‘Within your own mind, you already have what you need to succeed, theability to put others ahead of yourself. This is called virtue, the wish-fulfilling jewel’

Buddha Shakyamuni

he people of Tibet and theHimalayan regions have long

adorned their bodies, temples,statues and ritual items withheirloom and prized beads.

Marco Polo, the famousmedieval Italian explorer andtrader, mentions how importantMediterranean coral was to theTibetans, as far back as theC13th. Other beads are also heldin high esteem as amulets andcontinue to be used today for theirmedicinal properties. These include

amongst others; amber,turquoise, pearls,

carnelian and lapislazuli.

There is one sacred beadhowever, that stands out from allothers. This is known as the dZibead or dZi stone.

The most widely adoptedspelling in the world today is dZi,however, it is also commonlyspelled gzi or zi. The word dZitranslates as bright, shine orluminous and should be pronouncedzee or in some regions of Tibet züh.

The Tibetan word for confidenceis ziji, which is made up of zi meaningshine and ji meaning splendour,radiance or dignity. I personally feelthat when we connect this Tibetanword to dZi beads, it gives us a closemeaning to what dZi represent to

those who wear them. As theTibetan Buddhist master, SakyongMipham Rinpoche says: “A personwith ziji has dignity, the radiant powerof a mind that has relaxed into itsown inherent strength”.

I first encountered dZi beadswhilst I was an ordained Buddhistmonk, and became immediatelyfascinated by them. The magicalclaims of healing and protectionplus their association with thegods and mythical creaturescaptured my imagination, andsince that time I have been acustodian of an ever increasingcollection of Himalayan beads.

TAncient banded

agate, known asBhaisajyaguru dZi

Below: two-eyeddZi with red coralbeads, and two

longevity dZi

BLAZE WITH MAJESTIC BRILLIANCEAn introduction to Himalayan dZi beads James Wainwright

THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality, based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.

You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit : www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html

SH ISSUE 67 2010 33

Tibetans have a deep reverenceand trust that dZi can avert illnessand other unfavourable conditions.A bead might be used as adefence against poison forexample. They are sometimesbelieved to absorb illness and as aresult become a much paler colour.

The weaker the colour the lesspotent the bead is believed to be.Beads with a dark brown to blackbase colour with a well contrasteddesign, are considered to be themost powerful.

Some say dZi attract unseenbeings who act as personalprotectors to the wearer. I have alsoheard claims that they shield againstknife and bullet attacks (don’t trythis at home). When a bead breaksit is believed to have absorbedsignificant misfortune for the owner,and in some cases may even havedriven away an untimely death.

I personally wear a stone beadnecklace, comprised of beadscollected over many years. On someoccasions I simply wear a single dZibead. Even when I go to sleep I amunlikely to remove it. I also keep amala (string of Buddhist prayerbeads) always at hand, so I fullyunderstand how deeply connectedthe people of the Himalayas feeltowards their beads, and theinseparable role they play in theirdaily lives and dharma practice.

The word ‘bead’ actually derivesfrom the old English word, gebedmeaning prayer. It is in this spirit,that for me, the use and wearing ofbeads has always been a reminderof turning the mind inwards.

GIFTS OF THE GODSTibetans believe that a genuine dZibead is not created by humanhands, but instead is of divine oreven miraculous origin. Even thehole through the bead is believedto be a natural occurrence and notdrilled by people.

There are many stories that tellus how dZi appear in theHimalayan regions. In the ‘Epic ofKing Gesar’, a poem believed to be1000 years old, it mentions thatmany dZi were brought to Tibet byKing Gesar of Ling, after his armydefeated the King of Tajik in thePersian Empire.

Other stories tell us that dZiwere concealed as terma byPadmasambhava, the Indianmaster, revered by Tibetans as thesecond Buddha. A terma is asacred text or special object thathas been hidden for futuregenerations, they are then revealedat the appropriate time by highlyaccomplished Vajrayana [tantric]adepts known as Tertöns. Thesegreat Tibetan masters are alsoconsidered to be Padmasambhava’sdisciples from previous lifetimes.The C19th Tibetan master TerchenBarway Dorje tells us thatPadmasambhava himself wore a sixeyed dZi bead1.

