The Light of Peace and Harmony: Fragrant Agarwood

Hong Kong is a fast-paced city. We are lost in hustles and bustles every day, feeling on edge all the time. Our minds are never at ease, and there seems to be no room for meditation, no way of getting illuminated. How much do we long for kindling a puff of incense, sipping a cup of good Chinese tea and listening to the beautiful melodies of nature – until our minds are calmed down! It will be an act of spiritual self-cultivation, realizing the pursuit of forgetting one’s self and the material world.

“Incense burning” is a tradition of many ancient civilizations in the world which have evolved into unique cultures. As an ancient civilization with over 5000 years of history, China is no exception. Among the historical relics dating back to as early as the Western Han era (2000 BC) was a kind of ancient vessels called “Boshanlu” (censers from Boshan). During the Qin and Han Dynasties, royalties and nobilities were very keen on seeking recipes for immortality. Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of Qin, sent a fangshi (a master of magical recipes) named Xu Fu to the East for this purpose. Legend has it that immortals revealed themselves among the ethereal clouds along the Shandong coast, giving rise to endless imagination over how the secrets of immortality could be obtained through encountering these legendary beings. Boshanlu was exactly a special product of this yearning. The censer’s lid is modelled with designs of mountains and immortals. When incense was burnt, fragrant smoke would diffuse through the openings on the lid in all directions, creating a celestial ambience that lifted one’s mental state to a tranquil realm. As the culture of incense burning developed, numerous censers and utensils created from a variety of materials were produced during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including porcelain, bronze and bamboo censers and perfume holders, which were small enough to be carried around. They were much cherished by the scholars and literati and became part of the literati culture in China.

Among various spices and incenses, agarwood is one of the most precious species, commanding a high standing in the fields of medication, religion, culture and art. Agarwood is a precious Chinese herbal medicine. It can be absorbed by the spleen, stomach and kidneys, capable of regulating the immune system, calming the mind, relieving depression and warming the kidneys. Agarwood is also regarded as a supreme offering in Buddhism. It is able to carry messages to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, enrich the wisdom and moral awareness of the practitioners such that one’s righteous mind is maintained and worries are turned into bodhi (wisdom and enlightenment). The Biography of the Lotus Sect records Kumarajiva speaking of the ten items needed for offering to The Lotus Sutra, which are: flowers, incense, Buddhist ornaments, wiping incense, smearing incense, burning incense, banners and canopies, garments, vadya (music and dances) and clasped hands. As shown above, incense appears in four out of the ten tributes. The significance of supreme incenses like sandalwood and agarwood is highly credited. According to The Ritual Procedure for Recitation of Dharani of the Jubilant Corona by Amoghavajra, ridding disasters requires sinking agarwoord, and when practising The Peacock Sutra the five incenses to be burnt should include agarwood. Indeed, agarwood was among the five incenses used by Amoghavajra at the altar. The Shurangama Sutra describes how a youth was enlightened and became an arhat after smelling the scent of sinking agarwood. The scented wood is also made into malas, whose pervasive scent awakes, illuminates and calms the mind. Hence, agarwood is believed to have the effects of tranquilizing the mind, enhancing Buddhist practice and eliminating disturbances.

As the ties between China and Japan grew, the Chinese culture of incense burning soon spread to Japan and evolved into another unique culture. Just as tea drinking grew into “chado” (tea ceremony) having reached Japan, incense burning was translated into “kodo” (incense ceremony), breeding numerous magnificent and exquisite tools as well as strict and meticulous rituals. Famous incense stores such as Kyukyodo and Shoyeido in Tokyo sell full sets of incense tools and first-class agarwood pieces, incense sticks, balms and powder at dear prices, providing solid proof of the high value of agarwood.

Agarwood is also used in sculptural art. Given the rarity of large intact agarwood pieces and its special texture resulting from the co-existence of hard solidified parts and brittle rotted parts, agarwood carving demands an extremely high level of meticulousness and craftsmanship. These wood pieces are most commonly used in sculpting Buddha statues, human figures and decorative objects and ornaments.

As a major event of “Enchanting Arts of Asia”, “Peace and Harmony: The Divine Spectra of China’s Fragrant Harbour” is the largest exhibition centering on agarwood and incense culture ever existed. The Agarwood Statues of Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara are agarwood carvings of the largest scale whose mountains, trees, rocks and above all, appearances of the Buddhas are carved in the finest details. The Buddhas’ faces are presented in different ways, but all are vivid and lifelike – and thus most precious. Other exhibits include agarwood statues of Bodhisattvas, figural sculptures, sculptures with mountainous backdrops and ornaments. There are also exhibits related to the incense culture, such as censers, aromatics and perfume bottles made from various materials – to be displayed all at once for your appreciation and understanding of the essence and significance of this unique culture.

This exhibition carries another layer of significance intertwined with the designation of Hong Kong. According to renowned scholar Professor Lo Hsiang-lin, agarwood was widely grown in areas around Dongguan as well as in Lik Yuen (Sha Tin) and Sha Lo Wan in the New Territories. The incense growers shipped agarwood pieces to today’s Tsim Sha Tsui and transported to Shek Pai Wan (Aberdeen) for export to places as far as the Middle East.　The port of Shek Pai Wan was thus called “Hong Kong”, which literally means “the fragrant harbour” – this explains the origin of the city’s name. Held in Hong Kong, this is a significant exhibition that bears witness to its history.

The exhibits are all taken from the private collection of Dr. Paul Kan, founder of the Chinese World Cultural Heritage Foundation and World Cultural Relics Protection Foundation. Dr. Kan is a well-known collector with a comprehensive collection of Buddhist relics, antiquities and treasures from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and even rarities of foreign art and culture. He has sponsored numerous important art and cultural exhibitions, contributing　significantly to the promotion of art and culture of China and other parts of the world. It is extremely generous of him to show and share his private precious collection for the public’s understanding of the unique incense culture in this special exhibition.

On a quiet and tranquil night, let us part with such disturbing matters as fame and living for a moment, sit still at a cosy corner under moonlight, burn some incense, review oneself and enter into full serenity. You will be rewarded　with spiritual enlightenment in unity with Heaven when you begin to put your ego and self out of mind.