The correct way to burn incense at home and how many incense offerings to place

The key to burning incense to the gods is to be sincere. Some people are used to burning incense and worshiping Buddha at home. Of course, they also have to follow the rules of burning incense at home. So what is the correct way to burn incense at home? How many incense offerings should be placed?

The correct way to burn incense at home

1. Use your forehead and index fingers to pinch the incense stick, with your thumbs staring at the end of the incense, and hold the incense high to your chest, with the incense head facing the Buddha statue. Here, gather the incense between your eyebrows, then put it down. Repeat this three times before inserting the incense into the incense burner. When checking, you also need to pay attention to the first incense stick being inserted in the middle, the second incense stick being inserted on the right, and the third incense stick being inserted on the left.
2. Burning incense is a very solemn and sacred thing so no slanderous actions should be performed. It is best to wash your hands when burning incense. One must be sincere when burning incense, whether it is worshiping Buddha or traditional etiquette. The most exciting part of burning incense is when you kowtow. But it's okay if you are sincere. Generally, sincere people are very particular about etiquette. Do not disturb others and do not be disturbed by others when burning incense. This is very rude. There are also rules for the number of incense sticks to burn. You should know that three sticks are for praying for yourself, six sticks are for praying for two generations, and nine sticks are for praying for three generations. And thirteen is an extreme; thirteen incense sticks are high incense that represents complete merit.

How many incense offerings should be placed

1. Taoism believes that the statues we worship are the incarnations of gods, so they should be worshipped regularly. "Gong means offering sacrifices; Yang means providing food and drink for worship."
2. Offerings to gods usually include incense, flowers, lamps, water and fruits. These are permanent offerings, also known as the "five offerings." When performing a ritual, in addition to the previous five offerings, five more offerings should be added: tea, food, treasures, pearls, and clothing. These are collectively called the "Ten Offerings."
3. There are different levels of offerings, such as one-hall offering, three-hall offering, five-hall offering, seven-hall offering and nine-hall offering. Every five plates (or bowls, or dishes) of offerings constitute a hall. The offerings offered in Taoist temples nowadays generally include tea (tea leaves or tea water), fruit (fruits or dried fruits, do not use plums), rice (rice or rice products), pasta (steamed buns or pasta products), and vegetables (green vegetables or dried vegetables).
4. It is okay to offer meat to the God of Wealth on major festivals. If Guanyin and the God of Wealth are worshipped together, you can also offer meat to the God of Wealth. It is like a vegetarian and a meat eater eating at the same table. When the meat is served, the vegetarian does not need to eat it. Usually, we make something delicious at home and offer it as a sacrifice at any time. For offerings that are not fresh (such as perishable offerings like fruits), it is best to change them in the morning or mid-morning. For long-lasting offerings such as water, it is best to replace them before burning incense on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month.