If you notice that the incense pot in your house is old and you intend to throw it away but don’t know how to do it without violating any taboos, then read this article right away. Today, we will guide you on how to properly dispose of old incense pots.
1 Should we dispose of old incense pots and altars?
The culture of worshiping deities and ancestors is one of the beautiful traditions of our nation since ancient times. Altars and incense pots are indispensable objects that help us show respect to the deities and our departed loved ones. Disposing of old incense pots or altars is necessary to show respect to our ancestors. However, you need to do it carefully and properly so as not to offend the deities.
Should we dispose of old incense pots and altars?
2 How to Dispose of Old Incense Pots
Preparing offerings and rituals for disposing of old incense pots
Before performing the ritual to ask for permission from the deities and ancestors to dispose of the old incense pot, you need to prepare an offering tray including cakes, candies, betel nuts, and the following offerings: A bowl of rice, a bowl of chicken, boiled eggs, a boiled fish, a set of vegetarian or meat dishes, a pack of tea, cigarettes, and alcohol. After preparing everything, you can start reading the prayer.
Preparing offerings and rituals for disposing of old incense pots
Prayer for disposing of old incense pots
Before reading the prayer, the host should memorize it or write it down on paper to read it fluently. Here is the prayer for your reference:
“I take refuge in Amitabha Buddha (3 times)
I bow to the Nine Heavens, the Ten Directions, and the Buddhas of the Ten Directions. I respectfully bow to the Emperor of the Yellow Heaven and the Earth, the noble gods and goddesses. I respectfully bow to the Eastern Kitchen God, the Guardian of the Hearth. I respectfully bow to the Five Directions, the Five Elements, and the Gods of Blessings and Virtues. I respectfully bow to the Gods of Wealth and the Land of the Past and Present. I respectfully bow to our ancestors and the noble gods and goddesses who govern this land.
I respectfully bow to our high ancestors, great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews; the ancestors of the inner and outer families; the ancestors of the maternal and paternal lines; and the ancestors of our family: (family name)……………….. We respectfully invite you to be present here.
Today, the …… day of the …… month of the …… year (lunar calendar)
My name is:…………………………………. Born in: ……………………. Along with the other members of my family: (Full name……………………. Year of birth………………….) We reside at: …………………………
Today, on this auspicious day, I, together with all my family members, respectfully read this prayer to replace the old incense pot and sincerely prepare offerings, flowers, and fruits to offer before the altar to dispose of the old incense pot and replace it with a new one for the deities and ancestors, praying for better and more prosperous times ahead.
We respectfully invite the noble gods and goddesses who govern this land to hear our sincere prayers, accept our invitation, and descend upon this altar.
Today, I intend to replace the old incense pot to show our gratitude to the deities, ancestors, and noble spirits for their protection and blessings that have kept our family safe and peaceful. Now, I humbly ask for permission to replace the old incense pot with a new one to make the place of worship more beautiful and dignified.
After this ritual, we will replace the old incense pot with a new one, and we hope that the deities and noble spirits will once again descend and manifest in the new incense pot so that our family can continue to worship and pay our respects.
I, together with all my family members, sincerely bow and pray, offering our respects before the altar, and humbly ask for your blessings and protection.
Homage to Amitabha Buddha (3 times)
Prayer for disposing of old incense pots
Prayer for replacing the new incense pot
Today is the …………. day of the …………… month of the ………… year …………
My name is ………………………… (Faithful of ………………….. address ……………………..)
I perform this ritual to fill the new incense pot, and my intention is to pray for……………, to pray for wealth and gain wealth, to pray for prosperity and achieve prosperity, to have a flourishing life, to pray for my wishes to come true, and for all my desires to be fulfilled.
I respectfully bow to our ancestors, both known and unknown, living and dead, to be present here and bless me and my descendants with good health and prosperity.
During the second round of incense burning, I will offer the money and gold to the spirits and scatter the rice and salt separately in front of the house. When only a quarter of the incense stick is left, I will end the ritual and give thanks.
Prayer for replacing the new incense pot
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Today is the………….. day of the …………. month of the year………….
I, the faithful ………………, sincerely offer my prayers and invite the Holy Spirits to be present here and accept our offerings and witness our sincerity. Please grant us permission to move the altar of the noble gods and goddesses to a new location. We believe that for harmony to exist, there must be a balance between the yin and yang energies. We humbly ask the noble gods and goddesses to move their altar to a more suitable location, a place where their power will be enhanced.
