Dzi: A Thousand Year Old Legend of Tibetan Sacred Artifacts
In the ancient legend of Xizang, the beads in the sky are not earthly objects, but the treasures of the gods. According to legend, during the Tubo Dynasty, a high monk was inspired in a dream to go to Mount Gangdise in search of the "descending stone from heaven". He discovered a batch of strange beads with natural eye patterns at the foot of the divine mountain, believing that they were talismans bestowed by the gods, which could ward off evil and increase wisdom. Since then, Tianzhu has become a sacred treasure in Xizang, which can only be worn by eminent monks and nobles.
In the ancient legend of Xizang, the beads in the sky are not earthly objects, but the treasures of the gods. According to legend, during the Tubo Dynasty, a high monk was inspired in a dream to go to Mount Gangdise in search of the "descending stone from heaven". He discovered a batch of strange beads with natural eye patterns at the foot of the divine mountain, believing that they were talismans bestowed by the gods, which could ward off evil and increase wisdom. Since then, Tianzhu has become a sacred treasure in Xizang, which can only be worn by eminent monks and nobles.
The most famous legend of Tianzhu in history is related to Princess Wencheng. In 641 AD, Princess Wencheng brought a string of Tianzhu, which was treasured by the Tang royal family, with her when she entered Tibet for marriage. When she passed by the Qinghai Lake, she was suddenly caught in a storm and the escort team was in trouble. Princess Wencheng took out the Tianzhu and recited sutras in prayer. In an instant, the clouds dispersed and a rainbow rose on the lake surface. After learning about it, Songtsen Gampo regarded the celestial beads as the "eyes of the gods" and ordered some of them to be enshrined on the 12-year-old statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in the Jokhang Temple, in order to seek national prosperity and peace. Until now, lamas at Jokhang Temple still wear their ancestral Tianzhu at important ceremonies, believing that it can enhance the power of reciting scriptures.
At the beginning of the 20th century, English explorer Sven Heding once recorded a real event when he was exploring Xizang: a herdsman accidentally dug out a nine eyed celestial pearl while herding. The local living Buddha believed that it was hidden (a hidden holy object), and told the herdsmen that the celestial pearl had been buried by eminent monks in the war hundreds of years ago, waiting for a predestined person. After the herdsmen presented the Tianzhu to the temple, the plague on the grassland miraculously disappeared. This incident has been widely circulated in Tibetan areas, further deepening people's worship of the spirituality of Tianzhu.
From the summit of snow capped mountains to modern cities, the journey of Tianzhu spanning thousands of years has never stopped. It is not only a sacred object of Tibetan Buddhism, but also a miracle intertwined with nature and culture. Every weathered pattern records the secret language of time, and behind every genuine Tianzhu, there is a dialogue between a person and a deity.