Offering incense at the main censer

Offering incense is usually the first act of a visit. It is done outdoors at the large censer before you enter the main hall, and it takes about a minute.

Offer incense at the main censer

Light three sticks at the main censer, bow, and place them upright in the sand, walking around the burner and never through it.

1. Come to the large censer in the main area, in front of the hall. Wait your turn if others are there.
2. Take three sticks. Light them from the temple's candle or lamp, never with your own lighter if the temple provides a flame.
3. If a flame appears on the tips, wave your hand gently or tilt the stick. Do not blow on it.
4. Hold the sticks upright between your joined palms at chest height. Stand straight and let your breathing settle.
5. Bow slightly three times while holding the sticks, in the direction of the main hall.
6. Place the sticks one by one into the sand with your right hand, upright and in the middle of the bed, slowly.
7. Walk around the censer to leave, passing at its side. Do not cut through the space between the censer and the hall, and do not step across the line of people who are praying.
8. Palms together once more, then continue toward the main hall.

Why walk around, not through

The censer stands on the path between you and the hall, and the space in front of it belongs to whoever is offering at that moment. Passing around it keeps the way clear for them and shows care for the place. It is a courtesy and a custom, not a strict rule, but it is the usual one.

How many sticks

Three sticks are the common practice in a Vietnamese temple. Many people understand them as turning the mind toward the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha (see the Three Jewels). One stick is fine at a small altar. Avoid even numbers. The attitude matters more than the count.

What incense means

The scent rises and spreads without anyone holding it. Incense is read as an offering of respect, of attention and of a wish for the mind to become clear. Many temples also explain it with the "five-part fragrance" of discipline, concentration, wisdom, liberation and insight into liberation. It is not a request for something, and you do not need to make a wish. See the offerings page for the other gifts.

In the online temple

In Pagoda the main censer stands in front of the main hall. Walk to it, offer incense once, and continue. The virtual offering and the bows come after, inside the hall, as described on the offerings page. Nothing is counted or scored. Your own private record, if you keep one, stays on your device.

Care and safety

• Keep sticks away from clothing, hair and children.
• Do not light incense where there is a "no incense" sign. Some temples limit it for health reasons.
• Do not stick spent sticks into other offerings or flowers.
• Do not burn paper money or paper goods at the censer unless the temple says so. Many temples ask visitors not to.

Differences between temples

Some temples offer incense at the hall's own censer inside rather than in the courtyard; some give three bows first and light incense afterwards; some use a different number of sticks on special days. The common practice described above is a good default. Watch what people in the temple do, and follow them.

Related pages

• Your first visit to a Vietnamese temple, step by stepA walk-through for first-time visitors: enter the main area, offer incense, enter the hall, make an offering, bow to the Three Jewels, ring the bell and sit, then see the rest of the grounds.
• Offerings: what flowers, fruit, water, lamps and incense meanWhat the common offerings at a Vietnamese Buddhist altar stand for (flowers, fruit, clean water, a lamp and incense), how to offer them, and how the four gifts in the online temple relate to them.
• How to bow in a Vietnamese temple: palms together, three bows, prostrationHow to put your palms together, make the slight bow (vái) and the full bow (lạy), why many people bow three times before the Buddha, and what to do if kneeling is hard.
• Temple etiquette: how to behave in a Vietnamese templeSimple manners for a temple visit: arriving, dress, voices and phones, photos, shoes, how to move around, how to treat monks, nuns and other visitors. Kept apart from the rituals.

Keep reading

• Buddhist basics in plain words
• Layout of a Vietnamese Buddhist temple
• The Three Jewels (Tam Bảo): Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
• The altars of a Vietnamese temple
• How to pay respects at a Vietnamese temple
• Your first visit to a Vietnamese temple, step by step
• How to bow in a Vietnamese temple: palms together, three bows, prostration
• The temple bell, drum and wooden fish: how to ring and when
• Sitting and walking meditation for a first-time visitor
• Chanting in a Vietnamese temple: what is chanted and how to join
• Buddhist calendar
• Uposatha, full-moon and new-moon days
• Buddhist glossary for temple visitors
• Avalokiteshvara (Quan Thế Âm), the one who listens
• The Buddha's awakening
• Two Jataka tales
• Maudgalyayana and filial gratitude
• Visiting a Vietnamese temple: common questions
• Temple etiquette: how to behave in a Vietnamese temple
• Offerings: what flowers, fruit, water, lamps and incense mean
• Festivals in Vietnamese Buddhist temples
• Kisa Gotami and the mustard seed
• The blind men and the elephant
• The poisoned arrow
• Angulimala, the road back
• Ksitigarbha (Địa Tạng) and the vow
• Sujata and the bowl of milk rice
• The life of the Buddha

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