Tibetan Dzi Beads

A Brief Introduction to Tibetan Dzi Beads

Dzi Beads is a kind of rare jewel produced in Tibet. It is made of shale, a kind of sedimentary rock, with the compositions of jade and carnelian. Due to the different chemical substances, the Tibetan Dzi Beads take on various colors-black, white, red, brown and green and so on. Tibetan Dzi Beads is one of the seven treasures of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. In Tibetan, this kind of beads is pronounced as "Dzi" which represents beauty, nobleness, elegance, virtues and fortunes. Tibetans believe that these Dzi Beads were originally the ornaments of the immortals in the heaven, and that when the beads were broken, the immortals would throw them into the mortal world. So Tibetans hold that the Dzi Beads are the stone coming from the heaven.

Origin of Tibetan Dzi Beads

Dzi Beads can be dated back to the years from 3000 B.C to 1500 B.C in the ancient India of Aryan people. People at that time wanted to pray for the blessing of the deities and Buddha and then they created the Dzi Beads by means of painting some of the mantras, totems and other symbols on the stones.

The earliest historical record of people piously worshiping Buddha and Bodhisattva by Dzi Beads is that in Zhenguan the 15th year of Tang Dynasty (641) when Princess Wencheng was married to Songtsen Gampo. She brought an Indian statue of Sakyamuni to Tibet as the dowry, which was later inlayed with over one hundred Tibetan Dzi Beads. Today, this statue is still enshrined in the Sakya Hall of Jokhang Monastery.

Importance of Tibetan Dzi Beads

Tibetan Dzi Beads is a natural offering for worshiping the Buddha in many monasteries. In fact, Tibetan Dzi Beads have many functions in Tibetans' daily life.

Tibetan Dzi Beads – Ornaments

There are jade and carnelian compositions inside the Tibetan Dzi Beads, and thus Tibetan Dzi Beads is a kind of semi-precious stone. What's more, the pure ancient Tibetan Dzi Beads is quite few in amount. Just as an old Chinese saying goes, when a thing is rare, it becomes precious. Therefore, in the eyes of the Tibetans, these Tibetan Dzi Beads are quite priceless, just like the diamonds. Women in Tibet always thread the Dzi beads into necklaces and wear them as the ornaments. They will wear Tibetan Dzi Beads in the important occasions.

Tibetan Dzi Beads – Medical Functions

In the book – The Four Medical Tantras which was written in the 8th century and some other Tibetan medical books, it is mentioned that pills made of Dzi Beads powder, pearl powder, gold powder, silver powder and medicinal herds are the specific medicine for curing some serious diseases. However, this medicine has not been proved scientific or secure. Therefore, people have not taken the risks to try it.

Tibetan Dzi Beads – Amulet

Tibet is located in Himalaya Mountains area with high elevation, so the terrain here is quite complicated and climate here are quite harsh. To get rid of some accidental disasters and diseases caused by the so-called evils in the legend, Tibetans will always wear some amulets, among which is the rare Tibetan Dzi Beads. What's more, Tibetans believe that the Tibetan Dzi Beads is the best and most precious amulet in Tibet.

Tibetan Dzi Beads – Collecting Value

The ancient Tibetan Dzi Beads is limited in amount. Besides, unlike other jewels, it can not be found in the mines. Tibetan Dzi Beads is also quite spiritual and magic. As a result, the Tibetan Dzi Beads possesses high value of collection. Of course, you cannot miss it on your Tibet tour.