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Million Mani Club News

2025 Losar Million Mani Challenge:
The group challenge total is in: 2,599,518!

Chenrezig

Chenrezig painting by
HH Seventeenth Karmapa
Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Thanks to the efforts of dozens of participants all over the world during the 2025 Losar Million Mani Challenge, we have once again surpassed our million mani goal, with a group total of more than 2.5 million! Congratulations to all who contributed even a few recitations of the mantra of compassion, om mani peme hung: each of us has earned the merit of the entire group recitation, further multiplied by the vastly enhanced merit of the holy month of Losar.

And special thanks to those individuals who contributed 10,000 to 100,000 or more: you helped ensure that we would surpass our goal, and also contributed greatly to the merit earned by each participant.

Our next mani challenge is planned for the holy month of Sagadawa, which begins May 27 and commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha, whose light of awakening still shines in our world over 2600 years later. Please save the date.

Scroll down for more information on how to recite and count manis.

Million Mani Club Member Update

Congratulations to longtime PTC sangha member Dan Gussin of New York City, who joined the Million Mani Club in 2023 and just completed his second million in April. Dan was diagnosed with cancer late last year and has written some thoughts for us about how reciting manis has helped him on this very difficult journey. Please scroll down to the bottom of this page for Dan’s story, which he will continue to share with us from time to time.

Contgratulations to our newest Million Mani Club member, Nicolás Bayón Spinadel of Argentina, who joined the Mani Club this year and is steadily progressing toward his second million. And congratulations also to Sonam Wangmo of New York, who passed the 18 million mani mark in April!

What is the Million Mani Club?

Established in 2012, the PTC Million Mani Club now has 27 members, each of whom has cumulatively reported at least a million recitations of the mantra of compassion, om mani peme hung, through our online mani tracker. Several members have accumulated multiple millions, led by member Sonam Wangmo, who just passed the 17 million mark during the Losar Million Mani Challenge in March 2025. Visit our Million Mani Club Member list for more information, and we look forward to welcoming you to the club when you complete your first million. Manis can be counted not only during challenges but any time, and each time you report, you will immediately receive an email with an updated count of your lifetime total.

Some of our Million Mani Club members have shared some thoughts and history about their recitation of the mani mantra. Scroll down for the latest contribution by Dan Gussin of NYC, a longtime member of the PTC sangha, and read other stories here in our Million Mani Club archive.

Click on any of the headings below for more information and for tips on reciting and counting manis.

What is a Mani?

Mani is short for the sacred six-syllable mantra of the bodhisattva of compassion, Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara. Chenrezig’s form represents, embodies, and radiates the fully awakened compassion of all the buddhas — which is also innate in our own minds. We too are said to be buddha in essence, the union of wisdom and compassion. Reciting the mani mantra helps remove obscurations to manifesting our fully awakened nature, and sends postive compassionate energy into the world.

The mantra may be pronounced either om mani peme hung (Tibetan pronunciation) or om mani padme hum (Sanskrit pronunciation). When we recite it, we maintain the aspiration to free all sentient beings from suffering, and can also include any specific people or animals we know to be suffering in any situation. We can also recite it in response to our own suffering. It is traditionally said that any being — human, animal, insect, or invisible being — who hears this mantra even once will eventually attain freedom from suffering and the full awakening of a buddha.

Om mani peme hung is the most commonly recited mantra in Tibet. Everyone knows it, even young children, and many elderly Tibetans who can no longer work spend their days reciting manis for the benefit of their loved ones and all beings. Prayer wheels are often filled with mani mantras.

If you’d like to learn more about Chenrezig and the sacred power of the mani mantra, we highly recommend Bokar Rinpoche’s book Chenrezig Lord of Love.

What is Merit?

Reciting manis (or any other mantra) is a powerful way to accumulate merit, which, along with wisdom, is one of the “two wings of awakening.” Merit is the positive energy that fuels our dharma practice and all our activities to benefit beings, and is an important factor in eliminating obstacles of all kinds in our practice and our lives. Lama Norlha Rinpoche always emphasized the need to engage in meritorious activity if we truly want to free ourselves and others from suffering and fully awaken to our true nature.

Other ways to accumulate merit include all dharma practice; engaging in any of the six paramitas or perfections such as generosity, patience, and joyful diligence; circumambulating stupas and sacred spaces and objects; supporting monasteries, dharma centers, and practitioners through donations, offering food, and other types of help; sponsoring dharma activities and sacred images; helping other beings in any ways we can, large and small; and even rejoicing in the merit and good fortune of others.

We hope you will accumulate vast amounts of merit through reciting manis and other beneficial activities! In particular, participating in group practice, such as PTC’s million mani challenges offered once or twice a year, is an especially powerful way to accumulate merit, because it is said that each participant earns merit equivalent to that of the entire group.

We Will Help You Count!

You can  report your mani accumulation on this page at any time, always using the same email address each time you report your numbers. Our system will automatically organize your entries. If a sangha or group is accumulating manis together, the collective total can be reported using a single email address for the group, or you can track your manis individually, keep your own group count, and let us know by email when your group has reached a million.

