How many incense sticks should be used for burning incense to the Buddha? What kind of deity is suitable for worshipping at home?

Buddhism is the most widely spread religion in China, and many people worship gods and Buddhas at home. So how many incense sticks should we burn to the Buddha? What kind of deity is suitable for worshipping at home?

How many incense sticks should be offered to the Buddha?

It is sufficient to burn incense to the Bodhisattva in odd numbers;
The functions of burning incense can be divided into two categories. One is to pray to the gods in heaven, and the other is to offer sacrifices to the ghosts and gods in the underworld. But no matter which kind of gods you burn incense for, you should burn odd-numbered incense sticks, that is, one, three, five, seven, or nine incense sticks. Odd is a yang number, yang means big and respected, which represents that Buddha and gods are respected by people.

What kind of deity is suitable for worshipping at home?

1. Buddha: Amitabha, Sakyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Amitayus Buddha, White Umbrella Goddess, etc.
2. Bodhisattvas – Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Vajrapani Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Cundi Bodhisattva, etc.
3. Vajra - A protective high spirit who removes evil spirits, such as Vajrabhairava, Mahakala, Galan (also known as Guandi), and Skanda.
4. Heavenly Gods – Taishang Laojun (it is said that the status of Taishang Laojun is the same as that of Buddha in Buddhism), Queen Mother of Heaven, Lu Zu, Zhong Xu, Guan Yu, Ji Gong, Queen Mother of Dragon, Monkey King, etc.
5. God of Wealth - such as the Five-Way God of Wealth, the Martial God of Wealth (some say Guandi is the Martial God of Wealth), the Yellow God of Wealth, etc.
6. Ancestors – relatives older than your parents.
7. Place – worshipped inside the house.
8. God of Land: worshipped outside the door.