From now on, during the full moon and new moon, as well as during festivals and special occasions, we will offer incense and prepare rituals to worship and show our gratitude to the noble gods and goddesses, and to pray for their blessings and protection.
We respectfully ask for your blessings so that our family may enjoy good health, peace, and harmony, and so that all our wishes and desires may be fulfilled. May our family be blessed with abundance, prosperity, and glory in all aspects of our lives.
Faithful: ……………………. together with my entire family, we bow and give thanks!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
3 How to Dispose of Old Altars
Preparing offerings and rituals for disposing of old altars
The offerings you need to prepare for disposing of old altars include: A plate of five types of fruits, a vase of fresh flowers, incense sticks, candles, paper votive offerings (you only need to go to a votive shop and ask them to sell you a set of paper votive offerings for moving altars), a set of three types of cooked grains (sticky rice, rice, and beans), boiled chicken or roast pork (optional, depending on the host’s conditions), a dish of rice or porridge, alcohol, betel nuts, and areca nuts.
Preparing offerings and rituals for disposing of old altars
Prayer for moving the altar from the old house to the new one
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
I bow to the Nine Heavens and the Ten Directions of the Buddha
Today is the …… day of the ……. month of the year……
We are….Age ……..
Currently residing at: ………………
We respectfully inform the Noble Gods and Goddesses that we are moving to a new location and will be performing a ritual to invite the Holy Spirits to descend upon the new altar.
Today, the …… day of the ……. month of the …… year (which is the …… day of the ……. month of the …… year in the lunar calendar) is a auspicious day, and we humbly ask for permission to “Move the Holy Spirits to the new location of the altar” – Moving the altar of the Earth God and the Dragon God from its current location……to our new home……Although the location has changed, the direction of the altar will remain the same as before.
I respectfully bow to the Noble Gods and Goddesses of this land and ask for your permission to move the altar to the new location. I humbly bow before you.
Prayer for moving the altar from the old house to the new one
Prayer for moving the altar from the old house to the new one
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
I bow to the Emperor of the Yellow Heaven and the Earth and to the Noble Gods and Goddesses
I respectfully bow to the local gods and goddesses of the land, the Kitchen God, and all the other gods and goddesses.
I respectfully bow to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Mahamaudgalyayana.
We are: …………
Residing at: …………
Today, on this auspicious day of the ….. month of the ……… year ……
We sincerely prepare offerings, betel nuts, areca nuts, flowers, fruits, and incense, and offer them before the altar, saying:
We have built ……………… a house located at: …………………… a place for our family and descendants to live.
Now that we have built a new house and chosen an auspicious day to move in, we respectfully ask the Holy Spirits for permission to move into our new home at:………and to set up a new incense pot to worship the Holy Spirits.
We ask for permission from the Holy Spirits to bring the spirits of our ancestors to this new place so that we can continue to worship and pay our respects. We pray to the Holy Spirits to bestow their blessings and protection upon us, so that our family may always be safe, healthy, and prosperous.
Prayer for moving the altar from the old house to the new one
Prayer for moving the old altar to a new location
“Homage to Amitabha Buddha
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
Homage to Amitabha Buddha
I bow to the Nine Heavens and the Ten Directions of the Buddha
Today is the….. day of the….. month of the….. year…..
I, the faithful, am……age……
Currently residing…………………….
We respectfully inform the Noble Gods and Goddesses that our organization is making changes to the layout of the premises, and we will be performing a ritual to invite the Holy Spirits to descend upon the new altar of the God of Wealth and the Earth God (the Ancestors, the Buddha, the Earth God, etc.).
Today, on this auspicious day, I respectfully perform the “Moving the Holy Spirits to the new location of the altar” ritual – Moving the altar of the Earth God and the Dragon God from its current location……to the new location……I humbly ask the Noble Gods and Goddesses of this land and our ancestors to accept our offerings and grant us permission to move the altar to the new location.
Faithful:……I humbly bow before you”
Prayer for moving the old altar to a new location
4 Some notes on replacing the incense pot
Replacing the incense pot or moving the altar is an important matter, so you need to choose an auspicious day to do it.
Before replacing the old incense pot and altar, you should clean and wipe them down.
In addition to preparing the necessary offerings, you should also prioritize your sincerity and devotion.
The incense pot should be placed in the correct position, and it is absolutely not to be moved. The offerings should be placed in front of the incense pot.
