TL;DR: Going to the pagoda at the start of the year is a custom of praying for peace and good luck for the whole year, and what matters is sincerity of heart, not the size of the offering tray. A vegetarian tray of incense, fresh flowers, ripe fruit, oản cakes and xôi chè is enough for the Tam Bảo altar, while meat offerings belong only at altars to the Thánh, the Mẫu or Đức Ông, never at the main hall. The usual order is the Tam Bảo altar first, then the Đức Ông altar and other altars, and finally the ancestral hall, with merit money placed in the donation box.
What is a New Year pagoda visit and why do Vietnamese people go to the pagoda?
Going to the pagoda at the start of the year is the custom of offering incense and worshipping the Buddha in the first days of the new year, and it has long been part of how Vietnamese people welcome Tết and enjoy spring outings[1]. People offer incense to show reverence, bow to the Buddha, and pray for a year of peace, good luck and prosperity[1].
From an ethnographic perspective, most Vietnamese people visit the pagoda following family tradition, and for households that have long followed Buddhism, going to the pagoda has become a daily activity[2]. The ethnographer Tạ Đức says people come to the pagoda to pray for everything from peace and health to the Buddha's blessing on their children's studies or on smoother business and trade; besides that, many people who face difficulties in life, or fall into a state of crisis and deadlock, only then seek out the pagoda[2]. According to him, anyone who comes to the pagoda hopes to find peace for their family, to realise cause and effect through Buddhist teachings, and from there to teach their children and grandchildren to live better and more kindly[2].
On the question of practice, Thượng tọa Thích Hoằng Hóa, standing member of the Propagation Board of former Vĩnh Phúc province (now part of Phú Thọ) and abbot of Kim Quy Pagoda, stresses that preparing offerings for a pagoda visit is not about how much is bought, since what matters is sincerity of heart[1]. He quotes the teaching passed down in the pagoda: the Buddha is the mind, the Buddha bears witness in the heart, the mind is the Buddha, and where there is sincerity there is the Buddha[1].
What goes into the offerings for a New Year pagoda visit?
Vegetarian offerings are the main and sufficient kind for offering incense and worshipping the Buddha at a pagoda. When coming to offer incense at pagodas, one should prepare only vegetarian offerings of incense, fresh flowers, ripe fruit, oản cakes and xôi chè; one must not prepare meat offerings such as the three sacrificial animals (buffalo, goat, pig), meat dishes, chicken, giò or chả[2]. People visiting the pagoda should prepare vegetarian items such as incense, flowers and fruit, oản cakes, xôi and chè, and limit meat dishes as offerings in order to avoid carrying the resentment of animals that have been killed[3].
As for flowers, fresh flowers for worshipping the Buddha are usually lotus, huệ, mẫu đơn, ngâu or chrysanthemum; mixed flowers and wild flowers should not be used[2]. As for votive paper, one should not prepare votive paper or hell money to offer and worship the Buddha at a pagoda; if such offerings are prepared, they should be placed only at altars to the deities, the Thánh Mẫu or Đức Ông[2]. Hell money and votive goods should not be placed at altars to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, and real money should not be placed on the incense table of the main hall either; money and gold for merit should be put into the donation box kept at the pagoda[2].
Before the day of offering incense and worshipping the Buddha at the pagoda, the worshipper needs to purify their ordinary daily life: eat vegetarian food, observe precepts and do good deeds[2]. As for clothing, when entering the pagoda gate, especially when going up to the main hall to worship the Buddha, clothing should be modest and neat; if for some reason the clothing is not modest and dignified, one should borrow a robe at the pagoda to wear when going up to worship the Buddha[4].
| Group of offerings | Where used | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Incense, fresh flowers, ripe fruit, oản cakes, xôi chè | Tam Bảo altar (main hall) and Buddha altars | Vegetarian offerings, presented in the main hall[2] |
| Lotus, huệ, mẫu đơn, ngâu, chrysanthemum | Buddha altar | Avoid mixed and wild flowers[2] |
| Chicken, giò, chả, wine, betel and areca | Đức Ông altar, altars to the Thánh and the Mẫu | Meat offerings, presented only where the Thánh and the Mẫu are worshipped[2] |
| Votive paper, hell money | Altars to the deities, the Thánh Mẫu, Đức Ông | Not placed at altars to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas[2] |
| Merit money | Donation box | Not placed on the incense table of the main hall[2] |
Which altar comes first and which comes after?
