Sterling Silver Pendants

When buying silver, there are generally two ways to go. You can either buy jewelry made from sterling silver, .925, or you can buy Tibetan silver. Tibetan silver is 63% silver while sterling is 92.5% silver. Tibetan silver is found in tons of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, etc. from Tibet and Nepal. Tibetan silver does not, however contain nickel and it will not turn your fingers or wrists green. In general, when you are buying rings and earrings and rings, you can choose to purchase sterling silver or Tibetan silver. If you are extremely sensitive you may choose to stick with sterling silver, and there are tons of beautiful sterling silver designs, like those found on our sterling silver rings page. But for most people, the Tibetan silver rings and etc. can be worn as well, depending on the style you are more interested in wearing. But for things like pendants and prayer boxes, regardless of your sensitivity, you can wear either Tibetan silver or sterling silver, no problem. At Om Tibetan Jewelry, we have a large variety of pendants and prayer box gaus in both sterling silver and Tibetan silver. We also sell gold ghaus and pendants. But regardless of which one you choose, you can be sure that the stone used in the pendant is real, because Tibetan jewelry and jewelry from Nepal is only made using real stones. We just uploaded some new pendants in both the sterling silver pendants section and the Tibetan silver pendants section, so check out our new pendants on the links. Here are some photos of the new pendants...

This sterling silver om pendant is made from sterling silver, .925, and the stone at the top of the pendant is turquoise. The om symbol is written in the Tibetan style, rather than sanskrit. You can tell the difference because the second character in the Tibetan style looks like a 'v', whereas it looks like a "0" in Sanskrit.



This sterling silver fish pendant is made from sterling silver, .925, and the turquoise stone in the center of the pendant is made from turquoise.



And now here are a couple of the new Tibetan silver pendants we just placed online...

This Kalachakra mantra pendant is made from Tibetan silver, and the small stones around the outside of the pendant are made from coral and turquoise. The Kalachakra mantra symbol is in the center of the pendant. This symbol is also called, the ten-fold powerful symbol, primarily because it is made up of ten individual symbols stacked up on each other to form this one symbol.



This copper monkey pendant is made from copper. This pendant is 2 inches wide so it is a fairly large pendant, but it's still pretty light to wear.

China Books

In 2001, I graduated college and decided to go teach English in China. I decided that the best way to prepare would be to read some books, both fiction and non-fiction, on China. Here is a list of some of the books I read to prepare for my first visit to China and the books I have read since.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang is one of the best memoirs out there on China. This is usually the first book people read about China, and for good reason, it is a truly engrossing story.

Red Azalea by Anchee Min is a little bit racy, but it is by far the best memoir on the Cultural Revolution. Min is a great writer, and I also enjoyed reading Becoming Madam Mao , The Last Empress , and Katherine.
I kind of thought that my teaching life in China would be similar to the main character (Katherine) in this book, but I was wrong. The area of China where I lived my first year was a big city, and I barely saw grass for a year!

The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck is a great book for a perspective on Chinese life from someone who lived there a long time ago. This book will tell you nothing about current China, but it was still a good read. (By the way, when did Oprah start running out of material for her book club and have to revert to classics?)

River Town
by Peter Hessler is another good one. Peter Hessler is a good writer who really knows China. He learned Mandarin really well within two years, and the book was pretty interesting. He also wrote Oracle Bones which wasn't nearly as good, in my opinion. Peter Hessler's wife wrote a book I read recently and love, Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China . I thought this book was a good read, and it is an in-depth view on a group of people you may not meet if you visit China, migrant workers.

Ha Jin is my favorite Chinese fiction writer. Most of his books are really great. I especially like Waiting and his most recent book A Free Life is really good too. A Free Life is interesting because it talks about the everyday life of a Chinese immigrant. I know a lot of first-generation Chinese immigrants, and this book rang true to what I know of how hard it is to come here, less so now, but it must have been really hard 30 years ago.

Beijing Doll is a really interesting read, because it's pretty trashy, and the writer is like the Amy Winehouse of China. Chinese Chic Lit.

The Rape of Nanking and The Chinese in America by Iris Chang are both really good books. Iris Chang unfortunately committed suicide in 2004, possibly because of the images brought up by writing The Rape of Nanking. There are also accounts that Chang was threatened after writing The Rape of Nanking . Many people have disputed the accuracy of Chang's book, but I personally believe that the events took place. It's like landing on the moon, and some people don't believe that the Nanking Massacre even happened. I also think we landed on the moon.

Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now by Jan Wong wasn't that great for me. By the point that I read it, I had already read a lot of Chinese memoirs on the Cultural Revolution. After a while those books are like, 'my life was good, and then the Cultural Revolution happened and things got bad.' Not that the time period wasn't terrible and each story has a right to be told, but Anchee Min told her story in such a poignant manner, that everyone who comes after her must keep up.

There are some older books that I didn't care for that much either, they are China Men and The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, and Legacies: A Chinese Mosaic by Bette Bao Lord.

Shanghai : The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City... by Stella Dong was interesting non-fiction, as was The Lost Daughters of China: Adopted Girls, Their Journey to America, and the Search for a Missing Past by Karin Evans.

I also really liked Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine by Jasper Becker. It is about the Great Leap Forward, from 1958-1962, the period when Mao tried to reform China's agricultural system, and the chaos and famine that followed.

This list definitely isn't everything you should read if you want to learn more about China, and it probably isn't everything I have read, but it should be a good start!

Tibetan Buddhist Meditation

The History of Meditation

Tibetan Buddhist meditation has a long history, but not as long as the history of meditation itself. Buddhism was a branch of Hinduism and so meditation was practiced in Hinduism before it was practiced in Buddhism. Buddhist thought is that there are three things one must accomplish before enlightenment. Virtue, Wisdom, and Meditation. Meditation is practiced in many of the eastern religions, and even in western religions. But I will focus this article on Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism meditation practices.

Hinduism is the oldest living religion that practiced meditation. Meditation in Hinduism is thought to have developed out of man's need to find Brahman (God's) true nature. Hindu practitioners would sit and think about who God really was, and by sitting for hours like this they began to have moments of clarity. These moments of clarity are what many practitioners even today are trying to achieve through meditation.

The difference in meditation in Buddhism and in Hinduism is that Buddhist practitioners did not believe that meditation is a means by which to be closer with God, but that it is instead a way for those meditating to become closer with everything on earth. It is said that Buddha (Siddhartha) found enlightenment by meditation underneath a Bodhi tree.

Meditation in yoga

In yoga, meditation is practiced after breathing exercises, or pranayama. The original philosphy of yoga was that is was important to meditate after practicing asanas, or the physical aspect of yoga, because the body would be prepared to relax and loose enough that sitting on the floor would be comfortable. Breathing before any type of meditation is a good practice, because slow breathing slows down your heart rate and calms the mind so that the body is able to move into a tranquil place.

Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism was formed out of the principles of yoga and of Buddhism, which arrived in Tibet from India beginning in the eighth century. Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism is focused on tantric principles, and another name for Tibetan Buddhism is Tantrayana Buddhism. One purpose of tantra is to help turn the base human desires such as greed and envy into something good, like love and compassion. There are many steps in tantric Buddhism, these include lamrim (things that should be reflected on and meditative activities), preliminary practices, contemplation, Dzogchen (an advanced step which is the last step on the Tantrayana Buddhist practitioner's path).

Ways to Meditate

In Tibetan Buddhism many forms of meditation are comprised of thinking about certain things in order to clear your mind and help make the path to enlightenment open. Some topics to meditate on include being charitable to others, seeing yourself and those around you as equal, and developing compassion.

In yoga and Hinduism, meditation is the path and the goal. There are many different forms that yogic meditation can take. Because meditation in yoga often starts with pranayama, or breathing exercises, meditation can also start with the breath. There are also forms of meditation where you meditate on a mantra, or prayer. There is meditation through kirtan, singing. There is also meditation on sound that can occur with music or in a kirtan session. And in both Hinduism and in Tibetan Buddhism there is meditation on an object, such as a Buddhist statue or a Buddhist thangka.

The Singing Bowl Shop provides instruments for your meditative practice, including Tibetan prayer beads, (that can be used while meditating on a mantra), Tibetan thangkas, (that can be used as an object of meditation), and Tibetan singing bowls, (that can be used to meditate on sound).

There are many different forms of meditation in both Hindusim (yoga) and Tibetan Buddhism. Whichever path one chooses in meditation, it is important to first find a spiritual guide. A spiritual guide can help you understand how to meditate and help guide your meditation path in ways that we cannot do on our own. Remember, even your spiritual guide started with a spiritual guide of their own at some point.

