香‧靜心‧環境的善循環 The benign cycle of incense, meditation, and our environment

      近幾十年來，我們的居住環境逐漸受到破壞，人們在各種污染與工作壓力下，心情容易浮躁、焦慮、不安、暴戾，這些負向能量以肉眼看不到的方式，影響居住環境與身心健康。有些負向能量來自家中，例如有長期生病的人，家裡就會有病氣；家人情感不和，就會有暴力的能量；東西堆積太多未清理，能量就無法順暢流動。這些外在因素也會讓人煩躁不舒服，甚至生病。

In the recent decades, our living environment has been gradually destroyed. People are easy to be fretful anxious, restless, or upset since we live with all sorts of pollution and fight against all sources of pressure, and such negative but invisible atmosphere seriously affects our physical and mental health and even our living environment. Some negative energy comes from households, where some family members are severely ill. Some comes from those living in disharmony. If bad or negative energy is not neutralized, then people can feel restless or fall ill.

香，內在的覺旅 Incense, an awakening vehicle

自古以來，人們就很喜歡香氣，會用香來妝點生活、增加情趣；香也作為上達天聽的祭祀載體，具有宗教的崇高性。西方人喜歡用香水來表現個人魅力，但對華夏香文化而言，香則是內在的修為與人格象徵。

Since ancient times, people have been enjoying fragrance, with which they add something delightful to their life. Incense is also considered a vehicle, with which people convey their thoughts to heaven, and thus incense carries a religious meaning. In western countries, people like to show their individuality through perfume; yet to eastern people, incense can be a token of inner cultivation or a particular personality.

品香靜心…你看不到的影響力 Meditating with incense---an invisible influence

          品香靜心時，香氣透過呼吸進入身體，每個細胞都充滿了更多的能量，當身體的能量提昇了，就會更喜悅、平靜、充滿熱忱，心智也會變得清新、細膩和美麗；因此品香靜心是一種提升意識、轉化心靈的藝術形式。

As we meditate with incense, the fragrance enters our body and fills all the cells, making us feel more energetic, joyful, peaceful, enthusiastic, clear-minded, aware, and pretty. Therefore, meditating with incense can be considered a way to transform our spirit.      

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.

品香靜心，讓自己和世界更美好的快速法 To meditate with incense is a rapid way to make yourself and world better!

近年來，整個地球、社會環境的意識混亂，無論是環境、氣候、生態都已遭受嚴重破壞，戰爭、經濟、貧窮、人心疏離……人們承受嚴重的精神壓力，心靈空虛、感受不到愛、對生命絕望，因此憂鬱症、癌症、慢性疾病都已成為人類最迫切需要解決的問題。

In recent years, our world is experiencing unprecedented chaos in terms of the collective consciousness or the living environment. Moreover, the endless wars, financial recession, poverty, and segregation among human beings all impose severe burdens on our psychology. And thus, many of us tend to feel despaired, empty, and hopeless, suffering from depression or other chronic diseases, which has become an urgent issue that we have to cope with immediately.

 

品香靜心…鬆開固著意識，提升生命品質 To meditate with incense is to loosen up our stereotypes and enhance the quality of our life.

當一個人病了，才知道健康與快樂遠比財富權力來得重要！

Only when one falls ill can he truly realize the fact that health and happiness outweigh wealth and power! 

但是，人為何會生病？But, why do we fall ill?

馨香賀新禧To congratulate to you with incense

物質富足、內心喜樂、出入平安、身體健康，是人們生存的基本需求。自古以來，人們透過香來祝禱，希望所求皆遂。因此，就有財神香、除障香、智慧香、開運香……等問世。

Human beings’ fundamental requirements include abundant materials, peaceful and joyful mind, and good health. Since the dawn of history, people have been praying with incense in the hope that all the wishes can come true. As a result, we have fortune incense, wisdom incense, good-luck incense, and so on.

  

中華香道藝術文化協會簡介 Introduction on Association of Chinese Incense Ceremony

用香祝福世界的一群人，因為愛，成立了這個協會  

 The Association is founded by those who make the best wishes for the world with incense.

香的本質是愛與祝福

The essence of incense is love and blessings.

一縷馨香，祈願世界和平，祈願人人幸福滿願

With the fragrance of incense, we pray for universal peace and wish you all the best.

合香裡的生命哲學The Philosophy of Synthetic Incense

合香，亦寫為「和香」，又稱「合和香」，是將兩種以上的香藥合成的香，運用的是天人相應的中醫智慧與哲學思維。

Synthetic incense refers to the incense that contains more than two medicinal herbs. The creation of synthetic incense is based on the application of the profound wisdom of Chinese medicine and philosophy.

天然香一定好嗎？Is natural incense definitely good?

      常有人問，天然香一定都是好的嗎？如何分辨好壞？

    Often times, people ask if natural incense definitely good and how to distinguish its quality.

