Taiwan temples stick to burning incense

2014-08-27

Major temples around Taiwan said Aug. 25 they have no intention of following Taipei City’s Hsing Tian Kong and banning incense or votive offering tables, as such a reversal of tradition would cause serious offence to worshippers and deities alike.

The previous day the Taoist temple drew wide media coverage and government praise for its efforts at greening traditions, especially amid health concerns over incense smoke.

“Incense plays a very important symbolic role in dialogue with the deities,” a staff member at Beigang Chaotian Temple said. “Removing the furnaces will only cause inconvenience and uneasiness to worshippers.”

Leaders at other temples are similarly adamant about maintaining tradition, while remaining cognizant of green concerns. “Praying with lighted joss sticks is an inalienable part of our tradition,” said Cheng Ming-kun, vice chairman of the Jenn Lann Temple in Dajia District, Taichung City.

“It is not the same to pray without burning incense. We do take note of the importance of environmental protection, but it is impossible for us to follow Hsing Tian Kong’s precedent and ban incense.”

Other institutions said they were not totally opposed to change, but it had to be a gradual process. “We used to have 11 furnaces for burning ghost money,” said Huang Shu-wei, vice chairman of 94-year-old Lungshan Temple in Taipei’s Wanhua District. “The number has been reduced to five. We must give people plenty of time to change so that we do not cause resentment.”

But various government bodies, hospitals and research institutions emphasized the dangers posed by air pollution coming from burning incense and ghost money.

According to Chen Shyan-heng, head of the Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control at the Environmental Protection Administration, incense combustion is a rich source of suspended particulates, which are small enough to be absorbed directly into the blood stream through the lungs.

“Breathing the smoke just once will not have a serious effect,” Chen said. “But temple staff suffer prolonged exposure, possibly causing chronic ailments.”

Lung Shih-chun, a researcher at Academia Sinica’s Research Center for Environmental Changes in Taipei, highlighted the wide range of health risks involved with inhaling incense smoke. “The particulates can interfere with the oxygen exchange mechanism and trigger asthma or heart disease. Long-term exposure may even cause lung cancer,” she said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=221052&CtNode=413)