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.

      古人在生活中廣泛用香的情形，超出我們的想像。無論是古代中國以中藥材炮製而成的合香、古埃及的香料或現代的香水市場，香氣始終擄掠了人們的芳心。香僅可以淨化空間、轉化能量，也可以頤養身心，爽神修心、祛穢療疾。 點一爐馨香，透過眼觀、手觸、鼻嗅的形式，體悟生命、珍惜生命。在空間中無聲流淌的醇和香氣，讓人安心凝神，心性在潛移默化中轉化，豐富了精神存在。

      Ancient people used incense widely in their daily lives, far more than we can imagine. In ancient China, people manufactured synthetic incense with herbs, while the ancient Egyptians made good use of fragrance and spices. Even today, humans are still captivated by the scents of a spectrum of perfume. Fragrance has always been intriguing. This is probably because people assume incense can purify the space, transform the energy field, and chase away filthy things and make us feel good both physically and mentally.  With burning incense aside, we can appreciate the incense with our eyes, hands, noses, and furthermore, by such doing, we can learn to cherish our life and realize something. The silent incense calms down our minds with fragrance and inadvertently enriches our lives.

       點香，無關乎宗教信仰。燃香供佛、禮敬神明，是信徒的虔誠心意，但並不是用香的唯一形式。認識香的使用方式與精神，不但可以打破對香的錯誤認知，也可以讓香的好處增加生活逸趣及心靈提升。

Burning incense has nothing to do with religious beliefs. Yet, those who have religious may well burn incense to show their respect to their gods. But, incense is not the only means to show your sincerity. If we can know the spirit of burning incense and take good advantage of it, we can crash our myths about incense and enhance our living quality as well as spiritual enjoyment.