One question.
Three dice.
Two hundred sixteen answers.

How the mo is cast

The practitioner holds a question in the heart, recites the mantra of Mañjuśrī one hundred and eight times, breathes on the dice, then throws. Each of the three dice shows one of six syllables — A, RA, PA, TSA, NA, DHĪḤ — the six syllables of Mañjuśrī's own name-mantra. The three-syllable combination that lands is looked up in one of the great classical mo texts.

The most widely used is the Rig gsar mo dpe compiled by Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182–1251), whose 216 answers cover love, work, illness, travel, retreat, offerings owed, the health of parents, and the outcome of a hoped-for meeting. A second stream — the Jamyang Khyentse mo — is used in the Nyingma tradition. Both trace their authority to Mañjuśrī himself.

What a mo answer looks like

ཨ ར པ · A RA PA — "The lion of the snow-range roars. Your enterprise will prosper, though not on the timeline you expect. Make three prostrations at a stupa within the week. Set the outcome free."

Every answer includes a root text (from the mo scripture), a reading of the omens for the person's health, wealth, and life-force, and a remedy — usually a small offering, mantra recitation, or act of generosity that turns the wind in a more helpful direction.

When to use it

When you have a specific question and can articulate it clearly. When you have already thought about the choice enough to know your own bias, and want a mirror that reflects something other than your preference.

What it is not

Not a slot machine. Sakya Paṇḍita is explicit in his preface: do not throw the mo three times hoping for a different answer. Once cast, act on it — or set it aside and use ordinary judgement.