Incense

Tibetan incense is primarily used in Buddhist rituals, though some is also used in homes to purify the air and ward off evil spirits. Its manufacturing process embodies the essence of Tibetan culture. The main ingredients include saffron, snow lotus, musk, and Tibetan cardamom. According to legend, Tibetan incense was created in the 7th century by Thonmi Sambhota, a minister of Songtsen Gampo, and has a history of over 1,300 years. King Songtsen Gampo was a devout Buddhist. To honor two life-sized statues of the Buddha—one depicting the Buddha at age 12 and the other at age 8—which had been personally consecrated by Shakyamuni during his lifetime and brought from Chang’an and Nepal, King Songtsen Gampo commissioned his minister Thonmi Sambhota to develop incense for offering to the Buddha. Guided by Tibetan medicine, Thonmi Sambhota painstakingly developed the art of hand-grinding incense, and from then on, Tibetan incense began to spread throughout the region.