沒有宗教信仰為什麼要點香？ Why do those who don’t have religious beliefs burn incense?

道教、佛教會點香，天主教望彌撒時也會點香，華人更有「逢廟必拜」、「有拜有保佑」的心理，香已經成為宗教祭祀的符碼；但是點香拜拜，並不是宗教的專用形式。

  People who believe in Taoism, Buddhism, and Catholicism burn incense, and on the other hand, Chinese tend to worship any god in any temple for good luck. Incense, in one sense, has become a token with which people deliver their wishes in their own religious rituals; however, incense is not specifically used on religious occasions merely.

天然香的美學 Seeing Natural Incense from an Aesthetic Viewpoint

  現代香品製作的原料可分為天然香料與人工香料，在中國古代香藝的發展中，皆以天然香料為主；如植物的根、莖、葉、花、果實、樹幹、樹皮；動物則如麝香、龍涎香。

The ingredients found in modern incense can be roughly divided into two types------natural and artificial. In ancient China, natural incense was the mainstream, and the ingredients included the roots, stems, leaves, blooms, fruits, bark, trunks of plants as well as animal components, such as musk and ambergris.

香道--喚醒沉睡的嗅息覺受 Tao of Incense---Awakening the Sleeping Sense of Smell

          一般人很少把注意力放在五感的微細感受，對周遭所發生的一切經常是走馬看花、甚至是毫無感覺的。為了提高我們對事物的敏銳度，可以藉由品香過程

的氣味辨識，提高身體覺受及內在專注力。例如：吸氣時，感覺氣味如何進入鼻腔、進入肺部、進入身體；感受氣味前中後段有何不同、如何發生轉變；覺察氣味如何影響身體和情緒反應。透過這樣的訓練，可以開啟更精微的覺受力，讓自己從毫無知覺的麻痺式五感，提高為被動式五感，最後成為明察秋毫的主動式五感。

    Normally, people do not pay attention to the subtle changes in our five senses; that is to say, we may feel numb or nothing about the happenings around us. In order to enhance our sensitivity to all the occurrences, we can manage to enhance our sensitivity as well as concentration by distinguishing the scents in the process of appreciating the incense products. For instance, we can lead ourselves to notice how the smell enters our nasal cavities, lungs, and finally all over our body. In the meanwhile, we can also manage to distinguish the changes of the scents in the beginning, middle, and end of the process. Furthermore, we are also advised to feel how the scents affect our bodies and emotions. Through such training, we can sharpen our senses step by step and finally become more and more lucid.

 

物我香忘──由疏離走向合一的專注力訓練 Melting Yourself in Tao of Incense---a training for concentration

        對學習香道的新手而言，看到香案上各種不同的器具和固定的操作過程，大都會很緊張，害怕做不好而貽笑大方。香道流程是一種專注力的自我訓練，首先必須要放鬆、自然、專注、甚至帶著一種輕鬆的玩心，讓自己身心更為柔軟、舒適。有些初學者往往因為過度認真而顯得緊繃不自然，這樣就會讓香具、香材、香人三者各自疏離，無法全然合一。

To the novices in Tao of Incense, the incense instruments and the way to use them can fret them more or less, since they may fear becoming a laughing stock. As a matter of fact, Tao of Incense is a synonym for concentration. For starters, we should learn to relax, focus, and maintain a playful mindset. Some beginners are overconcerned, so much so that they appear not comfortable. In such a case, we may alienate from the incense instruments and the incense, and thus cannot be involved in the training process.