Gandhanra Hand Carved Colorful Mani Stone, Om mani padme hum Mantra,Mysterious Tibetan Folk Art,Exquisite courtyard decoration

These mani stones are carved and colored by Tibetan craftsmen,from The Largest Mani Stone Mound In The World ----Yushu Jiana Mani stone mound. It’s located in Xinzhai village of Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture. It’s said that the local Tibetan Buddhist Master Jiana built a small Mani stone mound 300 years ago. This is the reason why the Mani stone mound was given the name of the master. Since then, people kept putting more Mani stones on the mound to pray and collect merit. Now it has around 200 million stones, is 300 meters long, 3 meters high, and 80 meters wide. In Tibet, it’s easy to see many altars piled by stones and flagstones at the hills, crossing roads, lakesides, and riverbank. The altar was called Mani stone mound which made of Mani Stones. Most Mani Stones are engraved with six-word Dharani, mantras, eyes (in Buddhism, it means a mental perception), statues of gods, auspicious patterns, etc. They are masterpieces of Tibetan folk art. Description 100% Handmade with stone Material: stone Shape: Rectangular stone, or natural pebbles (irregular,random delivery) Size & Weight (Approximate) 1.Rectangular stone: 12-14cm(length),5-6cm(height),1cm(thickness), Weight about 150g 2.natural pebbles: 8-12cm(length),4-8cm(height),3-5cm(thickness), Weight about 200g The Origin of Mani Stone "Mani" comes from the Sanskrit sutra "six-word Dharani" (Om Mani Padme Hum). Because of the stone engraved with "mani", people call it "Mani Stone" for short. Many people would think the Mani Stone is a derivative of Tibetan Buddhism, but that is not completely correct. Before Buddhism was spread to Tibet, Tibetans had their own indigenous religion, the Bon religion. It is the primitive religion in Tibet, which worships natural substances and natural phenomena such as the sky, earth, mountains, and water, and believes in animism. At that time people even regarded mountains and rocks as a presentation of mysterious and frightening powers. So they piled up Mani Stones at the places where they lived, lakeside, mountain passes, to show reverence toward deities, therefore expected to be guided and protected. After Buddhism was spread into Tibet, in order to intergrade with the Bon religion, it also inherited the old customs and traditions of building stone mounds to worship the mountain god. Just something has been changed in expressions and content. Mani Stone is then carved with Buddhist symbols and patterns such as mantras, scriptures, Buddha images, and various Buddhist symbols. Combined with the local region Bon, Buddhism updated to Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. With a great depth of aesthetic factors and characteristics, Mani Stone has become a unique Tibetan carving art. Devout Tibetan pilgrims believe as long as they engrave the six-word Dharani on the stones and chant the words day and night. As people continually engrave the stone, there're more and more mani stones heaping together, which form Mani stone mounds and Mani walls. The Function of Mani Stones In early times, there were many functions and purposes of the Mani Stone, some of which were built as a dwelling place for the Buddhas, to ensure the peace and prosperity of the tribes and families and avert disasters; some of which were built to worship gods, to accumulate merits; some of which were geographical boundary between tribes and villages; in addition, Maini Stones at mountain passes, bridges, main roads, which are to pray for the safety of the place. Up to now, whenever Tibetans pass by Mani Stones, they would usually add a small stone, which is equal to recite the sutras once. With the increasing of Mani Stones, the mound constantly ascends. Some of the Mani Stones form hills, and many such hills connecting together to be sacred walls. The walls are considered as the boundary between the human world and the divine world, as well as the joint and connection point. Most stone carvers are devout pilgrims. The Shapes and Content of Mani Stones The shape of the Mani Stone is generally square or round at the lower half, while the upper half is piled like a cone or hill, which is originated from the worship of towering mountains and mountain gods on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Most Mani Stones are put on the Ox horns, goat horns, or whole yak skulls, some even plug cypress branches or sticks in the stones signifying swords, and hang on a strip of cloth on the branches or sticks signifying souls. And colorful prayer flags were hung on the top or around the mani stones, which makes it beautiful and mysterious. The content of the carvings on Mani Stones, early mainly with the Bon-worship thought of graphics and symbols, such as the sun, moon, dragon, fish, bird, beast, Swastika, etc. With the rise of Buddhism, the themes and contents of the stone carvings gradually changed into scriptures, incantations (six-word Dharani), Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, eminent monks, Buddhist pagodas, etc.