What is the meaning of incense, candles, flowers, fruits, water, etc. in Buddhist monasteries?

There are many people who often go to temples to worship Buddha, but most people don't actually know that the offerings when worshipping the Buddha also have their unique meaning, so let's take a look at what these offerings mean.

Incense:On behalf of the letter incense, it is a signal used to transmit messages to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and to induce Taoist communication. In ancient times, consultation was not developed, and beacons were used to deliver messages, and we take this meaning.

But the real meaning is what we often talk about as the true incense of abstinence and the five-point body incense (i.e., the incense of abstinence, the incense of concentration, the incense of wisdom, the incense of liberation, and the incense of liberation and knowledge). When we see this smoke and smell this fragrance, we think that we want to cultivate the precepts, to cultivate concentration, and to cultivate wisdom.

Lights:It represents light, and all light signifies wisdom, so when we see all light, we must think that we should go on the path of wisdom.

Candles:It means burning yourself like a candle to illuminate others. This is teaching us to demand wisdom, to be able to sacrifice oneself for others, to use one's own wisdom, one's own physical strength, one's own skills, to serve society, to help all sentient beings, and not to ask for reward, this is Buddhism.

guide us. Flowers:It represents the cause, the cultivation of virtue, and the bodhisattva path, that is, the cultivation of the six degrees and ten thousand elements.

The offering of flowers is for you to see, to remind you to cultivate the six degrees. After the flowers bloom, they will bear fruit, and if the flowers bloom well, the fruit will bear well. When you see flowers, you think that you have to cultivate good causes, so that you can get good results in the future.

Fruits:Indicate the outcome. Fruits are not for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to eat, but to teach us that when we see fruits, we can remember, "What kind of karma we want to receive, what kind of cause we should cultivate."

Logically speaking, fruit represents virtue and is the fruit of perfect wisdom.

Water:Water represents the heart, water should be pure, and the expression is pure; The water does not make waves, it is flat, representing equality. Therefore, offering this cup of clear water, when we see it, we are reminded that our hearts should be as pure and equal as water.

This is very important in the offerings, you don't even burn incense, you don't light candles, you don't have fragrant flowers, you don't have fruit offerings, but you can't help but offer a glass of water, and when you see water, you have to think that you are in all the circumstances, such as in the human environment, in the material environment, you must know that you cultivate a pure mind, an equanimous mind, a pure mind, an equanimity of the mind is the Buddha's mind, that is, the true heart.

Therefore, the offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are all expressions, not what they need, but to use these things and these props to remind themselves all the time, so that their six roots can be exposed to the six dusts outside, and their thoughts can achieve enlightenment without confusion, righteousness without evil, purity without pollution, and this goal must be achieved. From this, it can be seen that these offerings are indeed necessary.

Incense, lamps, and candles all signify the meaning of light, which can make people's minds calm, while flowers, fruits, and water indicate their piety and offerings, which is a material embodiment.

Incense represents the letter incense. The lamp represents the light. The candle represents to burn oneself like a candle and illuminate others. Flowers represent causes. Fruit represents fruit. Water represents the heart.

Incense represents incense, lamps represent burning themselves to illuminate others, flowers represent cause and effect, flowers bear fruit after they bloom, flowers and fruits are good, water meters are clean and equal, and when you see water, you have to think of being equal like water without waves.

The Buddha's greed is the greatest, merit boxes, ticket money, incense money. Unearned. In order to make more merit boxes, Guanyin, the Dragon King, the King of the Earth, the Four King Kongs, etc., are all said to be Buddhist immortals.

You forgot to mention one of the most important things, the cash box.

Incense - on behalf of the incense, is a signal, which is used metaphorically to transmit messages to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and to communicate with the Tao. In ancient times, information was not developed, and beacon fire was used to transmit news, and Xinxiang also took this meaning. But the real meaning of it, still.

Buddhism often talks about the precept of the true incense, the five points of the body incense (that is, the precept incense, the incense, the wisdom incense, the liberation incense, the liberation of the knowledge of the incense). When people see this smoke and smell this fragrance, they should think that they want to cultivate the precepts, to cultivate concentration, and to cultivate wisdom.

Lamp - represents light, and all light indicates wisdom. Therefore, when we see all the light, let us think that we should walk in the path of wisdom.

The candle represents to burn oneself like a candle and illuminate others. This is Buddhism for people to be able to sacrifice themselves for others if they want to seek wisdom, to serve the society with their own wisdom, their own physical strength, and their own skills, and to help all sentient beings without asking for reward. That is to say, we want people to advocate the dedication of spring silkworms to the end of their dead silkworms, and the wax torch to ashes and tears to dry.

Flower - on behalf of the cause, on behalf of virtue. The offering of flowers is for people to see for themselves, reminding people that they must pay attention to cultivating virtue in ordinary times. After the flowers bloom, they will bear fruit, and when the flowers bloom well, the fruits will bear well. Therefore, only by constantly cultivating good causes can we reap good results in the future.

Fruit – indicates the result. Fruits are not for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to eat, but to teach us that when we see the fruits, we can think of what kind of retribution we hope to receive, and what kind of causes we should cultivate. From the perspective of Buddhism, fruit represents virtue and is the fruit of perfect wisdom.

Water – represents the state of mind. The water is pure, which means that the heart should be pure. The water does not make waves, it is flat, representing equality. Therefore, offering this cup of water, when we see it, we think that our hearts should be as pure and equal as water. This is the most important thing in the offering.

You can even burn incense, don't light candles, and don't have flowers and fruits, but you can't help but offer a glass of water, and when you see water, you have to think that you are in all circumstances, such as in the human environment, in the material environment, you have to know how to cultivate.

Pure mind, equanimistic mind, pure mind, equanimity is the Buddha's mind, that is, the true heart.

Therefore, the offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are all expressions, not what they need, but to use these props to remind themselves all the time, so that their six roots can be exposed to the complex society, and their thoughts can achieve enlightenment without confusion, righteousness without evil, purity and non-staining, which is to achieve this purpose. From this, it can be seen that there is indeed a necessity for the offering of these utensils, and not a superstition.