Mala Prayer Beads

Prayer Beads, Mala, or a rosary of prayer beads is an implement carried around by many Buddhists. It is also known as a Mala Japa. Mala translates from the Sanksrit as "garland of flowers". These are not unlike the Christian rosary, or the beads used in Islam. The mala is used both in Buddhism for counting mantras, chants or prayers.   They are used to focus ones' mind and to count them as part of a practice. The mala usually has at least 108 beads. A man breathes 21, 600 times every day. If one does 200 Malas of Japa, it becomes 21, 600; thereby, he does one Japa for every breath. The Buddhist story of the beads' origin is as follows: “Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, paid a visit to king Vaidunya…Sakya directed him to thread 108 seeds of the Bodhi tree on a string, and while passing them between his fingers to repeat… ‘Hail to the Buddha, the law, and the congregation’… (2,000) times a day There are for example practices for which one is required to recite 100,000 mantras; obviously a simple counter is needed to keep track of this huge number.  Buddhist tradition also states that the 108 beads are representing the 108 human passions that Avalokiteshvara assumed when telling the beads. A lesser number of beads is also seen in various forms of Mahayana Buddhism, usually a number divisible by three. In Pure Land Buddhism, for instance, 27 beads rosaries are common. Many Chinese rosaries have only 18 beads; one for each of the 18 lohans.  Some, particularly Tibetan Buddhists often attach strings to their malas which have little sliding rings on them, these are to keep count of the number of malas; in such a way one can count up to 10,000 or even more on one mala. The word 'rosary,' which has obvious similarities to the mala, is said to have come from 'japa mala.' When Roman explorers came into India and encountered the mala, they heard 'jap mala' instead of 'japa mala.' 'Jap' means 'rose,' and the mala was carried back to the Roman Empire as 'rosarium,' and into English as 'rosary.' If you are looking to buy a mala an excellent place to go is The Buddhist Shop at http://www.the-buddhist-shop.com/ .

I will be adding to this blog with a look at various types of mala prayer beads that are available - so keep watching!