Why do folk burn three sticks of incense instead of four?

Folk burning incense is generally three, the mainstream argument is still because the three incense worship different objects. The first incense is mainly to honor the Buddha, Buddha for the big, seek the blessing of the Buddha; the second incense for the law, the general understanding of the "law" for the scriptures, but in fact the "law" is a kind of Buddhist objective facts, so that people come to observe, play a demonstration role; the third incense for the monk, because the monk is the dissemination of Buddhist teachings, but not the other way around. The third incense is for the monks, because the monks are the ones who spread Buddhism and have made great contributions to the spread of Buddhism, so they should be worshipped.

The first incense should be inserted in the center of the incense burner, in order to be able to see through the flurry of the world, the heart can be quiet, do not be obsessed with enlightenment; the second worship "law" incense inserted in the right, in order to be able to be upright, do not go on the path of evil; the third worship "monk" incense inserted in the left, in order to be able to be upright, do not go on the path of evil; the third worship "monk" incense inserted in the left, in order to be able to be upright, do not go on the path of evil. "The third incense to worship the Sangha is placed on the left side in order to purify one's heart.

But now many people on the incense ritual Buddha completely do not care about these numbers, always feel that the more the better. Because in the view of the Buddhists, incense is similar to a spiritual medium that can go straight to the gods, so people buy a lot of it at once and think the more expensive the better. Last time I traveled to Wutai Mountain, I saw people offering incense in bundles. But in the temples, you can still see some old people are 3 sticks 3 sticks on the incense.

Secondly, in the traditional Chinese incense culture, the number three also has an important meaning. It mainly lies in nourishing the heart, rituals and health. Among them, nourishing the heart mainly lies in the spices are different, through the body can make people calm and quiet, sandalwood has such an effect. Nurture ritual is, incense culture in the etiquette is very much, big to when and where, small to the length of incense, pay attention to are very much. The focus of health care is still the effect of incense on the human body.

Again, in ancient Chinese culture, the number three has a special meaning. As the so-called "three begets all things", the number three represents more, there are many meanings. The three incense sticks also represent the respect for the gods, not just the offerings to the "Buddha, Dharma and Sangha".