Grade 1 Mindrolling Monastery’s Incense

Mindroling Monastery Grade 1 Incense — Finest Premium Offering

Directly Sourced from Mindroling Monastery, China (Tibet) • Intangible Cultural Heritage Craft

Approx. 50 sticks per bottle • ~22 cm length • Approx. 118 g

Mindrolling Monastery—“The Place of Perfect Emancipation”—is one of the six great mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition. Founded in 1676 by the great tertön Rigzin Terdak Lingpa, holder of the revered Nyo lineage, Mindroling is renowned for preserving some of Tibet’s most sophisticated ritual arts, medicinal knowledge, and incense-crafting traditions.

The Finest of the Five Grades

Grade 1 is the highest and most premium incense produced by Mindroling Monastery. This grade is traditionally reserved for major offerings, serious practitioners, and those who appreciate the deep, potent, and complex fragrance characteristic of true Tibetan monastic incense.

This exceptional formulation incorporates over 30 natural Tibetan medicinal ingredients, prepared entirely by hand according to the classical Mindroling tradition—a recognized intangible cultural heritage craft of Tibet.

Traditional Ingredients & Medicinal Formulation

Mindroling Grade 1 Incense blends a remarkable array of Himalayan botanicals, including:

• White & red sandalwood

• Agarwood (aloeswood)

• Clove

• Cinnamon

• Musk

• Chebulic & belleric myrobalan (two of the “Three Great Fruits”)

• Inula root

• Saffron

• Borneol

• Many additional Tibetan herbs used in classical Sowa Rigpa medicine

Handcrafted Through a Multi-Stage Process

Each batch undergoes meticulous traditional preparation:

1. Herbs crushed repeatedly on stone slabs

2. Purification with clean water

3. Some ingredients boiled for days to remove impurities

4. Precise grinding into fine medicinal powders

5. Mixing and shaping by hand into perfectly balanced sticks

6. Slow sun-drying, preserving potency and fragrance

The small speckled spots visible on the sticks are natural features of authentic high-grade Tibetan herbs and resins.

Fragrance Profile

Grade 1 incense is known for its:

• Deep, musky, full-bodied aroma

• Highly complex layers of spice, wood, and medicinal warmth

• Long-lasting scent with rich Tibetan character

• Less sweet and more “pungent” profile than lighter grades

This incense is recommended for practitioners who appreciate strong, monastery-style formulas rich in medicinal resins.

Benefits & Traditional Uses

The formulation is rooted in Tibetan medical theory and is traditionally used for:

• Meditation — enhances focus and steadiness of mind

• Purification of spaces, offerings, and retreat environments

• Clearing air impurities

• Refreshing and stabilizing the mind

• Supporting meridian circulation and calming the subtle winds (rlung)

• Offerings to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma Protectors