we are bow to. The higher the incense sticks, and larger the candles, the better.



Quite often we are told that “you don’t receive the blessings unless you burn this or that number of incense sticks before this Bodhisattva and the number is different for that Bodhisattva.”



Master: “They say that you have to burn 12 incense sticks before this Bodhisattva, 13 before that, and 9 before yet another one. If this holds water, it seems that richer people get greater blessings as they can afford more incense sticks and larger-sized candles. Certainly it is not the truth. Shakyamuni Buddha has never said so. If you cannot afford incense sticks, it is fine to replace them with a withered twig-- Please note that it has to be a withered. You’d commit an offense if you get a living one—Shakymuni Buddha makes it clear that it is meritorious as well. Do we need to be discriminative like that as to how many incense sticks should be burnt?



The remark is found in The Sutra Of Casket Seal Dharani from the Secrete Whole Bodies’ Relics of All Buddhas' hearts:



If any body lives in a poor family because he was miserly, his clothes can not cover his body. His food can not keep him survival. He appears to be very week and thin, people don't like to see him. This person feels ashamed. He goes to a mountain taking some wild flowers. He grinds some wood to make incense. He goes to the front of this Stupa to prostrate and make offerings. He walks around the Stupa seven times clockwise. He weeps and repents. The poor effect is deleted and wealth comes suddenly. Seven gems come like raining. Nothing is in shortage. But at this time he should offer to The Buddha and The Dharma; and donate to the poor. If he is miserly, the wealth will disappear suddenly.