Guides

What people actually do in a temple, explained plainly — for a first visit, or for making sense of one you have already made.

• How to draw a fortune lot

  Drawing lots is one of the oldest ways people bring a question to a temple. The procedure is simple, and nobody will mind if you are new to it.

• Moon blocks

  Two crescent-shaped wooden blocks, thrown on the floor of almost every Chinese temple. They are the simplest way to put a yes-or-no question to a deity.

• Offering incense

  Lighting incense is the most common thing visitors do in a temple, and the easiest to feel unsure about. The etiquette is short.

• Who is Guanyin?

  The most widely venerated figure in East Asian Buddhism, and the one whose temples hold the hundred-lot oracle.