Million Mani Challenge History

Our very first Million Mani Challenge began in December 2012, and in just a few weeks, we accumulated over 5 million manis dedicated to the long life and good health of our teachers. Though we held more mani challenges over the years, we did not begin keeping records of our totals until 2022. Here’s what we’ve accumulated as a group since then, with the aspiration to free all beings from suffering and bring peace to the world:

Million Mani Club Members Share Their Thoughts and Aspirations

In 2023 we also began asking new Million Mani Club members about their motivations, aspirations, and reflections on reciting manis. If you’d like to contribute yours, please contact us at manicoordinator@gmail.com. We’ll feature it on the main page for a month or two and then archive it here for future readers.

Ray Furminger of the Shetland Islands, UK, has been a member of the PTC Million Mani Club since 2016 and accumulated over 3 million manis to date. Here’s his story:

Tashi delek fellow travellers!

My name is Ray and I have been trying to practice the Dharma for over 40 years. After experiencing some obstacles with teachers and groups, I happily became a student of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche in 2011. I attended Rinpoche’s annual teachings at Vajra Vidya Monastery in Sarnath in 2015 where I was lucky enough to have a very fruitful audience with him. One of the pieces of advice he gave me was to recite one million Mani mantras as a preliminary to receiving his permission to read and study the Ninth Karmapa’s Mahamudra text ‘The Ocean of Definitive Meaning’. By the end of the two weeks at the monastery, I had completed my first 100,000 Manis and was greatly inspired to keep the practice going. Due to various life conditions including relocating from Australia to Europe, illness and homelessness, I took my time over completing the million but achieved this finally in November 2016. I received further advice from Rinpoche in 2017 that I might continue with accumulating Manis so I set myself regular week long retreats during each of which I would accumulate 111,111 mantras.

In September 2023 I was offered a life-changing opportunity to house-sit for a friend who has a remote retreat house on the remote Shetland Islands where I hunkered down for nine months and was able to concentrate on my Mani and other practices in pretty much isolated retreat. During this time I got my count up to over 3 million mantras and have been working towards number four since then. I also invested in a small prayer wheel containing 150 million mani mantras which I try to spin as much as possible.

I have since moved permanently to Shetland but have experienced some quite serious health problems which has affected my ability to sit for long periods. It is challenging having all the conditions in place to engage in long term retreat but to also have such strong obstacles at the same time.

I have adopted a motto since living in Shetland which is:

“It’s what there is, so best just get on with it.” It feels very much in keeping with the lojong teachings and constantly requires me to develop compassion for myself so the slogan does not become a stick to beat myself with. This ability, I believe, comes from having immersed myself for so long with the Mani practice. Through this my connection to and compassion for all beings is, I hope, becoming more natural alongside an understanding of and a feeling for the nature of mind. I am starting to see how these two are not separate but are, in fact, both natural expressions of our Buddha nature.

For the future, I had once hoped to complete one hundred million Mani mantras but maybe now my health will not allow this so I have relaxed into doing what I can do and to try to find contentment within that. How to do that? Just sit. Rest in the nature of mind. Have devotion to our spiritual guides and all holy beings. Visualize ourselves as Arya Chenrezig and recite the mantra. Finally, make aspirational prayers and dedicate our merit. These are becoming the rhythm of my life.

Please be inspired to engage as much as possible in the wonderful practice of the six-letter mantra. Its benefits are truly beyond imagining especially in these difficult times.

Om mani padme hum!

August 2023: Congratulations to longtime PTC sangha member Dan Gussin of New York City, who reached a million manis on August 14. Welcome to the club, Dan!

We asked Dan to share his thoughts on how he feels mani recitation benefits him, and how he incorporates it into his life. He responded, “My formal practice includes Chenrezig on a regular basis and helps stabilize my mind as I progress through the text in a more structured way. It has also been interesting to see how reciting manis throughout the day can both help focus the rest of my practice and help relax my mind to deal with whatever is going on in the moment. As I go about my day, there are many opportunities to recite manis. Walking to the bus stop, the ride to and from work, shopping, and softly reciting at my desk while doing paperwork immediately come to mind. This gently allows my mind to remain more flexible and compassionate as I encounter the stress we all feel on a regular basis. It almost seems I don’t need to reach as far to engage in the six perfections and to be less upset with myself when my mind wanders off into fear or anger.”