There is also the belief that dZibeads are the sacred droppings ofthe Garuda bird - a huge mythicalbird or bird-like creature thatappears in both Hindu andBuddhist traditions with a wing-span said sometimes to be miles

New Six Eyed dZi (front centre)flanked by ancient beads.

Ancient Phum dZi bead with gold end caps

Above: A painted offering of dZi beadsdisplayed on a temple wall in Boudhanath, Nepal

Left: Tibetan women display their families’ wealth,wearing necklaces and hair ornaments comprised

of amber, coral, turquoise, ivory and dZi

Small ancient dZi and decorated agates

Tibetans have a deep reverenceand trust that dZi can avert illness

or defend against poison. Somesay dZi attract unseen beings who

act as personal protectors to thewearer. Some claim that they shield

against knife and bullet attacks

THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality, based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.

You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit : www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html

across - or the Khyung bird, a pre-Buddhist shamanic mountain spirit,said to have been subjugated byPadmasambhava and convertedinto a protector of Buddhism inTibet. In some cases the Garuda isalso seen as a manifestation ofPadmasambhava.The Garuda andKhyung have become somewhatfused into one mythological beingover the centuries.

The Garuda is regarded as akeeper or protector of hiddentreasures. The droppings of theGaruda (in the form of dZi) fall to theground as he flies through the sky.

Other stories tell us that thesebeads are dropped or discarded bythe gods, thus enabling fortunatehuman beings to find them.

One of the most widely heldbeliefs is that they are a worm-like

creature that crawls on the ground.This creature turns into a dZi stoneif touched by human hands. SomedZi beads are believed to be foundin nests in the ground or recentlyploughed fields. In fact the firstgenuine dZi bead that I acquired,was supposedly found in a farmersfield in Nepal.

Female Yaks (Tibetan: dri) arealso said to give birth to dZi beads,which is similar to a story from theChin people of Burma, who saythat their goats give birth to theChin’s sacred Pumtek beads.Pumtek are decorated fossilised oropalised wood beads that are nottoo dissimilar from dZi inappearance and manufacture.

THE WISH-FULFILLING GEMOne widely adopted belief is that dZiare found near hot springs, which Ipersonally believe associates themwith the Naga2 (Tibetan: Lu). Nag isa Sanskrit word that means snake,and these snake-like beings (oftendepicted as half human and halfsnake) are generally thought toinhabit water or a subterranean landknown as Patala.

Tibetans believe that certainNagas have vowed to protect theBuddha’s teachings and have alsobeen entrusted with importantDharma treasures. Once again,like terma, these can only bereleased when the right causesand conditions are present. One ofthe qualities of a Naga is to beable to bestow wealth andabundance, such as good harvestsand rainfall, so recognising specialNaga days is an important aspectof Tibetan Buddhism.

The King of the Nagas is saidto possess a ‘wish-fulfilling jewel’that he wears in his crown ortopknot. Precious gems that cangrant all of one’s wishes are arecurring theme in the world ofTibetan Buddhism. Indeed thepatron bodhisattva of Tibet,Chenrezig, holds a wish-fulfillingjewel in his hands. So to aTibetan, perhaps a dZi beadmakes a very real connection tothe legendary wish-fulfilling jewelsthat are so often mentioned intheir spiritual teachings?

Tibetan medicinal pills calledRinchen Ratna Samphel or‘Precious Wish-fulfilling Jewel’also include ground up fragmentsof dZi as part of their ingredients.

Tibetans are particularly carefulabout upsetting Nagas and the

Above:stunninglybeautiful gildedstatue of theBuddha adornedwith coral,turquoise and dZistones. C7th,Jokhang temple,Lhasa, Tibet

Right: ancientchong dZi strungwith red coralbeads

Below: recentlymade three-eyedZi bead

SH ISSUE 67 2010 34

THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality, based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.

You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit : www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html

environment they inhabit. If you wereto get on the wrong side of a Nagathey might inflict illness or createimbalance in the environment.Nagas are often associated withcausing diseases of the skin andthus special practices or medicineassociated with the Garuda arebelieved to be a powerful antidote.Images of the Garuda often showhim holding a snake in his mouthand hands. This is an indication ofhis ability to overwhelm the Nagasand is also a potent symbol that hehas conquered desire.