Om Symbol Tibetan Jewelry

The Om symbol is a very important symbol in Tibetan jewelry and accessories. The word 'Om,' Aum is the primordial symbol, the first sound ever heard, and the sound that the earth was created by. The sound, om, starts with an opening of the lips and ends with a closing. This represents pulling all things into the body while making the sound, 'om.' The Om sound is similar to the Greek Logos, and in Christianity Om could be linked to the Christian Amen. Everything in the world both begins and ends with the Om.

The Om symbol is found in both Hinduism and Buddhism, and began in Hinduism, but I will first discuss the sound om and its cosmology in the context of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism, the most used mantra is 'om mani padme hum.' This phrase means 'hail to the jewel in the lotus.' This mantra is the mantra of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara.

When Buddhist practioners recite this mantra they are striving to attain a Buddha-like mind and spirit. This means a mind and spirit free from earthly evils such as attachment, jealousy, and greed. And the Buddhist practitioner wants to find more love, peaceful bliss, and contentment. "Om Mani Padme Hum" is also the Bija mantra in Tibetan Buddhism. This means that it is the seed, or original mantra.

The Tibetan Om symbol is different than the Hindu Om in appearance. The first character of both om symbols, from a western perspective, looks like a backwards three. But the second symbol of the sanskrit om looks like a circle, while the second symbol of the Tibetan om looks like a V. The earrings pictured above represent the Tibetan om symbol. On our website we also offer purses and other items with the sanskrit om symbol. But regardless of whether the symbol is a Tibetan Buddhist or Hindu symbol, the om symbol is always recognizable as om.

In Hinduism the om symbol is the first symbol of all of the mantras, and each of the mantras in the Upanishads begins with om. Yoga classes in the west are traditionally started and ended with the om sound, or with an entire mantra. By starting and ending a yoga class with om, the teacher brings a sense of opening and closing to each class, almost as if she ended each class with a 'the end.' In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which are where much of the philosophy in modern-day yoga classes comes from, in verse 1:27 states, "God's voice is Aum." Meaning that not only is om the beginning and ending of all things, it is also from God, and to go further it is God.

Om jewelry is very popular in Tibet, India, and Nepal, and it is gradually becoming more and more popular in the west as well. To wear om symbol jewelry means that the person wearing it is interested in Buddhism, or Hunduism, or that they understand what the 'om' symbol means. If you are interested in purchasing Tibetan om jewelry, or jewelry with the om symbol, please go to our Tibetan jewelry section. We also have the om symbol on items in our Handmade Bags section, which feature bags from Nepal in the Tibetan style. There are also Tibetan om symbols on other items in sections throughout our site, including Tibetan prayer flags, Tibetan prayer wheels, and our Lokta Paper Journals.

Prayer Beads

Tibetan Buddhist prayer beads have a wide and varied history. Prayer beads are not unique to Buddhism, believers in Catholicism use prayer beads in the form of a rosary, and they say the rosary as they move their hands over each bead. Prayer beads were first used in Hinduism, in Hinduism they are called japa mala. Prayer beads are also used by Muslims. Believers in the Bahai faith also use prayer beads in their practices. Tibetan Buddhist prayer beads are also known as the Buddhist rosary or by the word mala. The word mala literally means a garland or strand and represents the unity of all things in Tibetan Buddhism.

A typical strand of Tibetan Buddhist prayer beads contains 108 beads. This practice of putting 108 beads on a strand of Tibetan Buddhist prayer beads came from Hinduism. Hindus began putting 108 beads onto each strand of prayer beads because there are 108 Hindu deities. Krishna also danced with 108 cow-herd girls and he is rumored to have had 16,108 wives. In Tibetan Buddhism, 108 prayer beads on a Tibetan Buddhist mala are important because there are 108 sins.

Tibetan Buddhist prayer beads come in other numbers besides 108. There are Tibetan prayer beads with 111 beads. In Catholicism some prayer beads have 10 beads on the strand, and other beads have 50 beads on the strand.

In Chinese and Japanese Buddhism practitioners also use malas with 27 beads. Malas with 27 beads, wrist malas, are typically used for prostration. Prostration is a means for a Buddhist practitioner to rid himself of evil such as anger, envy, and greed and fill himself with compassion, peace, and love.

Tibetan Buddhist prayer beads are made from many different materials including jade, wood, sandalwood, turquoise, etc. In Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism Bodhi seeds are also used for prayer beads.

To use prayer beads you pass your fingers over each bead as you say a mantra. You should say the mantra as you count through each bead until you reach where you started. Prayer beads have a larger bead in the middle so you will know when you have reached the end.

