Thursday 14 August 2008

BLESSING CORDS



One of the golds for the gymnastics event in the Olympics was won by the Chinese men's team. Here is part of the news report:

Wednesday August 13, 2008

Red string brings joy to men’s gymnastics team
A LUCKY charm put the finishing touch to a four-year struggle by the Chinese men’s gymnastics team, who nailed a gold in the team competition yesterday.
Each of the six men wore a thin red string from a temple on his wrist in the finals for luck and they also counted on hard work and a little pressure.
Source: http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/8/13/olympics/22070026&sec=Olympics

For those who are not sure what red string they are referring to then let me explain.

The red strings are also often called "blessing cords." Buddhists usually receive them from the Buddhist temples. In the Buddhist tradition, wearing a monk-blessed string around the wrist is for a blessing or for good luck. The Hindus also get these strings from their temples. Sometimes the strings have knots and sometimes not. They are usually red in colour and yellow every once in a while. Those who get these strings from the Buddhist temples should try

The strings are blessed by the monks and those who receive it should try to wear the red string on your right wrist so as not to confuse with the kabbalah followers who wear them on their left wrists. It should not be tied around the ankles as it is considered disrespectful.

Those who are interested to order a blessed red string can visit the following blog:

http://www.redstringsforburma.org

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