來自天地的生生不息---香與五行的關係 The endless cycle of the universe------on incense and the five elements

五行是中國古代的物質觀，分別為木、火、土、金、水，這五種元素充盈在天地之間，無所不在。五行也是四季自然律動的元素，彼此相互作用、相互發展，使自然產生變化，人遵循四時之法成，隨著春生，夏長，秋收，冬藏的規律而成長，違反自然便容易產生疾病。

Chinese classify all the materials into the five elements, including wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The world we live in teems with these five ubiquitous elements. The five elements interact with one another, which lead to changes naturally, and thus we have four seasons. Human-beings should abide by the rhythms of the four seasons, sowing in spring, growing in summer, harvesting in fall, and storing in winter. If not, the violation of natural rhythms of rules can give rise to disorders of all sorts.

竟心香道……覺醒的芳香路徑Meditating with incense----an awakening path of fragrance

        香的本質，是回歸內在的療育之旅。

    The essence of incense is an inward healing journey.

       香道，是禪的精神，是找回自心的禪的藝術。禪，是生活、是精神、是態度；是看待萬事萬物的心境。透過與香的連結，提高專注力，開啟覺知，觀照自我、明白阻礙個人前進的信念；透過香，滋養身心、轉化負面思維、提高信心、找回喜悅幸福，與更高的精神力量及意識連結。

    Incense ceremony carries the spirit of Zen, also an art that leads us to retrieve our true hearts. Zen can be interpreted as a way of living, a kind of spirit, an attitude, or a perspective on something. Through the connection to incense, we can hopefully enhance our attention, activate our awareness, observe ourselves clearly, and clarify what stops us from moving forward. By virtue of incense, we can really nourish our body and mind, transform our negative thought, enhance our confidence, find our blessings, and connect to the Higher Me.

    香，是萬物之精華；道，是路徑、是方法，也是內在本源。形式是內容的呈現方式，內容是形式外顯的依據，二者無法區分。黑格爾說：「藝術的形式是美的實現。」香道，體現為香席、香事、儀軌、品香的形式；內容是反觀自心的探索之旅；而其最初的意義與最終的目的，是回歸萬物被創化的起始點。

    Incense is the essence of all the beings, while a ceremony can be a way or method, or even an origin. The apparent ceremony is intertwined with the content. Hegel once said that the exhibition of art is the realization of beauty. Incense ceremony is displayed through the related instruments, a series of activities and rituals. By such doing, we can reflect our own mind and explore ourselves. And, the initial meaning and the ultimate goal are about the origin of all the creations. 

    當我們的心往外追尋時，就會失去認識自己的機會；唯有往內，才能聽見真正的聲音。平常的你，如何觀照自己？是否常常和自己的五感連結？你聽見、看見、聞到、吃到、碰到了什麼？引起你哪些感受？你的身體舒服嗎？你放鬆了嗎？此刻你是喜悅寧靜還是悲傷低落？你能覺察自己的思考模式嗎？你正向積極或消極灰暗？透過品香靜心與隨時觀照，就是把自己帶回內在的家了。

    When we go after something in the outside world, we actually lose the opportunity to know ourselves. Only by looking inward into ourselves can we really hear the true voice. That being said, how do you usually see yourself? Do you connect to your five senses? What do you hear, see, smell, eat or touch? What things do you respond to? Do you feel comfortable or relaxed? At the very moment, do you feel peaceful or sorrowful? Can you perceive your thinking patterns? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? When you meditate with incense and observe all the above-mentioned, you are going back to your inner home. 

    香道必須超越感官取悅，將精神與心靈的美感經驗，昇華為「共好」的情操。在宇宙神聖秩序中，與大自然合一、讓心境再度歸零，珍惜當下的一期一會，立足於更高視野看待萬事萬物，回歸圓滿自在的生命源頭，這才是香道的最終本質啊！

    Incense ceremony is above sensory pleasure. It is a beautiful experience about spirit and mind. It leads us to calm down, merge with the big nature in the holy universe. If we can cherish each unique encounter with incense and learn to see things on a higher level, we can return to the perfect origin of life. And, that is the ultimate essence of incense ceremony!

        「竟心香道」是一趟身心靈的療育之旅，讓我們走入內在認識本質，與真正的自己「香遇」。

    Incense ceremony is a healing journey for our body, mind, and soul. Let’s travel inwards and meet our true selves.

供香的意義The Meaning of Worshipping with Incense

    煙供是以天然香的清淨高等能量供養諸佛菩薩及六道眾生。若從室內及戶外來看，一般可分為以下幾種：

    To worship gods and all the sentient beings with natural high-quality incense can be done indoors and outdoors, and the details are listed as follows:

一、室內Indoors

  1.供佛菩薩：以家中的佛菩薩為供香對象，祈求佛菩薩加持，福

慧雙修、悲智雙運。

  1. We can worship Buddha or Bodhisattva with incense at home and pray for blessings and wisdom.

  2.祭祖：早晚為祖先供三柱清香，祈求闔家平安、祝福祖先提昇至

更高次元。

  2. We can worship our ancestors with incense every morning and evening and pray for a peaceful family or the spiritual promotion of our ancestors.