Once you begin using your prayer beads, they become sacred. You should not let other people handle your prayer beads. Store your prayer beads in a special place and do not lie them on the ground. There are special prayer bead bags to hold your prayer beads so they will not be harmed. If you are interested in purchasing a strand of prayer beads please click here.

Tibetan Buddhist Prayer Flags, Uses and Meanings

Tibetan prayer flags were originally used as talismans to protect Tibetans during times of war. Originally the Bon people used prayer flags for protection, and put symbols such as the snow lion, the dragon, or a tiger on each flag. Tibetan prayer flags were eventually adopted into Tibetan Buddhism with prayers or messages of hope and peace written on each flag.

The colors of Tibetan prayer flags are significant because they symbolize each of the five elements. Blue stands for the ether, or wind element. The white flag symbolizes air, and the red flag stands for fire. The green and yellow flags symbolize water and earth, respectively. The five colors of Tibetan prayer flags represent the five directions, (North, south, east west, and center). The five prayer flags also represent the five meditation Buddhas, and the five wisdoms. The five wisdoms are compassion, harmony, wisdom of sight, kindness, and perfect wisdom.

Symbols on prayer flags include prayers for wealth, wisdom, and health, or the eight auspicious signs. Many prayer flags also depict mantras, such as the Tibetan Buddhist mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum.Prayer flags can be placed inside of a room in your house, and traditionally they were placed outside of houses as well. Around the frame of a doorway is a lovely place to display your prayer flags. The most auspicious time to hang prayer flags is during the Chinese New Year season. Prayer flags are also hung during times of great happiness, such as a birth, or times of great sadness.

Prayer flags should always be placed in a high part of your house, such as near the ceiling or between flag poles outside. Prayer flags should be hung in the right order, starting with blue from left to right. The actual hanging of your prayer flags should be a momentous occasion, and you can invite family and friends over and hang the prayer flags together. Tibetan Prayer flags above all symbolize peace and harmony with our friends and family, and with the greater universe. If you would like to learn more about prayer flags, or purchase some to hang in your special place, you can do so here.

Chinese Calligraphy and Writing

Chinese is one of the most beautiful and complex writing systems in the world and it's also the oldest form of writing that has kept so close to the original. Chinese writing dates back 3,000 years. The first Chinese writing ever discovered dates back to the Shang Dynasty (1500-950 BC) and was found on a fragment of a bone.

Chinese writing originated from pictures (hieroglyphs) that people drew of the sun, the moon, plants, animals, and anything else they saw that connected them to the world. Modern Chinese characters bare little relation to the pictures they came from, and many characters are combinations of two or more symbols. Although Chinese characters have undergone many changes over the years, the symbols still provide keys for learning how to read Chinese.

Spoken Chinese includes seven to ten different groups, including Mandarin, Cantonese, and Shanghainese. There are also many local dialects and accents particular to different areas of China. A person born in Northern China who speaks Mandarin, and someone born in Southern China who speaks Cantonese, will both write the same way.

There are over 59,000 characters in the Chinese dictionary, but only 5,000 of these are regularly used. In order to read a newspaper, you must be able to read 3,000 characters.

The known history of writing in China began with the oracle bones, writing on either turtle shells or bones. These bones were used as a means of telling the future, healers would heat the bone and then tell someone's fate based on which way the bone cracked.

The next known form of writing came from vessels in bronze that were inscribed with writing. These examples come from the Shang and the Zhou Dynasty (1150-771 BC). Around the 5th century BC people began writing on pieces of bamboo, wood, and silk cloth.

The invention of paper greatly changed the form of Chinese writing. Paper was invented in AD 105 by Ts'ai Lun, although archeologists say it was about 300 years earlier. Early paper was made from hemp, bamboo, and other fibers until the invention spread throughout the world in the 10th century.

Chinese writing has undergone many different changes in style. But the greatest change has come about in this century, with the invention of simplified characters. Most Chinese learned writing by using the traditional characters, until the formation of the People's Republic of China led to a change in the Chinese way of writing. The simplified characters were designed to aid literacy in China. But Hong Kong and Taiwan still use the traditional characters, and most educated Chinese people can read traditional characters as well as simplified characters.

Chinese writing has undergone much criticism for its difficulty, and there have been alphabetized forms of Chinese writing such as the Wade-Gilles system and Pinyin. Although there have been some who advocate doing away with Chinese characters and using Pinyin instead, Chinese writing is still around. And I, for one, wouldn't have it any other way.

If you would like to learn more about Chinese writing, or have your name or anything else translated into Chinese, please click here.