DECORATED STONE BEADSThere are many types of ancientagate beads (both decorated andundecorated) that would be labelledand recognised as dZi by Tibetans.The most desirable of all the dZibeads however, are those decoratedwith eyes and designs that mayresemble Buddhist symbols, aspectsof the natural environment or evenanimals. A bead might show a vajra(thunderbolt) or have a design thatlooks like a mountain peak or lotusflower for example.

The process of decoratingstone beads has been known sinceat least 2,500 BCE in the IndusValley. Decorated carnelians (alsoknown as ‘etched carnelians’)were probably the most widelytraded of all. They were clearly inhigh demand for adornment andwere likely to have had a muchdeeper significance to the wearer.Many of these beads displayedeyes and were probably used toward off the ‘evil eye’ or givegeneral protection against negativeinfluences. Some beads displaysymbols that may have beenassociated to a particular god ordeity. They were also traded widelyin Mesopotamia, Iran and centralAsia. It is also clear that therewere highly skilled stone beadmaking industries in South EastAsia. The incredible variety ofstone beads from ancient Burmaand Thailand are testimony to this.

There were numerous methodsused to alter the colour anddecorate stone beadsin antiquity. Mostmethodswere

probably kept secret, and todaythey are still not fully understood.The Roman historian Pliny theElder wrote about the process ofagates being turned darker bytreatments that involved soakingand heating the bead in a honeysolution. Due to this process andthe acidic nature of honey, it wasable to penetrate deep into thestone.

Also, the colour change woulddepend on the porosity of thematerial. Yellow, brown and blackcolours were achieved by using thismethod. The agate was soakedand heated over a period of weeksuntil the desired result wasattained. The non-porouscrystalline areas of the stone werenot affected by this process3.

This treatment would alsoenhance the display of naturalbanding and stripes in the stone.Decorations were applied to thebead with a sticky alkaline mix thatincluded sodium carbonate, waterand plant juice4. It is clear thatother methods were alsoused but they are notso well known. Oncethe decoration was

complete the bead was againheated to allow the design topenetrate the surface of the bead.Designs then became permanent.In cases where the design did nottake properly to the bead, thewhole process may have beenrepeated.

Many of the decorated beadswe find on Tibetan heirloomnecklaces, have probably beentraded centuries ago from otherparts of Asia, with the majorityhaving their origins in India.Despite many examples of otherforms of decorated stone beadsappearing outside of the

Above: ancientand antique

BurmesePumtek beads

Below: a Tibetanchild at a festivalis adorned with a

mix of both oldand more recently

made dZi beads,together withcoral, amber,

gold and ivory

Left:recently

made large,longevity dZi

bead with redcoral and turquoise

THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality, based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.

You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit : www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html

Himalayan regions, there areprobably very few pure dZi that

have been found elsewhere.We can only speculate

where pure dZi beadsmight have been

made, based onknown beadmaking industriesin antiquity. Indiais still by far themost likelycontender butancient Persiamust also be

considered.

ANCIENTTREASURES

The discovery of pure dZi seems tobe concentrated in those areaswhere Buddhism is practiced oronce flourished. The ancient beadswe see today are nearly alwaysheirloom beads, and a small amountpass through the hands of traders.

Genuine ancient beads willusually have tell-tale signs that theyhave been worn for many hundredsof years. I believe that very fewpure dZi (if any) have been foundin controlled archaeological digs.Although many beads that wouldbe recognised as Chong dZi

have been discovered in theground and documented5.

A Tibetan would give the nameChong or Chung dZi to a largevariety of decorated agate beadsand also to the more widelyavailable undecorated or naturalagate beads. Although this name isnow usually reserved by collectorsoutside of Asia, for the decoratedagate beads that have equatorialstripes. The name Chong actuallyrefers to the type of stone beingused. In this case agate orchalcedony. This makes it clearthat the bead in question has beenmade by human hands, and from amineral found in the ground.Whereas a ‘pure’ dZi is never giventhe name Chong, simply becauseTibetans are adamant they have amore sacred origin.

