In Buddhism rituals and spiritual practices, incense burning is commonly used to honor the Triratna, or the Triple Gem of Buddhism, which are “the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha”. In fact, to proclaim devotion to these three things is one major step to becoming a real Buddhist. From a spiritual perspective, the incense burning resulting in fragrant smoke teaches the necessity to burn away negative qualities within oneself in order to reveal the pure self within.

Many religious traditions have contended that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too.” — Science Daily.

Surprisingly, scientific researches also show that incense burning brings many benefits to our brains. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses.

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