Incense

Incense is among the oldest ritual practices of humanity. In Tibet and Nepal the art of making incense sticks has a tradition thousands of years old, going well beyond simply scenting a room. Tibetan incense sticks have long been valued in the tradition as a remedy, an aid to meditation and a spiritual tool in one.

The decisive difference between Tibetan incense sticks and industrially made products lies in the ingredients. Traditional Tibetan incense sticks are made from natural resins, herbs, roots, flowers and woods, following recipes kept in monasteries and artisan families for generations. Many of these recipes come from Sorig, the Tibetan healing tradition, and take account of the properties that tradition ascribes to each ingredient. There are no synthetic fragrances, no chemical binders, no artificial colourings.

The sticks are rolled by hand. The mixture of herbs and resins is applied to thin bamboo sticks, rolled and dried. An experienced maker can tell from the smell and the consistency whether the blend is right. This process cannot be automated without losing quality.

The scent of Tibetan incense is deep, complex and grounding. It is quite unlike the sweet or insistent scents many people associate with incense. Anyone burning real Tibetan incense for the first time notices the difference at once.

For meditation we suggest incense with sandalwood, juniper or traditional monastery blends. For clearing a room, blends with juniper and white sage work well. At tibet-markets.ch we carry only incense made from natural ingredients, sourced directly from Tibetan makers we know personally.