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

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

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

Buddhist families set up a Buddha altar in the home to worship the Buddha, repent, and make vows. The Buddhist portal instructs 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.

When
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)

Full prayer text for the home Buddha altar

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Buddhist

What this prayer says

The full prayer text before the family Buddha altar, paying homage to the Three Jewels, stating the date and the name of the person praying, offering incense, flowers and clean water, repenting of faults and vowing to correct oneself, then dedicating merit to family, relatives, the deceased and all beings; recited for the whole ceremony.

The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.

Fill in before the rite

Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

2 more blanks

Phần trình bạch

Phần sám hối

Phần phát nguyện tu sửa bản thân

Phần cầu nguyện cho gia đình

Phần cầu nguyện cho người đã khuất

Phần cầu nguyện rộng lớn

Phần hồi hướng và kết lễ

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

Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.

Offerings and how the rite is done

As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.

Used across Vietnam, Buddhist

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

Offerings

OfferingNotes
incensephatgiao.org.vn advises burning incense sticks and burning little
Clean water
Flowers, fruit

Steps

  1. Incense bowls: a household worshipping the Buddha needs only two bowls, one for the Buddha and one for the ancestors (phatgiao.org.vn)
  2. The Buddha is worshipped high, ancestors are worshipped lower or on two separate altars
  3. Clean the incense bowl, remove incense sticks weekly or monthly, leaving 3 to 5 incense sticks; wipe the statue and altar regularly

Things to avoid

  • phatgiao.org.vn: once the Buddha is worshipped, one should not worship deities as well
  • Do not burn votive paper (phatgiao.org.vn quotes Most Venerable Tố Liên)

Where the sources differ

  • Number of incense bowls: phatgiao.org.vn 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; chùa Ba Vàng instructs 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)

Northern Vietnam, Buddhist

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

Steps

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

Central Vietnam, Buddhist

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

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

Southern Vietnam, Buddhist

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

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

Collected text. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.

Sources for the offerings and steps

  • Cách lập bàn thờ Phật và gia tiên tại gia (phatgiao.org.vn)
  • Cách lập bàn thờ Phật tại gia (chuabavang.com)

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

More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.