8.7 You may offer Heart Incense while you don’t have an altar at home or go away for a business trip.

 

Question: Master mentioned before that we can visualise our altar or our favourite Bodhisattva’s image when we offer Heart Incense. Is it better if we visualise an altar that has been frequently visited by Bodhisattvas, such as the one in Sydney Guan Yin Citta Centre?

Answer: Offering Heart Incense is different from offering an actual one. You can visualise. If you already have an altar at home, then don’t visualise anything. You just need to sincerely pay respect to the Bodhisattvas in front of your altar. You may offer Heart Incense if you don’t have an altar at home. As you can only offer incense in your mind, you must visualise a Bodhisattva. You need to visualise yourself walking slowly towards the Bodhisattva, and bear in mind that you have to be very slow.

What can you do if you are on a business trip and there’s no altar? Let me teach you how to offer Heart Incense. Dress appropriately and you can sit on a spot with your hands washed. You can either sit or stand and face towards a very bright direction such as the sky outside of the window. Put your palms together, silently recite the Great Compassion Mantra, the Heart Sutra and the Jing Kou Ye Zhen Yan as you are in a place with a different energy field. After the recitation, you can visualise yourself slowly entering a temple, looking at Guan Yin Bodhisattva, gently putting your palms together, lighting the incense and offering it. You need to visualise every movement and detail and you will feel like being there. It’s useless if you simply state that you are offering incense and performing full prostrations. All details such as striking the match, lighting up the oil lamp, inserting the incense stick into the incense burner and looking at Guan Yin Bodhisattva must be in your mind, giving you a feeling that you’re actually there. That is the real process of offering Heart Incense. Your movements must be slow; don’t be too fast.