| Original Message: Re: Mani wheel........ |
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I screwed up - lets try it again? === Over a few years I managed to collect a couple examples of these curious assemblages. Dun has a magical symbolism as one of the eight auspicious symbols of Vajarayana Buddhism, the Dun-Kar or ritual trumpet made from the Indian Chank Shell. What originally piqued my curiosity was the way the discs were formed. They had uneven edges that would be hard to fabricate? Different from the necklaces of conch shell beads I had usually seen before. I began to understand how each disc functioned as a bearing upon which the cylinder of a Mani rotated and that after thousands of revolutions it was eventually worn though leaving one small disc that could be added to the string. As you can see this would represent countless revolutions turning a mani to produce each disc. Additionally each disc represented the energy invested with countless mantras launched into the ether. No wonder they were highly personal and treasured objects! I would never think of approaching a person to buy one of these but on the rare occasion when I did see a trader with one I tried to get it. Although they are not particularly 'old' in the sense most of the objects I collect are, they are imbued with energy by the very way they were created and are valued highly because of it. Obviously the creators of these Mani Dun necklaces do not share the same 'taste' we fussy collectors do. The terminal 'Guru' bead on the two larger examples and the 'coral' beads are all plastic simulations. Ivory or coral would be prohibitively expensive and beyond the means of most Tibetans now. Like everywhere the average person does not have the sophistication nor the means to possess antique beads. I would venture most Tibetans do not put the negative spin on them we do and if the color fits - that's good enough for most folks. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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