Outside and Inside Incenses

After one Tuesday night's sitting, a student asked Sifu : Someone told me that if we want to communicate with Buddha, we need to offer very high-class agarwood incense. Is that true?


Sifu : Zen teaches us that 'Mind is Buddha'. If you want to communicate with your 'Mind', do you need to light high-class incense for your Buddha within?

The student was shocked to hear this and didn't know how to respond. After a few seconds, she said : Thank you for waking me up to this incense issue!

Commentary:

There are two kinds of incense. Outside incense is to purify the air we breathe. Inside incense is our pure True Nature. Outside incense depends on outside conditions which have appearing and disappearing. The incense of our True Nature is always bright and clear. Whenever our mind can let go of any kind of strong attachment and be humble with an open heart, and with a mind for others, this incense will permeate from our mind within. This we cannot find outside of us. This is the true offering of incense to Buddha.