Offerings: what flowers, fruit, water, lamps and incense mean
An offering is a way of expressing respect and gratitude, and of practising generosity. It is not a payment and not a bargain. A bare hand and a calm mind are welcome in any temple; if you do offer something, the meaning matters more than the size. The reading below is a common one in Vietnamese temples, not the only one, and each tradition explains these things in its own way.
Flowers
Flowers are fresh for a short time, and then they fade. Many people read them as a reminder that everything changes, and as an offering of beauty at its best. Simple flowers in good condition are enough. Fresh flowers are the usual choice.
Fruit
Fruit stands for the results of practice and for generosity: you give something good to eat. A plate of seasonal fruit is typical, usually arranged neatly at the front of the altar. Fresh and unbruised fruit is the usual choice. Temples often share offerings out among visitors and neighbours afterwards, so what you bring is not wasted.
Water
A cup of clean water is the simplest offering and is within anyone's reach. It is often read as purity and clarity of mind, and as the wish to offer something freely given. It is poured or placed on the altar with both hands.
A lamp or a candle
A lamp gives light, which many people read as wisdom dispelling confusion. Lamps are lit at the altar, in lantern halls and, on festival evenings, in processions. Keep any flame away from clothing and children, and let the temple tend the altar lamps.
Incense
Incense is offered as a gesture of respect and an act of attention: the scent rises and spreads freely. Three sticks is common, often understood as turning the mind toward Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, but one stick is fine at a small altar. How to pay respects describes lighting, holding and placing the sticks.
The four gifts in the online temple
In Pagoda, near the offering table, you can leave a gift: a flower, a fruit, water or a lamp. They match the first four offerings above. Incense is a separate act that you perform at the burner. Gifts are quiet gestures only. Nothing is spent, nothing is scored, and you can skip them. See the questions page for what else you can do in the online temple.
What not to worry about
- You do not need to bring everything. One offering, or none, is complete.
- Cost is not the point. A cup of water offered with attention is as good as a large basket.
- Some temples do not want paper money or paper goods burned, or have rules about what may be placed on the altar. Follow the local rule and ask if unsure.
- Do not offer meat or alcohol at a Buddhist altar.
- Do not take offerings from an altar unless a monk, nun or caretaker gives them to you.
Related pages
- How to pay respects at a Vietnamese templeA step-by-step visit: what to wear, how to behave, incense, offerings, palms together and bowing, bell and wooden fish, sitting meditation, and what to avoid.
- 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.
- The altars of a Vietnamese templeThe Three Jewels, Avalokiteshvara (Quan Thế Âm), guardian, Duc Ong, Ksitigarbha, ancestral and hungry-ghost altars: what each is for and the usual order of visiting.
- Festivals in Vietnamese Buddhist templesWhat Tet, Buddha's Birthday, Vu Lan and the first and full-moon days mean at the temple and what people usually do. Dates are on the calendar page.
Keep reading
- Buddhist basics in plain words
- Layout of a Vietnamese Buddhist temple
- The altars of a Vietnamese temple
- How to pay respects at a Vietnamese temple
- 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
- 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