法苑珠林 42.25

42.25

Furthermore, the Ekottarika-āgama states: "If there is a patron providing an offering, they hold an incense burner in their hands and proclaim that the time has arrived. The Buddha said: 'Incense is the Buddha's messenger; therefore, one must burn incense to make a universal invitation throughout the ten directions.'" (Knowing that burning incense was originally meant to invite the Buddha, but because ordinary people's minds are obstructed by what their eyes see and they do not understand, the Buddha instructed that incense be burned to invite all ordinary and holy beings throughout the ten directions, manifesting the meritorious deed so that they soar through the void to arrive everywhere. When distributing the incense and chanting the pāṭha, all monastics and laypeople recite a verse according to the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, which says:)