Awaken in Bodh Gaya

Last year, on Vesak Day, I walked slowly through the quiet grounds of a temple as gentle rain fell around me. The delicate fragrance of the temple in rain permeated through the air: earthy, serene. It was an unprecedented experience. In that moment, a sense of overwhelming calmness arose from deep within my heart, as if the worlds outside and within had finally come into harmony.

Standing in silence, I recalled the story of the Siddhartha Gautama awakening at Bodh Gaya, where under the Bodhi tree had he discovered the path to liberation. For me, that rainy Vesak Day became a small reflection of his great peace, a reminder that awakening begins with stillness in the heart.

Then, my thoughts turned to when Prince Siddhartha first awakened to the inescapable realities of humanity: birth, ageing, sickness and death. He was deeply shaken, and a deep longing was stirred within him to understand the true meaning of life beyond worldly pleasures and fleeting joys.

The prince hence set forth on a journey of enlightenment, leaving behind comfort and the crown to search for the truth that could free all beings from suffering. Through hardship and meditation, he finally found enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree, where he awakened to the wisdom that has since guided countless hearts toward peace.

After that experience, I often found myself longing to experience the same fragrance again, a scent of tranquillity and depth. To recreate it, I turned to Patchouli and Oud, grounding notes that echo the pain of fleetingness and sorrow. Yet within that heaviness, I discovered a hidden clarity, as if suffering itself was a doorway to freedom. From those dark tones suddenly emerged a fragrance of temple stones. At this moment, I added a scent of rose, as if rain were falling in the temple, and other scent together to bring an indescribable sense of tranquillity.

Finally, I added Orris, a root with a soft, powdery grace for the final push to lift the composition beyond earth and rain, toward liberty and Heaven. Its delicate, ethereal touch brings the feeling of a gentle breeze after a storm, carrying the spirit into lightness and clarity. Where Patchouli and Oud had grounded me in the raw weight of suffering, Orris opened the doorway into release in its subtle bloom.

As you inhale this perfume, you will walk the path of the Prince Siddhartha, feeling the weight of suffering; the stirrings of compassion; and the gentle release into freedom. Layer by layer, the fragrance will carry you from the depths of human struggle to the light of awakening, not unlike the Buddha’s journey from sorrow to enlightenment. In its embrace, you will receive an invitation to find inner peace, to let go of burdens, and to feel a fleeting moment of the calmness that lies beyond suffering.

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