How many incense sticks should I use?

Three is standard in a Chinese Buddhist temple, and one is fine everywhere. Avoid even numbers, and avoid lighting a large handful.

Why can’t I blow out the flame?

Breath is treated as unclean in this context, so the flame is fanned out with the hand or shaken out instead. It is a small point of respect rather than a rule with consequences.

Which hand do I hold incense in?

Both. The sticks are held together between the palms, which is also the bowing gesture, so the hands are already in place.

Do I have to be Buddhist to offer incense?

No. Visitors offer incense in temples across Asia without being Buddhist, and no one will ask.

What if the temple does not allow incense?

Bow instead, or offer flowers or fruit if that is what is being done there. A bow with nothing in your hands is a complete offering.

Guides

Offering incense

Three sticks, or one, or none at all

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

How many sticks

Three is the usual number in a Chinese Buddhist temple. The three are commonly explained as the Buddha, the teaching and the community, or as the three trainings: conduct, concentration and wisdom.

One stick is entirely acceptable, and in many temples now preferred. A single stick offered with attention is traditionally said to count for more than a handful offered carelessly.

Even numbers are avoided, and a large bundle is considered showy rather than devout.

What to do

Light the sticks from the lamp or candle provided, not from someone else’s incense.
If they catch flame, put the flame out by fanning with your hand or giving a gentle downward shake. Do not blow it out with your mouth; this is the one piece of incense etiquette almost everyone mentions.
Hold the sticks together between both palms, the burning end up and away from you, and raise them to about forehead height.
Bow — a short bow of the head and shoulders is enough. Say silently what you came to say, or simply stand there.
Place the sticks upright in the censer, well spaced rather than crowded into the middle. Leave them to burn; nobody takes incense home.

Temples that have cut back on incense

Air quality has changed this practice. Many large temples in Taiwan and Hong Kong now limit visitors to a single stick, provide one shared censer instead of several, or have stopped incense entirely and ask for flowers, fruit or simply a bow instead.

Follow the signs and what other visitors are doing. Offering nothing and bowing is a complete act in itself; the incense was never the point.

Offer incense in the hall

Common questions

How many incense sticks should I use?: Three is standard in a Chinese Buddhist temple, and one is fine everywhere. Avoid even numbers, and avoid lighting a large handful.
Why can’t I blow out the flame?: Breath is treated as unclean in this context, so the flame is fanned out with the hand or shaken out instead. It is a small point of respect rather than a rule with consequences.
Which hand do I hold incense in?: Both. The sticks are held together between the palms, which is also the bowing gesture, so the hands are already in place.
Do I have to be Buddhist to offer incense?: No. Visitors offer incense in temples across Asia without being Buddhist, and no one will ask.
What if the temple does not allow incense?: Bow instead, or offer flowers or fruit if that is what is being done there. A bow with nothing in your hands is a complete offering.