心靜，則世界靜A serene state of mind leads to a peaceful world

 眾聲喧嘩的世界，紛紛擾擾，來來去去。

想讓世界安靜下來的唯一方法，

就是---

讓心安靜下來！

一縷青煙心自遠──香‧靜心‧情緒 Alienating from the mundane world------On incense, meditation, and emotions

         適當的情緒表現是與人相處的行為反應，但是基於某些原因，會害怕流動因而壓抑、漠視或切斷情緒，這些做法都會降低敏銳度及同理心。很多成人會忽略孩子的壓力和情緒反應，事實上，學童及青少年的壓力並不亞於大人，只是他們不善於說明。壓力會讓人肌肉緊繃、呼吸急促、腸胃不適、內分泌失調、失眠、焦慮、情緒化、容易哭泣……。這時，可以透過點香的方式，引導他們專注在呼吸上，讓香氣隨著吸氣進入身體，很快的就會感覺到身體放鬆。上班族在工作前點一支香，可為一天帶來美好的開始；午休時品一支香，補充耗散的體力，在緊張忙碌中，依然能夠保持愉快的心情；下班後點一爐香，釋放累積的壓力和情緒，修復流失的能量。

  

    

香---簡單又快速的提神良方 Incense---a simple and rapid tool to revitalize you~

   用香氣來治療疾病是20世纪70年代興起的新型療法，利用植物的根、莖、葉、花或果實散發出的氣味，來調節人的心理、生理機能，達到治療疾病的目的。波蘭「香味療法」協會會長瓦‧布魯斯介紹，利用香味療法治病有兩種方法：

Aromatherapy, based on the use of the all the parts of plants, cropped up in the 1970s and was utilized to cure diseases. It is believed that aromatherapy can regulate our psychological and mental functions and subsequently cure our disorders. According to the director of Polish Aromatherapy Association, aromatherapy can be operated in two ways:

香的價值知多少？ How much do you know about the value of the incense?

        藥材的好壞決定了香的品質，為了確保品質優良，避免買到劣質香材或假貨，必須從香材的產地、氣味、外觀、色澤、質地來判定原料的優劣。

    The quality of the herbs determines the quality of incense. In order to make sure the quality of the incense is good enough, we cannot pay more attention to the origins, scents, appearances, colors, and textures of the materials.

調一款2016年的上等平安好香 Creating the Incense of the Best Quality for harmony in 2016

    感謝大家對「研香師的香道世界」的支持，特地在2016年的農曆新年，以東方智慧的古法香藝，為大家調製上等好香：祈禱在馨香的祝福中，一切平安。

In order to thank all of you for your support of the blog, as the Chinese New Year is around the corner, we would like to deliver to you our most sincere wishes based on oriental wisdom through text--our precious incense. Wish you a joyful and peaceful 2016.

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.

    

         

沉香是香王嗎？Is agilawood the best kind of incense component?

     沉香被尊稱為「香中的鑽石」、「香中之王」，因沉香得來不易，沉香樹結香的形成原因很多，但都來自於外界的傷害，沉香樹為了自我防護，會分泌樹脂使傷口癒合，再經過真菌感染後，慢慢结成膏脂狀的結塊物，其中混合了樹脂、揮發油、木材等多種成分。

        Agilawood is considered to be the diamond or king of all the incense components, since it is not always available. As agilawood gets damaged, it creates resin to cover its wounds and protect itself. Meanwhile, the wounds can get infected by the fungi and then turn into paste-like lumps that contain resin, aetherolea, wood, and other ingredients.

 

         

點香會產生二氧化碳，這樣是否不環保？ Burning incense produces carbon dioxide, so is burning incense eco-friendly?

根據SGS驗認結果，在1立方公尺點燃一支香〈長度7公分，直徑3釐米，燃香時間約20分鐘〉所產生的二氧化碳含量濃度會增加一百萬分之483，也就是增加約0.000483，其重量約0.62克，因此每分鐘約增加0.031公克的二氧化碳量。

Based on the SGS test, burning an incense stick (7cm long, 3 mm in diameter) in a one-cubic-meter compartment for twenty minutes can increase 0.000483％ of the total amount of carbon dioxide, weighing about 0.62 grams. That is to say, there is 0.031 more carbon dioxide each minute.

香要如何保存？ How to preserve incense?

   從外觀來看，一般市面上較常見的香有粉香、線香、盤香等。香品拆封後，可用密封罐封存好，如果包裝袋內附有乾燥劑，須先取出，因為開封後，乾燥劑會吸附空氣中的水分，如果再放回盒內，容易使香品受潮變質。

In the markets, we can commonly find powder incense, stick incense and dish incense. After we open an incense package, we should store the rest of incense in air-tight containers. If desiccants are enclosed in the packages, we have to remove them after opening, for the desiccants can absorb the moisture in the air and therefore humidify the incense if they still stay in the packages.

  

  

嬰兒半夜不安穏，點香有用嗎？ Can incense help calm down fretful infants in the midnight?

      

點香可以營造一個穩定安祥的場域，嬰兒對能量是很敏感的，只是他們不善於表達。當身體不舒服、餓了、尿布濕了、或是受到負面磁場干擾時，他們就會用自己的情緒語言---哭鬧--來表示。

Burning incense can help create a stable and peaceful field. Infants are very sensitive to energy, but they cannot express themselves well. As a result, they show their emotions by crying when feeling uncomfortable, hungry, wet in the diaper, or disturbed by negative energy field.