What are the rules and time for worshipping Buddha in Putuo Mountain? What is the purpose of worshipping Buddha statues?

When visiting Mount Putuo, there are praises of the Eight Scenic Spots of Putuo, the Ten Scenic Spots of Putuo, the Twelve Scenic Spots of Putuo and the Sixteen Scenic Spots of Putuo. So what are the etiquette and time for worshipping Buddha in Putuo Mountain, and what is the purpose of worshipping the Buddha statue? Let’s learn about it together.

The rules and time for worshipping Buddha at Mount Putuo

1. The Etiquette of Worshipping Buddha at Mount Putuo

1. Dress cleanly: If you know you will go to the temple to burn incense on the first day, you need to purify yourself the night before. Nerves are like washing away the dust on your body and making yourself a little tidier.

2. Things to know before entering the temple: If anyone has noticed, the main hall of a general temple has two doors, a big door in the middle and two small doors on both sides. There are also taboos when entering the house to burn incense and worship Buddha. If you are not a monk or a nun, it is best not to go through the middle door. The middle door is called the empty door, and only monks can enter and exit. The doors on both sides are for pilgrims to enter and exit. Please be careful when entering, and women should step with the right foot. Man steps with left foot. You must not step on the threshold, as this is disrespectful to Buddha. Just step over it when you get in.

3. Etiquette of worshipping Buddha: People who come to worship Buddha must have a pious heart and clean hands, because their hands need to be clean when bowing and holding incense. When you come to worship Buddha, please be careful when speaking in the temple, do not talk or make noise. Don't point fingers at any Buddha statue. As there are many people coming to worship Buddha, there are many cushions in the main hall. Please be careful not to step over the cushions when burning incense and worshiping Buddha, otherwise it will be regarded as disrespectful.

4. The number of incense sticks burned: When burning incense to worship Buddha, the number of incense sticks is also very particular. 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. It is to burn incense and kowtow. This is also the highest standard. Usually, I just burn three incense sticks when I worship Buddha.

5. Gesture of holding incense: When burning incense, you should hold the incense with your left hand. When burning incense, the incense should be lit all at once. The brighter the better. After lighting the incense, if the fire is still not out, do not blow it with your mouth. Just hold it horizontally and shake it up and down. The wind will blow the incense out. When burning incense, hold the incense at the bottom with your right hand and raise it above your head to bow. After bowing, you can place the incense in your hand into the incense burner.

6. Things to know about kowtow: If you kowtow, you must pay attention to the steps. There are taboos when burning incense and worshiping Buddha, and you cannot kowtow suddenly. But you have to pay attention to your posture. First you need to kneel on the cushion and put your hands together. Note that the palms should be hollow. Raise them above your head, then lower them to your mouth and pause. You can make a wish, then lower them to your heart, recite silently, then open your palms with your palms facing up and bow down. Bow your head down. Just go back and forth three times.

7. Taboos when worshiping Buddha: There are many taboos when burning incense and worshiping Buddha, and it is best for women not to burn incense during menstruation. In summer, when women go to temples to worship Buddha, they must not wear miniskirts or clothes that expose their chests and backs, as this is impolite. If you bring children to worship Buddha, please take good care of your children and do not let them run and play in the temple. Disturbing the Buddha's purity.

8. Steps for burning incense: When burning incense and worshiping Buddha, believers take three sticks of incense, light them in the lamp, hold them in their hands, walk to the Buddha, and be respectful and sincere in their hearts. Facing the Buddha statue, stand respectfully, hold incense in both hands, and pray to the Buddha with a pure heart. You can silently recite your wishes in your mind, hoping that the Buddha can hear you. When holding up incense, your hands should be in a questioning position. Hold the incense stick with the index and middle fingers of both hands, and press the two thumbs against the tail end of the incense stick. The incense needs to be dragged steadily. Hold the incense sticks horizontally to the level of your eyebrows, and look at the majestic Buddha statue with clear eyes. Look at your nose with your eyes, and look at your heart with your nose. Put the incense down, hold the incense base with your right hand, and insert the incense with your left hand, with a distance of five centimeters between the two incense sticks.

2. Time for worshipping Buddha at Mount Putuo
1. In Buddhism, every day is a good day and every moment is a good moment. As long as you want to burn incense and worship Buddha, this is the best time, so there is no fixed time to go to Putuo Mountain to worship Buddha.
2. If you want to go during a festival, the temples at Mount Putuo will host various ceremonies on February 19th, June 19th, and September 19th every year. If you want to go during a pleasant season, March, April, October, and November are the best seasons, as they are neither too cold nor too hot.

What is the purpose of worshipping Buddha statues?

1. Worshiping Buddha is a process of using the false to cultivate the true. For example, when worshiping ancestors, what is actually worshipped is a tablet, but it expresses a kind of respect for the dead and remembrance of the ancestors, a kind of remembrance, and an expression of respect for the ancestors and a kind of gratitude. It is the same with worshiping Buddha. By worshiping Buddha through the Buddha statue, we achieve a respectful and pure mind, which reminds us to learn from Buddha at all times, not to forget liberation, and not to forget our own goal of becoming a Buddha.
2. In the earliest Buddha statue, the king made a Buddha statue out of a felt carpet when the Buddha was in the thirty-third heaven. When Sakyamuni Buddha came down from the thirty-third heaven, he greeted it respectfully and circumambulated it clockwise, and said to it: "After my Nirvana, you will do great Buddhist work in the Saha world.