Do all the monastics have incense marks?
The custom of burning incense marks is unique to Chinese Buddhism. It did not exist in the earliest Buddhism and is not practiced in other countries. When Buddhism first reached China, in about 65 CE, the monastics were held in high regard by the society. During the Tang Dynasty (618 CE – 907 CE), the imperial court ordered that incense mark burning to be incorporated in the precept ceremony in order to prevent people from impersonating the monastics. This custom has been preserved to the present day.
