Why are they burning money?

Picture this: 

Many farmers cultivate their raw aromatic plants. These plants are processed to become aromatic ingredients for incense crafters. Incense crafters then create incenses and sell it to the consumers

The consumers buy the incense with their hard-earned money just to burn it. 

The moment one person light up an incense. That same moment, he is burning it. Is he burning money?

If someone has not used incense before, he probably thinks people who are burning incense, are burning money. What a waste! 

But if he is a frequent incense user, then he may share with you two reasons of burning incense. The first one is:

To understand suffering is part of life and be grateful for it

Larvae (worms) suffer in the small fish mouth so there will always be small fish. The small fish suffer in the bigger fish mouth so there will be bigger fish. The bigger fish end up in the cranes’ beaks so there will always be cranes. The cranes suffer in the foxes’ jaws so there will always be foxes. When the foxes die, their bodies decompose so there will always be larvae. 

We, as human, work hard to have a better life. We suffer now for a better future.

Acknowledging suffering appears in many religions and cultures. These religions and cultures share a common thing: using incense to enhance one spiritual pathway,  to thank God and receive His blessing.

It does not mean we should be suffering for the whole life. We acknowledge suffering is unavoidable. There are always obstacles in lives. When we overcome these obstacles, we will have a better life. 

I once listened to a monk in one of his Saturday talk, he said suffering and pain were our friends. We should be grateful for that.

Because without them, we could not be great. There would be no champion, no inspirational stories to hear.

When you burn incense and pray, don't pray for a life without suffering but pray for the strength God gives you to overcome them.

The second reason to burn incense is to 

Change the “energy” (vibes) around you

What does it mean?

You see, when you are close to a happy, energetic person, you will feel his vibes, his energy, you will feel happier. His “energy” influences you positively.

When you are close to a lazy person, you feel like being dragged down. You feel suffocated, stagnant.

When someone constantly complains about his life, his negative energy affects you. You become pessimistic just like him.

When you are close to happy people you become happy

When you are close to miserable people,  you become miserable

If you asked any person who uses agarwood incense before, he will it is the scent of happiness. When agarwood incense is shared in a room of many people, it enchants the whole room. People feel calm and composed.

The aroma of one agarwood incense can be shared with many people without losing its heaven scent, next time if you have a chance, share it with your friends and see what they say.

In some religious talk, the host usually lights agarwood incense so the audience can be happy, relaxed and focused.

A friend tells me if he serves tea and incense to his guests, he noticed that his guests stay longer when they visit him. They feel blessed because of the woody fragrance.

So next time, if you have someone who you love to talk to, visit your place, treat them a warm cup of tea along with agarwood Incense and see how they feel.

People also use agarwood incense in their business ritual. Apart from worshipping the God of Wealth, and the Local Deities, some owners of family-owned restaurants usually do some rituals in the morning. They smudge their restaurants with incense to bring luck and fortune when opening their doors. They hope the positive energy will attract more customers