Each time you report, your subtotal will be automatically added to your previous count and you will receive an email confirmation with your current total along with a history of previous numbers you’ve submitted.

If you have questions or need support at any point, you can email the Million Mani Club Coordinator.

When you reach a million manis, we’ll add your name to the official roll of the Million Mani Club. If you accumulate another million, we’ll acknowledge both achievements.

How To Count Mantras

Using a mala: It’s traditional to count mantra recitations using a string of 108 prayer beads that is similar to a rosary. Even though there are 108 beads, each round is counted as just 100, to allow for errors and moments of distraction. Malas can be found at dharma shops online, or in the Palpung Thubten Choling bookstore when the monastery is open.

Mechanical counters: A variety of mechanical tally counters can also be found online. This type of counter can be held in the hand and pressed to register each mantra. There are also various styles of counters you can wear on a finger. These can be found by searching for “prayer counter.”

Phone apps: There are also smartphone apps specifically for keeping track of mantra accumulations. One of the best counting methods we’ve found is using the stopwatch function on a smartphone. Start the stopwatch when you begin, pause it if you get interrupted, and when you hit “stop” you’ll have a precise record of how long you recited. You can then calculate how many mantras you’ve accumulated by using the method below in “counting by time.” You can also use the stopwatch as an aid to figuring out how many mantras you recite on average per minute.

Counting by time: For those who prefer to track mantra recitations by time, or in case of a physical limitation or activity such as driving or washing dishes that makes using a mala or counter difficult, this is another option. You will need to use a mala or counter or pencil on paper to determine how long it takes on average for you to recite 100 mantras, and you can then do the math and track mantra totals according to the length of your recitation period. When this method is used, it’s important to make sure you are reciting continuously and at an even speed so your count isn’t overestimated. If you realize you have become distracted, you can adjust your total to take that into account.

Formal Meditation and Practice Texts

The best and most powerful way to recite manis is during formal practice on the chair or cushion, when your full attention can be clearly focused for a period of time. To further empower your recitation, we recommend doing it within the context of the three aspects of genuine Vajrayana practice: refuge and bodhicitta, the main practice, and dedication of merit to all beings. If you already do the practice of Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion, you can count all mantras recited during your regular practice. If you don’t already have a text, you may download three English versions of the Chenrezig practice: full-length, medium, and abbreviated. Some people prefer to chant in Tibetan and you may use that text as well. Either language is fine: the practice in Tibetan is said to carry the blessings of all the generations of practitioners who have realized Chenrezig through chanting it, while the practice in English connects us directly with the meaning.

Informal Recitation in Daily Life

It’s also very beneficial to recite manis as you go about your daily activities. It’s easy to recite manis while walking, driving, or waiting for something, and they can also transform any routine activity that doesn’t require full attention, such as household or outdoor tasks, into dharma practice. Manis can even be counted while watching TV, as long as we are careful to keep an accurate count. Reciting manis while circumambulating a stupa or engaging in other virtuous activity is merit upon merit!

Occasionally we are asked if it’s okay to count manis recited during sleep and dreams. Unfortunately, since we are not able to count mantras reliably in these circumstances, we don’t include them in our total. But if you do find yourself reciting manis while you are sleeping, it is certainly an auspicious sign!

As with formal practice, the benefit of informal recitation is also strengthened if we remember to renew our refuge and bodhicitta at the beginning and dedicate the merit at the end. This can be done with traditional prayers, in our own words, or just by remembering our intention.

A note about volume: When alone or with others who enjoy hearing mantras, it’s fine to recite aloud. In fact, it’s considered very beneficial for animals, insects, and other beings to hear mantras, especially om mani peme hung. In public or within earshot of others who might not be receptive to Buddhist mantras, it’s best to recite silently or in a barely audible voice (traditionally described as “to the shirt collar,” meaning no one can hear it but you).

Group Recitation

We are taught that when we practice or recite mantras together as a group (with a local or online sangha, or as part of an organized group recitation such as Palpung New York’s million-mani initiatives, which are open to everyone), the benefit and merit of our individual recitation is multiplied by the number of participants. So we encourage group practice whenever feasible, in addition to the ongoing benefit of individual recitation.

The Mani Habit

We hope you will join us in benefiting beings and earning merit by reciting the mantra of compassion om mani peme hung and keeping track of your numbers through the mani counter on this page. And if you continue reciting manis over time, we very much look forward to welcoming you to the Palpung New York Million Mani Club.

The more opportunities we find to recite manis throughout the day, the more we develop a habit of reciting them, and soon we may find ourselves reciting manis in the back of our mind without even thinking about it. This is an illustration of how we can turn our typically samsaric propensity to form habits into a positive momentum toward enlightenment.

About the Million Mani Club

The Palpung Thubten Choling Million Mani Club was established in December 2012, when our monastery sangha joined together with the aspiration to accumulate one million recitations of the mantra of compassion, om mani peme hung, to benefit the long life, health, and well-being of our teachers and all sentient beings. The word spread quickly, and with the participation of practitioners all over the world, within just a few weeks we far surpassed our original goal, reaching a collective total of five million manis!

