Sandalwood is called bath incense in Taoism, that is, it is used for bathing and burning incense, and cannot be used to worship truth.
"On the ceremony platform, burning incense is nothing." This famous word "Yu Jing Shan Bu Fu Zi" tells the etiquette that Taoism must open an altar and burn incense when it holds fasting ceremonies. Incense-burning ceremonies are said to be a medium to communicate truth and achieve holiness, and the fragrance reaches the palace in the sky, and the welcome is really down. Du Guangting, a Taoist priest and fax master in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, said, "Burning incense and burning lamps is the most urgent task when repairing vegetarian roads. Those who are fragrant, communicate with each other and reach the true spirit; The lamplighter breaks the dark candle and opens the night spring. " "The Emperor's Supreme Jade Book" says: "In case of urgent prayer, burning incense can enlighten the gods."
One of the most commonly used incense is sandalwood. Sandalwood smells quiet, holy and restrained, which can make people calm their minds, clear their worries, concentrate on their thoughts, soothe their nerves and enlighten them, and has a certain effect on people's quietness, so it is highly respected in various religions. For example, in Buddhism, sandalwood is often called "sandalwood", which means "harmony", that is, it can give people pleasure. When talking about the "sandalwood", Volume 21 of All Classics, Sounds and Meanings in the Shaman Tibetan Garden of the Tang Dynasty said: "This cloud and happiness mean that white sandalwood can cure fever and red sandalwood can dispel wind swelling, which are all medicines for removing illness and keeping the body safe, hence the name" Happiness ". It is said that the great virtues of Buddhism and Taoism, which have successful practice, can give off fragrance from Laogong and other acupoints, and make it "sexual fragrance", that is, it is similar to the fragrance given off by sandalwood, so Buddhism and Taoism are very fond of sandalwood.
However, it is this highly respected sandalwood, but it is also a kind of incense that is explicitly forbidden to be used in Taoist rituals. Taoism is very particular about the use of incense for fasting, and it is stipulated that the altar burns lily incense and Dalbergia odorifera, among which Dalbergia odorifera has the highest taste, and it is considered as the spiritual incense for offering sacrifices to the Emperor of Heaven, which can reach the residence of the Emperor of Heaven. However, it is explicitly forbidden to use sandalwood, benzoin and frankincense in the ritual of fasting.
This is because in Taoism, sandalwood, benzoin and frankincense are all bath incense. Taoism divides incense into two kinds, one is incense, the other is bath incense. The so-called incense burning in Taoism uses incense, and incense materials are smoked with incense burners to worship the truth; Bath incense is used to put incense into soup for bathing.
Taoism strongly advocates bathing in fragrant soup. The so-called fragrant soup is hot water with various spices. "On the day of walking, you should bathe in fragrant soup.". "If you don't bathe with perfume, your soul will run down and be arrested by other ghosts." Sandalwood is one of the "five fragrances for bathing" that Taoist priests often use. The so-called five fragrances are explained in the san huang Classic: "Anyone who fastes and bathes should wash his hands and get rid of the five fragrances soup. Five-spice soup method, with a welcome of spearmint, a welcome of jinghua, a welcome of Lingling, a welcome of Aoki and a welcome of Dalbergia. Every five things, cut them with two buckets of water and boil one bucket and two buckets to bathe themselves. This soup dispels evil, except for bad omen, which lowers the spirit, bathes it and cures the head wind. " You can get seven blessings and seven fruits by bathing in five spices. Therefore, sandalwood, as a bath fragrance, cannot be used to burn incense and worship the truth.
However, apart from the ritual of fasting, sandalwood is not excluded as incense burning, but it is also one of the precious five spices used for incense worship. The so-called precious five spices are sandalwood, agarwood, Yunxiang, Lignum Dalbergiae Odoriferae and Solanum lyratum, and the most commonly used one is sandalwood. Burning sandalwood is also more exquisite. The incense should be chopped into a minute thick and an inch long, and a special sandalwood stove is needed, which shows the devout belief of Taoists. "A column of true incense communicates, and the sacred high is true."