Whilst pure dZi with eyes arethe most sought after amulets,

there are other types of decoratedagate that are also desirable andvery valuable. These can includeoval shaped dZi with theappearance of tiger stripes or ovalbeads that appear to display alotus or vase design.

There are also Phum dZi,pronounced püm (the h beingsilent). This name probably derivesfrom the Tibetan word for vase.These beads are decorated withwhat has become known as the‘longevity’ design. This is probablybecause the decoration resemblesthe shell of a turtle, a recognisedsymbol for wisdom and long life inChina. Phum dZi are usually fatbeads with a grey to black basecolour, and Tibetans believe theyare the oldest of all the dZi beadsfound in Tibet.

There are also beads calledTasso (Horse Tooth) and roundtabular beads known as Luk Mik(Sheep’s Eye). The most widelyavailable of all the dZi typeshowever is the Chong dZi.

With pure dZi, it is generally thebeads with an odd number of eyesand unique designs that are themost valuable. A nine eyed dZi isextremely sought after and pricesfor these beads are now said to beanywhere from $100,000 US to$1,000,000 US, however, youwould be extremely lucky if youcould find one for sale.

Even the lowest priced pure dZibeads can run into many thousandsof dollars, which only continues tofuel - perhaps for the wrongreasons? - more interest in thesebeads in and outside of Asia.

With such high selling pricesand the scarcity of these ancientbeads, there is always aninevitable influx of imitations. Ifpeople know they are buying newlycreated beads there is no problem,in fact new beads have alsobecome very collectible in recent

years and are an affordablealternative to the ancient beads.

However, many sellers on a wellknown internet auction site,continue to claim that beads whichare less than ten years old areancient or antique. This hascaused a lot of confusion in themarketplace, and Tibet and theHimalayan regions are now full ofnew beads that are being passedoff to unsuspecting tourists as old.

China and Taiwan are thelargest producers of new dZibeads, with the vast majority of theagate being imported from Brazil.Some beads are so well made thatthey almost pass for the real thing.So it is always very wise to do yourresearch before you part with hugesums of money.

It is important to remember thatancient dZi beads are ‘sacred’amulets. They are not just nicelooking artefacts or interestingcurio items. If we are to preserveTibetan traditions we must act asresponsible custodians. If we donot, then it will be a great loss tofuture generations of practitioners.

Bibliography and Notes1: ‘Precious Essence, The InnerAutobiography of Terchen Barway Dorje’by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso.2: For an article about Nagas see SacredHoop Issue 58.3: ‘Gemstone Enhancement’ by K. Nassau.4: ‘Sasanian Beads: The evidence of Art,Texts and Archaeology’ by St J. Simpson.5: Horace C. Beck recorded many findsfrom the ancient Indian city of Taxila - see‘The Beads of Taxila’ published 1941.

Original Tibetan calligraphy below:‘Blaze with Majestic Brilliance’© Copyright Tashi Mannox 2009.www.tashimannox.com andwww.inkessential.blogspot.com

A Chong or Chung dZi bead

Above:ancient

striped dZi beadapprox 2,000 yearsold, threaded with redcoral and turquoise beads

It is important to remember thatancient dZi beads are ‘sacred’amulets, not just nice looking

artefacts or interesting curio items

Ancienttiger dZi

Above: newlycreated Taiwanesetwo-eyed dZi bead

Below: AntiqueTibetan 'Pema Raka'carnelian bead.Sometimes wornto protect againstharmfulspirits

James Wainwright is avajrayana practitionerand photographer. Heoften spends severalmonths of the yeartravelling and exploringNepal and India. He hasa passion for Tibetanand Himalayan sacredart in all its forms andis a keen collector ofHimalayan beads. Helives in Cornwall,England with his wife,Pema and two sons,Tashi and Tenzin. Forthe last 10 years hehas been running hisonline dharma store,Garuda Tradingwww.GarudaTrading.com

For more informationabout dZi and othertypes of Himalayanbeads you can write tothe author atgaruda@talk21.comor visit his blogwww.dzibeads.blogspot.com

Chong or ChungdZi bead

SH ISSUE 67 2010 36

THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality, based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.

You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit : www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html