Steps and tips for moving and offering incense to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva:
1 Before moving, you must give an announcement about the incense. The announcement is divided into specific time and location. When moving, be careful not to touch it. Bad Bodhisattva. After the Bodhisattva returns to his throne, he still has to offer incense and tell the Bodhisattva that he is well.
2. You don’t have to stand in the middle to worship the Buddha, you just need to worship reverently. You should know that the Buddha has the three clarifications, the six powers, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the eighteen non-existences. As long as sentient beings have thoughts, the Buddha will know them all. Therefore, as long as they are sincere and respectful, any location is a good place. .
3. No matter how many Buddhas are enshrined in the Buddhist hall, usually you only need to bow three times to worship the Buddha when entering the hall. For personal practice, you can follow your wishes. If the crowd in the hall has already gathered, you can just stand with the crowd and put your palms together to ask questions. , personal worship is not allowed, so as not to disturb the order of the public and not be in line with the dignity.
4. The meaning of bowing three times to the Buddha:
Gathering of palms: raise both hands flat to the chest, with the five fingers pointing upward.
(1) Subdue arrogance
(2) See the wise and think of others
(3) Confess karma: the so-called "One bow to the Buddha destroys sins and river sands" "To eliminate sins, we must first clean up our majesty and appearance. We must have enough internal and external majesty to be able to sense the protection and blessings of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
(4) The method
The first prayer: (revealing the truth) Repenting disciple, willing to practice repentance with all living beings.
Repentance
All the evil deeds I have done in the past were all caused by greed, anger and ignorance, arising from the body and language. I now repent of all of them.
Real confession
Repent the sin from the heart. If the heart is extinguished, the sin will also be delusional. When the delusion of the heart and sin are extinguished, both will be empty. This is called true repentance.
Second worship: The disciples who make a vow to practice Buddhism are willing to be with all living beings in the Dharma Realm
Together they eliminate the three obstacles and troubles, to gain wisdom and clarity together, and to universally wish to eliminate all sins and obstacles, and to always walk the Bodhisattva path in the world.
Third worship: With Samantabhadra, I pray that my disciples will live in bliss together with all living beings in the Dharma Realm, and finally realize the truth and eternity.
My extraordinary deeds as a Samantabhadra are dedicated to all my boundless blessings. I am willing to indulge all sentient beings and quickly go to the Buddha Land of Infinite Light.
Etiquette and precautions for offering incense and worshiping statues at home
Etiquette for offering incense
It is also called offering incense, and people in the world often call it burning incense. The purpose of offering incense is to "deliver a letter with incense", that is, to express one's sincerity to the gods through cigarettes. It is said that "a pillar of true incense sends a message, and the saints and gods send blessings." There are two ways to offer incense, burning incense and holding incense. Burning incense is relatively common, and is a daily ritual for Taoist priests and believers to use incense sticks (or spiced incense or hidden incense) to worship gods.
One: Incense burning method
Specific methods:
(1) Choose three pillars (branches) of incense and do not break the incense.
(2) Light the incense (if there is an open flame after lighting it, you can put it out by swinging it left and right, but do not blow it out with your breath).
(3) Facing the statue of the god, hold up the incense with both hands (in line with your forehead) and bow in salute.
(4) Use your left hand to put incense, first in the middle, then on the left, and then on the right (that is, first insert one in the middle of the incense burner, then insert one on the left hand side of the statue (our right), and finally Insert one on the right hand side of the statue), and the three pillars
The incense should be inserted straight and level, and the distance should not be more than an inch wide (to express the inch of the heart). If you are a Taoist disciple, you must also recite the "Mantra when Sending Incense" silently. : "Always burn incense in your heart to achieve great tranquility." (If there are multiple statues of gods in a home, go up to the front position first, then to the left position, then to the right position, and then to the right position. A stick of incense, the ceremony is the same.)
