Skip to content

Lễ Phật ở ban thờ Phật tại gia (Buddha worship at the home Buddha altar)

Also called: Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát tại gia, Văn khấn ban thờ Phật, Lễ Phật tại nhà, An vị Phật, Thỉnh tượng Phật về nhà, Khai quang điểm nhãn

  • Household deities

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Lễ Phật ở ban thờ Phật tại gia (Buddha worship at the home Buddha altar)4 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

Buddhist families set up a Buddha altar in the home to worship the Buddha, repent, and make vows. Buddhist guidance states that the Buddha is worshipped high, ancestors are worshipped lower, and notes that the arrangement of the Buddha altar and the spirit altar in the North differs from the Central and Southern regions.

At a glance

When it is held
Daily; the first day of the lunar month, the fifteenth day of the lunar month, Buddhist holidays, and Bodhisattva feast days
For whom
Đức Phật (the Buddha), Tam bảo (the Three Jewels); some households also worship Bồ Tát Quán Thế Âm (Bodhisattva Guanyin)
Where
Buddha altar, Ancestral altar

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Common offerings

Incense, lamps, candles

  • Hương (incense sticks)
  • Đèn (altar lamp)

Flowers

  • Hoa tươi (fresh flowers)

Tea, rice wine, water

  • Nước sạch (clean water)

Fruit

  • Trái cây (fruit)
Region:

Nationwide

When
Incense is offered to the Buddha every day; on the 14th, the full moon, the 30th, the first of the month and the feast days of the year, flowers, fruit, incense and lamps are set out (Giác Ngộ)
Where the offerings are set
A worship cabinet or altar if there is a separate worship room; in a narrow house, a small wall-mounted altar is used. The Buddha statue or image is placed in the center, higher than the incense bowl
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Incense, lamps, candles
incenseBuddhist guidance advises burning incense sticks and burning little
Altar lamp standGiác Ngộ lists a vase of flowers, a plate of fruit, an incense burner, a cup of water and a lamp stand on the Buddha altar
Tea, rice wine, water
Clean waterVegetarian
Flowers
Flowers, fruitVegetarian

North

Where the offerings are set
The spirit altar (ancestors) is placed in front, lower; the Buddha altar is placed behind, higher

Central

Where the offerings are set
According to the principle of "tiền Phật hậu Linh" (Buddha in front, spirits behind): the Buddha is in front, higher; the spirit altar is behind, lower

South

Where the offerings are set
According to the principle of "tiền Phật hậu Linh" (Buddha in front, spirits behind): the Buddha is in front, higher; the spirit altar is behind, lower

Steps of the rite

Used across Vietnam, Buddhist

  1. Laying out the offeringsIncense bowls: a household worshipping the Buddha needs only two bowls, one for the Buddha and one for the ancestors (according to Buddhist guidance)
  2. Laying out the offeringsThe Buddha is worshipped high, ancestors are worshipped lower or on two separate altars
  3. PreparationClean the incense bowl, remove incense sticks weekly or monthly, leaving 3 to 5 incense sticks; wipe the statue and altar regularly
  4. When a Buddha statue is brought home an An vị Phật (enshrinement) rite is held, simple but solemn; the household keeps itself clean, eats vegetarian and recites the Buddha's name, and some invite monks to purify and chant (Giác Ngộ)

Northern Vietnam, Buddhist

  1. Laying out the offeringsArrange the spirit altar (ancestors) in front, lower; the Buddha altar behind, higher

Central Vietnam, Buddhist

  1. Laying out the offeringsArrange the Buddha altar in front, higher; the spirit altar (ancestors) behind, lower

Southern Vietnam, Buddhist

  1. Laying out the offeringsArrange the Buddha altar in front, higher; the spirit altar (ancestors) behind, lower

Good to know

  • Housing (apartments, rented homes)According to Giác Ngộ, Buddhists living in high-rises, apartments or rented homes still keep a Buddha altar in their own flat; if it cannot be placed on an upper floor, it is set in the most dignified, clean and visible spot in the home

What is avoided

Used across Vietnam, Buddhist

  • Buddhist guidance: once the Buddha is worshipped, one should not worship deities as well
  • ConductDo not burn votive paper (Buddhist guidance quoting Most Venerable Tố Liên)
  • OfferingsGiác Ngộ advises that nothing other than a vase of flowers, a plate of fruit, an incense burner, a cup of water and a lamp stand is placed on the Buddha altar

Northern Vietnam, Buddhist

  • ConductSome places in the North hold that the incense bowl must not be moved; Buddhist guidance notes that elsewhere people still lift the incense bowl and statues to clean them

The custom

Giác Ngộ newspaper writes that worshipping the Buddha is how Buddhists show reverence and gratitude to the Buddha, so that family members can often behold him and follow his virtues; most Buddhists keep a Buddha altar at home.

According to Giác Ngộ, a family may worship Thích Ca (Shakyamuni) Buddha, A Di Đà (Amitabha) Buddha or Bồ tát Quán Thế Âm (Avalokiteshvara) according to its affinity or wishes; when a statue is brought home, an An vị Phật (enshrinement) rite is held, simple but solemn.

Where the sources differ

  • Number of incense bowls: Buddhist guidance states that a household worshipping the Buddha needs only two bowls (Buddha, ancestors), and that once the Buddha is worshipped, one should not worship deities; one temple's guidance gives either one bowl placed in the center, or three bowls (the center for the Buddha placed higher, the right for deities, the left for ancestors)
  • How the Buddha altar and the ancestral altar are arranged: Buddhist guidance says people in the Centre and South follow "tiền Phật hậu Linh" (Buddha in front, spirits behind), while most in the North put the ancestral altar in front and lower, the Buddha behind and higher; Giác Ngộ lists three common arrangements in private homes: Buddha in front and spirits behind, Buddha above and spirits below, or Buddha in the middle with the spirit tablets to one side

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Cách lập bàn thờ Phật và gia tiên tại gia (phatgiao.org.vn)
  • Cách lập bàn thờ Phật tại gia (chuabavang.com)
  • Cách thức thờ Phật (giacngo.vn, báo Giác Ngộ)

Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.

More ritesDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, the life cycle, village and ethnic rites.