What does it mean when your hand is burned by the incense ash while burning incense? The number and meaning of burning incense sticks

Everyone has their own wishes when burning incense and worshiping Buddha. Some details in the process of burning incense may indicate whether their wishes are heard by the Buddha. So what does it mean if you get burned by incense ash while burning incense? What is the significance of the number of incense sticks?

What does it mean when your hands are burned by incense ash while burning incense?

1. What you ask for is difficult to achieve <br/>This means that the gods and Buddhas cannot help with what the person who burns incense asks for, and they directly refuse. Either what you seek is irrelevant and wishful thinking; or what you seek is at the expense of others for your own benefit, and you build your own happiness on the suffering of others. Even gods and Buddhas will not fulfill this wish, and the burned areas will feel excruciating pain.
2. Blessings from gods, Buddhas and immortal masters <br/>As for this point, most of the people who burn incense are practitioners. The meaning of these burns is the same as that of the scars from one’s vows, just like burning fingers to offer to Buddha. The gods and Buddhas strengthen the information and inspiration for the disciples, and the disciples must work harder and practice more diligently. At this time, the pain of the burn makes people feel refreshed and acts as a beacon in the sea of ​​suffering, guiding their practice and breaking through confusion to attain enlightenment.
3. Remind practitioners to observe the precepts <br/>As mentioned in this point, the person who burns incense must have violated the precepts, and the immortal master and guardian will give a small punishment as a warning and the person will not commit the same offense again. Practitioners must also accept things with an open mind, be humble, know how to repent, practice according to the Dharma, and make progress in their understanding. Do not practice cultivation in a presumptuous and ignorant manner. Not only will this harm yourself and prevent you from achieving the right results, it will also bring disgrace to the word "cultivation".
4. Deliberately ward off disasters and eliminate evil <br/>In this regard, the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and immortals show their divine power and are very effective. They can directly help the people who burn incense to avoid disasters through the burns of incense, and turn big things into small things and small things into nothing. The person burning incense may not feel anything at the time, but within a few days, he will find that he has escaped death, saved his life, and turned danger into safety, and he will be more convinced of the boundless magical power of the ancestor.

The number and meaning of burning incense sticks

1. Usually, few people burn a stick of incense. Because one root means that all things return to one, disciples who are not advanced enough in Taoism dare not go up. It’s better not to just light one incense stick to avoid getting hurt.
2. Three incense sticks are the standard way of burning incense in Buddhism, representing taking refuge in the Three Jewels, practicing sincerely, escaping from the cycle of reincarnation, and seeking rebirth in the Western Paradise. Taoism also burns three incense sticks, representing the Three Pure Ones or the Three Laws of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
3 or 4 incense sticks are usually burned by disciples who practice at home or disciples who go out to perform rituals. Lay Buddhists who practice at home burn four sticks. The fourth stick is the guardian incense, and some also burn the ancestral incense. no the same. The disciples who go out to perform rituals burn four incense sticks, which represents their willingness to convert to Buddhism and practice cultivation together with the immortals to achieve immortality.
The 4th, 7th and 9th pillars are also usually used by disciples who go out to perform rituals. The 7 pillars represent the Big Dipper. 9 incense sticks represent the law of heaven and earth, so most of the disciples who go out to perform rituals use 9 incense sticks. Some Buddhist laypeople and Taoists also use 9 incense sticks, with three incense sticks in one stick, which have the same meaning as three incense sticks.
5. 12 sticks are half-full incense, mostly used by disciples when they are out to see things.
6. 36 sticks are complete incense, which is also used by disciples when they go out to see things, but it is rarely used unless the matter is very urgent and serious.