In Memoriam, December 2023: In observance of the first anniversary of his death from cancer, we would like to recognize longtime sangha member Eric Swanson of New York City, who was a familiar and lively presence at Palpung Thubten Choling for several decades. Eric participated in our early million mani challenges beginning in 2012, and he had reached over 900,000 before his mani counting got lost in the fray of daily life for several years. Toward the end of his final illness, Eric decided to start counting again, and he reached a million just a couple of months before he died. He said mani recitation was very meaningful to him during this time. May his example inspire all of us to practice dharma however we can, whenever we can, however much or little time we may have left, and to never think it’s too late.

January 2024: During a span of less than three months, Sonam Wangmo of New York accumulated her first three million manis, beginning with our Lhabab Duchen Challenge in November 2023 and reaching her third million in January 2024.

After the first million, we asked what had motivated her to recite so many manis in such a short time. She responded, “With all that’s going on in the world and in so many lives, it seemed like a good time to sow some love and compassion. I’ve decided to keep it up a while longer.”

We checked in again after she completed her second million at the end of the year, and she said, “2023 was a dark and distressing year for me. Whenever I poked my head outside and looked around, I realized that many more people were facing horrific issues of life and death: wildfires, earthquakes, floods, wars, genocide, disease, starvation. When the monastery announced a Mani Challenge in November, I took it as an opportunity to do whatever I could to help as many others as possible, given my own individual obstacles. I made a commitment to practicing Chenrezig and to meditation through mani recitation, as many as I can for as long as I can. I have no plans to meet numbers or times. I’m okay to simply practice.”

Sonam Wangmo continues to be one of the most prolific contributors to our Million Mani Challenges. As of July 2024, she has now accumulated more than 9 million manis in less than a year!

From Kathleen Beecher of Maine, who completed her third million at the end of 2023:

I am a student of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. I went to Kham, Tibet with a group from KTD in 2015 to attend the consecration of the new Thrangu Monastery, after the original was destroyed in an earthquake in 2010. It was an incredible trip.

Upon arrival in China, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche asked us to recite as many manis as we could and to keep track with little plastic finger counters he handed out. After the 5 day long consecration ceremonies, we made the long journey by bus back to Beijing, visiting 8 or 9 monasteries on the way including Palpung. There was a lot of time to practice. At one of the monasteries the abbot offered us a piece of cloth from the robes of a deceased master and said we could accept it only if we promised to say a million manis. I’m a little vague about which monastery it was, as it was all a blur being on a bus day after day. I took the promise to heart and set some daily goals.

By the end of our 3 weeks I had recited 162,500 manis. I wore out the little finger clicker and “exploded” a mala. Luckily there was a ready replacement offered from a fellow traveler. I continued reciting manis when I got home to Maine, though much less consistently. The following May, Khenpo Jigme from Thrangu Rinpoche’s Colorado Retreat Center came to Portland to give a teaching. I had lost my dear friend of 37 years, also a sangha member, in March. I asked him what I could do for Kiki, and he said to recite 1,000 manis per day. I figured I would know when to “end.” I followed his simple advice and I continue to do so.

I don’t remember when or from whom I learned of the mani count sponsored by Palpung Thubten Choling Monastery, but it was fairly early on and it has been invaluable. If I miss a day, I make up for it the next day so that at the end of the month I multiply the days in that month by 1000 and I send in my mani count. To Dean Hill and Lama Chodron, thank you for keeping track all these months/years, and for issuing the recent challenges.

The practice itself has done wonders for my perspective, especially opening my understanding of “all beings without exception.” I really do not get to exclude ANYBODY. In the political climate of recent years, this has been a good reminder to me. Through this practice, I have had to look again and again at my judgmental mind. All beings in the world need boundless love and compassion.
OM MANI PEME HUNG!