PRAYER STONES
aka/ mani stones
Prayer stones are a way for humans to give physical expresion to the aspirations of a prayer. Texts of sacred words, phrases and symbols are frequently etched, scibed, painted, or drawn on them. Some may be elaborately done with pictures of mountains, temples, holy sites or entire scriptures. And yet some of the best are simply personal found pieces of rock that one is drawn to and has prayed over with the intent of instilling their personal prayer within it's energy vortex.
They may be simple local rocks with words such as peace, love, kindness, angel painted, etched or drawn on them. They may be just a rock one has picked up out of their yard or from the gravel driveway they parked on getting to a cemetary gate. But the intent is the same. To say a prayer for a loved one. A blessing asked of forgiveness or hope or rememberence.
Stones may range anywhere from the size of a hand held rock to the side of a mountain cliff. They may be singular or in a grouping or stacked.
Tibetan prayer stones are unique in themselves as they are rarely made in neighboring countries like China or India. They predomiantely are made still by hand in the regions of Tibet. They quite often use bluestone which is imported these days from the USA.
In Korea stones are believed to have unseen powers. Often stones are stacked in towers. But each and every stone has a meaning or a prayer attached. By attaching a rock to another rock's surface your prayer is being answered.
There are also prayer wheels and prayer flags. They are usually made of bone, metal and wood carvings. The "om mani padme hum" mantra is quite frequently the mantra chant carved in Tibetan Prayer stones. They then are placed in places of spiritual reverence and power. Like in a isolated mountaintop or a water source. Sometimes they are placed forming long walls as an offering to the spirit world of a place to stay.
Ome mani padme is a sanskrit word. It is mostly associates witht he Buddhist world where mani means jewel and patma means lotus. I find a definate chakra correlatiosn in this and the following connections to this mcuh used mantra.
SYLLABLE CHARACTER PURIFIES COLOR DEITY
ome .........generosity......pride/bliss............white............wisdom
ma...........ethics.........jealousy/lust...........green...........compassion
ni..........patience........passion/desire.........yellow...........body
pad.........diligence......ignorance/prejudice.....blue..............equaninty
me..........renunciation....poverty/possession......red.............bliss
hum..........wisdom.........aggression/ hatred.......black..........compassion
Prayer stones have played a role in spirituality from the moment humanity externalized its sacred visions. We humans have etched, scratched, drawn, painted, sewn, images and symbols on anything and everything from rock cliffs to a beautiful crystal glass.
Any time you travel and see a small or large stack of rocks or stones that look similar to a statue or a piece of sculpture add a prayer rock of your own. Take a few minutes to walk around and look for a stone. It will call to you . As you attach your prayer to the stone and add it to the stack make sure your intentions are clear and your energies will blend with the energies already in the stack. This magnifies the prayers in the stack. It will increase all of their power as it also empowers you.
In doing this you have elevated your prayer, the prayers of others and reconnected for a short time with Mother Earth. She loves us and loves it when we come to her in prayer. And of course the person,place or thing your prayer is about also feels its powers.
So never look at a small stack of rocks as simply a small stack of rocks any more. They may be very spiritually empowered.
ŠL.L
i am quite drawn to stones,pebbles,rocks and have a few stones and pebbles placed around my home and garden.