馨愛流傳----記現代燎祭 Contemporary flaming rituals

燎祭，是中國香文化的開始。

Contemporary flaming rituals can be regarded as the origin of Chinese incense culture.

大約在三千多年前，人們遇到天災、危險時，會透過「燎祭」的方式，祈求生命安全、出入平安、植作豐收。所謂的「燎祭」就是將布帛、牲畜、玉器、以及會發出香氣的植物放在一起燃燒，透過香氣與煙雲的祭祀儀式，將心願上達天聽。

Around three thousand years ago, as people encountered natural disasters of all sorts, they would resort to flaming rituals to pray for safety and great harvest. The so-called flaming rituals refer to the process, in which people gather clothing, sacrifices, jade, and fragrant herbs and burn them altogether with an aim to sending the gods their wishes via the smoke and aroma.

 

三千年後，這樣的方式已經被遺忘，人們不再跟至高意識連結、不再跟大自然連結、也不再跟自己的心連結了！我們忘了感恩天地、忘了祝福萬物，當生命中失去了這一切，剩下的，就只是追求享樂的空虛心靈罷了！

Yet, as time goes by, such a ritual has been fading. People no longer connect to higher consciousness, big nature, or even their own hearts. In one sense, we forget to thank the heaven and mother earth for everything we have got, and thus, when such a vital mindset is ignored, what we have is vanity only!

今年我們試圖喚醒人們對香的記憶，因此以櫻花樹下作為祭壇，在香爐中置入五穀、松枝、雪松……，代表著豐收、祥瑞與聖潔。當每個人彎腰傾身，把雪松倒入香爐時，便一併的燃起了祝福的火苗。情感隨著香氣穿越了時空，和古人有了交流，也與天地同在、萬象偕老！

This year, we attempt to awaken people’s memory of incense. Therefore, we set an altar with cherry blossoms and put grains, pine twigs, cedar, and so on in the incense burner. The ingredients are abundant, auspicious, and holy signs. As everyone bends over and dumps in the pine twigs into the incense burner, he simultaneously inflames blessings for himself and interacts with the ancient beings, the heaven, and mother earth!

透過燎祭，虔敬與謙遜作用於簡單莊嚴的文化行為，那良善的人性光輝便在縷縷香氣中，再度被彰顯！

Through flaming rituals, we express our sincerity and humility and we can hopefully bring out the kind human nature we are born with in the atmosphere of incense!