The common order of worship given in many guides is to worship the Buddha first and then the Thánh. Thượng tọa Thích Hoằng Hóa says that when worshipping one should worship the Buddha first and then the Thánh, that is, the Tam Bảo first and then the Đức Ông altar and other altars[1]. This presentation also matches the principle at many Vietnamese pagodas that also worship other human deities: when worshipping at altars, one should worship before the statues of the Buddha patriarchs and the Tam Bảo first, and only afterwards worship before the saints of other beliefs[3].
However, some documents give a detailed order in a different way: place the offerings and light incense, and worship at the Đức Ông altar first; after placing offerings at the Đức Ông altar, place offerings on the incense table of the main hall, light lamps and incense, sound three rounds of the bell and worship the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; next, go and offer incense at all the other altars of the bái đường; finally worship at the ancestral hall (nhà hậu), then perform a farewell rite to take down the offerings, and one may give merit as one wishes[2]. This difference shows that schools and pagodas are not entirely consistent about the order, so visitors should observe the sign in front of each altar and follow the pagoda's instructions.
Whichever order is chosen, the general principle is still that the Tam Bảo altar, where the Buddha is worshipped, is always the largest altar, placed in the centre; if many offerings have been prepared for the various altars, priority should be given to arranging the Tam Bảo altar most beautifully and solemnly[2]. When placing offerings at this altar to make offerings to the Buddhas, the fullest set consists of five items: incense, lamps (candles), flowers, fruit and water; if not all can be prepared, one makes the offering with a sincere heart[2]. It also does not matter much whether one lights many or few incense sticks, and sometimes just one stick is fine; pagodas often do not allow incense to be lit inside for safety reasons, so one may light incense together at the large incense burner in front of the pagoda and then go into each altar to pray[2].
As for posture, when standing to pray one should not stand straight in front of the altar but should stand slightly to one side[3]. When entering the pagoda, the best worship is to honour the three jewels, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and the worshipper should kneel down, touch the ground with five parts of the body (forehead, both elbows, both knees close to the ground) and make wishes in the mind, and after praying, bow three times[3].
How should one pass through the tam quan gate correctly?
At pagodas with a tam quan gate made of three doors side by side, with the largest door in the middle, visitors should enter through the right door and leave through the left door; the middle door is reserved for high-ranking monks, scholars and the emperor, and ordinary people should avoid stepping through it[3]. Thượng tọa Thích Hoằng Hóa, for his part, says that when visiting one should go in through the left door and out through the right door, walking calmly and slowly, without pushing[1]. The two instructions are opposite on which door to enter and which to leave by.
Why do the offerings not matter whether they are full or not?
Practitioners stress sincerity of heart over the scale of the offering tray. Making offerings to the Tam Bảo is a matter of one's own heart, and the offerings do not matter as many or few, empty or full, but what matters is a sincere and reverent heart; one should not change money into small notes and place them at every altar, but should give according to one's heart into the merit box, and the monastery will use this money to buy flowers and fruit to offer to the Buddha[4]. Thượng tọa Thích Giác Dũng, abbot of Vĩnh Nghiêm Monastery, also holds that placing merit money at altars like that is not only undignified but also a cause of other negative practices in society[4].
According to Hòa thượng Thích Bảo Nghiêm, vice chairman of the Central Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, when Buddhists and ordinary people visit the pagoda, the amount of merit money, small or large, is not too important as long as the mind is kept clear; merit money should be placed properly in the donation box so that it is kept safe and used for the right purpose, because placing money or tucking small notes onto the hands of Buddha statues takes away the solemnity of the place of worship[3].
How is worshipping at a đền or phủ different from worshipping at a pagoda?
Worshipping at đền and phủ is the age-old Vietnamese belief in worshipping saints and deities, and any belief directs people towards truth, goodness and beauty[2]. Unlike worshipping the Buddha, when visiting đền, phủ and miếu, besides incense, flowers, fruit and candles, visitors prepare meat offerings such as giò, bánh chưng and chicken, depending on each person's means, that is, offerings according to what one can afford[2]. Usually vegetarian offerings are used for the Thánh Mẫu altar, while meat offerings of chicken, pig, giò and chả, if any, are placed at the altar of the Ngũ vị quan lớn, that is, the Công đồng altar[2].