Since then we have recited over a million manis together on numerous other occasions, especially during the Buddhist holy months and days when merit is vastly multiplied, including Losar, the Tibetan New Year; Saga Dawa, the anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana; and Lhabab Duchen, when the Buddha is said to have descended back to earth after teaching in the gods’ realm where his mother resided.

Over more than a decade, hundreds of participants have benefited sentient beings and earned merit (momentum toward enlightenment) by reciting mani mantras during our group challenges and on their own, and reporting them through the online mani tracker on this page. Over two dozen have become members of the PTC Million Mani Club by reciting at least a million manis.

We invite you to join the club! All you have to do is recite manis at your own pace and track them using our online mani tracker. Designed by Dean Hill for our very first mani challenge in 2012, it not only records your current mani count but also reports your cumulative total back to you by email, along with your entire mani-reporting history.

Record your mani mantra recitations here

Million Mani Club Members

Congratulations to all our Million Mani Club members!

 

Name Location Year
Rebecca Cheng 1M 2012
Dean Hill New York 1M 2013
Linda Jordan New Hampshire 6M since 2013
Ellen Eylers New York 1M 2014
K.D. 1M 2014
Tania Dennis Corbo 1M 2014
Anthony Ferreira New York 1M 2015
Candace Chaite New Mexico 1M 2015
Enrique Pagan 1M 2015
Jian 1M 2015
Susan Bagley New Zealand 1M 2015
Tashi Drolma United Kingdom 1M 2015
Walt Thompson Massachusetts 1M 2015
Ray Furminger United Kingdom 3M since 2016
Jim Streit New York 2M since 2016
Joe Mikrut 1M 2017
Kathleen Beecher Maine 3M since 2018
Jampa Thaye Australia 2M since 2020
Keith Luck Virginia 3M since 2021
Su Sagarino California 3M since 2022
John Fallon New York 1M 2022
Eric Swanson New York 1M 2022
Dan Gussin New York 1M 2023
Sonam Wangmo New York 18M since 2023
JoAnn Voigt Florida 1M 2024
Andy Yale Maine 1M 2024
Nicolás Bayón Spinadel Argentina 1M 2025

From Dan Gussin of NYC, Losar 2025:

In September 2024 I was diagnosed with cancer, a large tumor in my upper left leg. Not only was this a shock, I also had a great deal of self recrimination as I had been in pain for some time but thought it stemmed from my cerebral palsy and was not serious.

Waking up the morning after my initial emergency room visit, my primary doctor set up for a CAT scan. Part of me just wanted to pull the blanket over my head and cry. As I lay there, almost automatically I started to do basic shamatha meditation on my breath. This gave me just enough mental space to start reciting manis. I honestly could not begin to focus on a practice text but this recitation of manis was able to calm my mind enough to begin taking care of some immediate phone calls that couldn’t wait.

My first call was to my supervisor at work, who needed to be aware of my situation. As I dialed, I almost burst into tears as she was the first person I told about my tumor other than my wife, who had been with me at the hospital. I was able, barely, to go back to doing manis, which helped me remain stable enough to make it through that conversation. I am very fortunate that my supervisor has been very kind and supportive from this first step, and has demonstrated genuine bodhicitta and compassion throughout my illness.

I had to get a biopsy to confirm what type of cancer I have. That week between the biopsy and the diagnosis felt like a year. I was having trouble meditating but was able to focus on doing manis until I could remind myself that there is no such thing as a bad meditation, and anything you experience is just part of the path.

Of course, when my wife and I met with the oncologist, he did not have a confirmed diagnosis as it was difficult to pin down what type of cancer I have. I wanted to scream! All that emotional stress and I was called in just to tell me to wait. Again, I went back to the simplicity and yet so profound meditation on my breath and mani recitation .

Several days later I got a confirmed diagnosis of a somewhat rare cancer. Follow-up scans showed that the tumor was wrapped around my leg bone and had blood vessels burrowing through it. Between learning of this and sharing my situation with my parents, friends and co-workers, this was a very stressful time.

Again, being able to go back to reciting manis helped keep me on an even keel. It wasn’t about the number of manis. It was the connection with compassion for myself and others that manis will create if done with the proper motivation and intent. It was about the mental space that manis allow to develop that lead to open awareness and the ability to remain more calm as the storm of thoughts threaten to rage through your mind. It is about being able to be more in touch with the people around you, who are also suffering, as they are also caught in the stormy ocean of samsara.

That is what a regular recitation of manis has done for me and so many others. I am not special in this regard, and anyone can apply this in their own life. I hope my path and my suffering can help others. I will share more of my journey soon with the sincere wish that it might help ease the suffering of sentient beings.

Blessings along the path.

Dan Gussin

Invitation from the PTC mani coordinator: If anyone else would like to share a story or comments about what motivates you to recite manis and how you feel it benefits you and others, please email us at manicoordinator@gmail.com. Here’s an archive of previously shared stories.

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