(5) After the incense is burned, the ceremony of worshiping the gods is the most solemn. When setting up a memorial ceremony, there are five types of incense that the abbot (abbot, superintendent) or high-ranking official will use, namely, sandalwood, agarwood, cloud incense, purple incense and eggplant incense, which are the "precious five incense". The most commonly used is sandalwood, so burning incense is also called burning sandalwood. The incense must be chopped into one minute thickness and one inch in length; a special incense burner (called a sandalwood burner) is required, and some additional incense noodles are required. (Usually grind incense sticks into powder instead). Use an incense dagger (such as a small spoon) to dig a small pit in the middle of the sandalwood burner, bury the incense surface, and use the incense dagger to smooth the incense surface. Cover it slightly with a layer of incense ash. Then, light some incense sticks that have been folded into a length of one inch. When holding the incense stick, use your left hand and throw the three incense sticks into the furnace three times in succession (center first). , second left, second right) or lying down while holding the incense, you should recite it silently.
"Incense Mantra": "The Tao is learned by the heart, and the incense is passed on by the heart." Incense burns in the jade furnace, and the heart is in front of the emperor.
The true spirit is looking forward to it, and the fairy is in Xuan. The ministers were ordered to report it, and the path reached nine days. "After burning the incense, return the kneeling mat and perform three rites and nine kowtows.
Two: Time for offering incense
According to the ritual, incense must be offered every day. Nowadays, people live busy lives, so I usually ask for Offer incense on the first and fifteenth day of every month (in addition, according to the Taoist "Xu Zhenjun Jade Box Record", the following days are the zodiac days, Jiazi day, Yichou day, Wuchen day, Jisi day, Renshen day, Yihai day, Gengchen day, Yiyou day, Jiawu day, Yiwei day, Jihai day, Guimao day, Yisi day, Dingwei day, Jiyou day, Yimao day and Gengshen day are certain. A platform must be set up for worship. Some of you may not know this, but incense must be offered on important festivals and the Taoist Sanyuan Festival. The Sanyuan Festival is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and the fifteenth day of the tenth month. It is the seventh day of the first lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and the seventh day of the tenth lunar month. On these special days, worshiping the God of Wealth will bring you more blessings than usual, the maximum is 10 times, and the minimum is also a small auspicious day. Remember to burn incense in these days) After the ritual of kneeling and offering incense, you will perform the kowtow ceremony.
One: Three rituals and three kowtows
The Taoist ritual of kowtow. "Eighty-one Transformation" means: step on the Eight Diagrams with your feet, hold one in your arms, and press the cross with your hands. When saluting, the hands should not go up to the eyebrows and go down to the knees. The specific method of bowing is to stand upright, with your eyes hanging down, and be calm. The second is about five inches away from the kneeling mat, with the heels about two inches apart and the toes about eight inches apart, forming a figure-eight shape. The thumb of the left hand pinches the base of the ring finger of the right hand. The middle finger is slightly knuckled, the other four fingers of the left hand are holding the right hand, and the body is bowed. When saluting, the hand is at the same level as the nose but not higher than the nose. Then the palm is turned inward, the back of the palm is drawn outward, and the inner hand is placed on the chest, and the right hand is drawn in an arc. Circle down, right, and left, and bend down at the same time. Press the palm of your right hand down on the mat. Leave the arc of your left hand on your chest and circle downward to the left and right. Press it on the back of your right hand and overlap it with your right hand to form a cross. Kneel on the mat with both knees at the same time. At the same time, lie on the mat, with the tips of your two elbows and the two knees in a straight line, knock your head on the back of your hands, knock your back like a toad, raise your head and retract your left hand to cover your heart, take it back tightly with your right hand, and hold your hands again as before. , stand up, and do one salute and one kowtow. The movements should be slow, round, and continuous, without any interruption. Three bows and three bows are completed at this time. On festivals, when the Taoists in Zhuangguan are praying for good luck and wishing birthdays, the abbot and the supervisor hold incense and perform the three rites and nine knocks. The method is basically the same as the three rites and three knocks. The difference is that the three rites and three knocks are one ritual and one knock. . It means kneeling down and then kowtowing three times. After nine kowtows, he took half a step back, bowed again, turned to the Taoist priest on duty, and bowed once. At this time, the three bows and nine kowtows were completed. I don’t have such high requirements for those who worship at home, but they must kneel down sincerely. Either knock once or knock three times or bow three times.