So the point to distinguish is that meat offerings have a place only in the area where the Thánh, the Mẫu or Đức Ông are worshipped, and must never be presented in the Buddha hall, that is, the main place of worship of the pagoda[2]. The same guide, in another passage, says not to bring meat offerings into a pagoda at all, not even to the Đức Ông altar[2]; bringing only vegetarian offerings to a pagoda fits both statements.
What the pagoda advises one should and should not do
Should do: prepare just enough offerings, be economical during the early days of the year, and keep a sincere heart; dress neatly, modestly and warmly, not flashily or revealingly; walk calmly and slowly, without pushing; pray for peace for all sentient beings, not only for oneself or one's family[1][3].
Should not do: tuck money into the hands of statues or place money on altars and fruit trays; order animals for release, since that indirectly supports a trade specialising in hunting; film or take photos in the main hall while a ceremony is being held or many Buddhists are worshipping[4].
How should one release living beings correctly?
According to Thượng tọa Thích Hoằng Hóa, releasing living beings is one of the ten practices taught to Buddhists, and in Buddhist belief not killing but also releasing brings long life; a mind that moves to release, protect life, give and make offerings is a good thing in Buddhism[1]. However, releasing living beings needs wisdom: when on the road one meets a hunter who has caught an animal, or at the market sees birds or fish about to be made into food, the Buddhist feels compassion, buys them and sets them free, giving life to those creatures; that act deserves respect, but one should not order animals for release, because that indirectly supports a trade specialising in hunting[4].
Asking for lộc at the start of the year and the practice of picking lộc
According to Thượng tọa Thích Hoằng Hóa, the idea of going to the pagoda to pick lộc at the start of the year has existed for generations; in the past, when the country was still poor, people at the pagoda would break branches and pick lộc, and later, as the economy developed, most pagodas prepared lộc to give out at the start of the year to Buddhists, so today, instead of picking branches and plants at the pagoda, the pagoda has prepared lộc to give out[1]. He also holds that the idea that picking or asking for lộc at the pagoda will bring spirits home is incorrect, because going to the pagoda is something good and lucky[1].
Why do guides for the same pagoda visit differ from place to place?
There are at least two reasons why guides do not fully match. First, Vietnamese pagodas often worship not only the Buddha but also other human deities, for example the saints of the Mẫu religion, so each pagoda arranges its altars differently, and usually there are signs placed in front of each altar for visitors to observe before praying[3][2]. Second, some guides are given from an ethnographic perspective, recording the common habits of visitors, while others are practice advice from monks, stressing sincerity of heart over ritual[2][1].
Therefore, a reasonable way to practise is to grasp a few unchanging principles: vegetarian offerings at the Buddha altar, meat offerings only where the Thánh, the Mẫu or Đức Ông are worshipped, merit money in the donation box, modest clothing, and slow walking; the order of each altar can be flexible according to the pagoda's instructions and the practical conditions of the visitor.
The state of mind when visiting the pagoda at the start of the year
When entering the pagoda to worship the Buddha, people should let their minds be at ease and relaxed, and should not carry too many ambitions for career and wealth; in particular, the thought that going to the pagoda and offering many things will make the Buddha bless one is wrong and does not match Buddhist teachings[3]. When lighting incense and praying, it is best to pray for peace for all sentient beings, not only for oneself or one's family, because Buddhism always upholds the compassion of the learner[3]. At the start of the year, pagodas chant the Medicine Buddha sutra to pray for peace, which includes the twelve great vows of the Medicine Buddha; the eleventh of these teaches Buddhists to create good causes through charitable activities that help people in difficulty[4].
Conclusion
Going to the pagoda at the start of the year does not have a single formula that applies to every pagoda. What remains stable across guides is sincerity of heart, vegetarian offerings for the Buddha altar, meat offerings only for the places where the Thánh, the Mẫu and Đức Ông are worshipped, along with a solemn, slow and economical attitude. Once these principles are grasped, visitors can confidently worship according to each pagoda's instructions without fear of doing it wrong.
