Earlier this year, March 2024, I returned to Nepal continuing my practice of Buddhist Pilgrimage. Along the way, I hand-picked this item with other many other select practice supplies and supports, and sacred objects. I will be posting items from my 2023 visit and my from recent visit in early 2024 in what I am now referring to as "The Nepal Collection."
This is a very rare Bodhi Seed mala from the small village of Timal, about 5 hours southeast by car of Kathmandu in Nepal. I was able to return and 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. I was fortunate enough to return this year. 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 in 2023 from a resident craft person. The beads are sized 10.75mm to 11.75mm with an average size of 11.3mm. The width of each bead side-to-side is smaller as these are trimmed a bit. The color is a deeper medium brown tone with some variation in tonality. This is a bit larger Timal mala than I have old in the past and is priced to reflect both the size and the trimming.
The overall length is 21.50 inches or 54.61cm. This mala is strung using a single golden yellow cord with red nylon sliding knot. This allows for the adjust of the tension between beads and also to move Bhum Counters. This mala has a matching 3-eye Bodhi Seed guru bead sized 15mm with a two-toned styled pattern that compliments the two-color cord design.
This is an extremely rare, high quality, and beautiful mala with a deep local connection to Guru Padmasambhava. Authentic Timal Bodhi Seed Malas of this smaller size seldomly come up for sale.
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