Last year in late May and early June I went to Nepal for Saga Dawa on a Buddhist Pilgrimage. Along the way, while visiting many scared meditation caves and temples, I picked up a number of items.
This is a very rare and smaller sized Bodhi Seed mala from the small town of Timal, about 3 hours south by car of Kathmandu in Nepal. I made it a point to visit the Yarinak cave where Padmasambhava stayed and practiced. It was said Guru Rinpoche, on his journey back from Tibet, meditated there before moving to Pharping at Asura cave. Timal, Nepal is connected with Guru Rinpoche himself when he taught that Bodhi Seeds should be used for counting mantra. Additionally, it is said Padmasambhava defeated Tirthikas—sworn enemies of the Dharma near Yakinak cave. Afterwards he blessed the lands of this area. Over time the Bodhi Trees and the seeds of Timal have become deeply connected to Guru Rinpoche. The Bodhi Seeds from this area are grown, harvested, and crafted into malas by the local people. One of the only ways to be for sure of the authenticity of a Timal Bodhi Seed mala, is to go directly to the source. That is exactly what I did. See the last image of me at the gateway entering Timal.
This mala is one of the few I was able to hand pick while I was in Timal from a resident craft person. The beads are sized 10mm to 11mm with an average size of 10.5mm. This is considered "a smaller size" for Bodhi Seed Malas. Especially mala from this locality. The guru bead is a 3-eye Bodhi Seed sized 16mm. The Bodhi Seed have very little trimming on the sides and are very round. The overall length is 22.00 inches or 55.88cm. This mala is strung using 1.2mm red nylon braided cord for extra strength and durability.
This is an extremely rare, high quality, and beautiful mala with a strong connection to Guru Padmasambhava. Authentic Timal Bodhi Seed Malas of this smaller size rarely come up for sale.
Perfect for Buddhist practitioners from many traditions.
Accurate, beautiful, and hand crafted these Malas make the perfect gift, offering, or personal Dharma accessory to enhance and support your practice.
Hand picked by me in Timal, Nepal while on a Buddhist Pilgrimage in 2022.
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