I’ve recently got into Mala (Rosary Beads) making. So far I’ve only worked with Rudraksha seeds, since I love their tactile feel and the Shaivite symbolism of it.
Usually I stick to Hindu / Buddhist 108+1, but I’ve made some 33s and 99s in the Islamic tradition for gift and sale as well.
I know that in Theravadin prcatice, malas are uncommon, though I heard that in Myanmar, sandalwood beads in 108+1 is used as well.
So I wanted to bring this topic up to discuss all sorts of things about beads in Buddhism, in various traditions, resources / reseraches on particular seeds like Rudraksha and Bodhi seeds.
Also Bhante @Khemarato.bhikkhu, I noticed there isn’t much about malas on the OBU, so this might be an interesting cultural section there as well!
Feel free to post your own beads collections as well! Personally, I’ve built up a decent stash already.
Back just before I became an anagarika I was given a gatha to recite with a mala by a local Sri Lankan monk. I have no idea what the recitation was. I think it was in Sinhala, rather than Pali. So, there is at least some use of malas in the Sinhala tradition.
I love that you are making them to sell and gift. What a lovely project. I only have/had a cheap eBay one, which I suspect is made of plastic. I’d have to search for where I left it. It’s not something I have used in a long time.
Clear Mountain Monastery started a mala project a while ago. They’re aiming to get 5million tisaraṇa recitations. So, I guess it also exists in the (Western) Thai tradition.
Perhaps you could show me a sort of article / page that the exposition of such a topic would be similar, and I can start structuring my studies around it bhante?
Thanks for the kind words, Venerable! They’re an interesting subject for the delicate balance of trying to make something proper and dignified, without getting caught up in the gaudy esthetics and sensual obsession.
I like to use the 108-bead Mala (Prayer Beads) in the two pujas I do on Sunday mornings and evenings. I recite the three refuges in Pali in the morning and in Portuguese at night.
One of the characteristics I like about this practice is that we are using three types of action: mental action directed towards the practice we are doing, verbal action to repeat the words or phrases we are reciting, and physical action passing the beads of the Mala. All of this greatly helps with concentration.
Perhaps we could use a more spiritual term to say that this practice generates good energy.
And for those who like scientific work for inspiration…
This is your brain on prayer and meditation
How does the ritual, regardless of personal faith or intention, affect our behavior? Deeply, experts say.
Doing some searching, this is the best I found for something on malas specifically:
It says:
According to a popular legend on the origins of Buddhist mala practice, King Vaidunya once said to the Buddha…
Doing some further searching, I guess that this is a reference to T0786 佛說木槵子經, which Google Scholar finds no English-language scholarship on (so I wonder what Strand’s source was!)
There are many different approaches to the study of material culture:
One could attempt to explain the meaning the originators found in the practice. See Peter Harvey’s work on Stupas for an excellent example of that.
Yeah, they’re quite a lot popular in here as well. It kinda misses the whole point of it for me tho, the tactile feeling, keeping connected to the earth away from screens for some meditation / recitation… Last thing I’d like is to be staring at another led screen whose battery I would have to take into account!
You remian ever the source of most interesting trivia, sir.
When i was young, i knew that prayer beads were meant for religious purposes, but in practice, i noticed that the elders used them in special occasions more as expressions of formality and respectability be it at weddings, funerals or Eid gatherings. My father was far from religious, but he held one during these occasions.
In our digital age, these occasions are taken less seriously. You receive the wedding invitation or funeral announcement in digital form. Wedding rituals are become more simplified, most funerals are held for one day instead of three and people are less inclined to gather during the Eid. Maybe a digital mala follows the same trend.
I’ve had these hard shelled seeds that no one quite liked, but which age well and durable. And I had a 4 sided larger seed found by chance, so I decided to do a big 4x108 for 4NT!
It is, if I may, quite impractical for actual usage. But when I play the Ney, my hands get quite a bit wet from oils and breath, so it’ll be both a practical and a ritualistic way to keep that breath alive as I wipe my hand.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I can’t say I have a rigid japa practice. Rather, my interest began with me exploring Pure Land practices.
It’s quite a departure from EBTs, some might argue; but there’s something fascinating I find about the humility and the heart/faith based practice of Nianfo that I find inspirational, because I feel like I severely lack those qualities personally.
So I do use my beads for occasional Nianfo practice, but I think more importantly for me, its both the bead making by trying to match the seeds, the futility of not being able to match everything perfectly, and also observing how unique and different each seed is, how they change colour and tactile feel so rapidly as to remind anicca. Each seed is neither the same nor different; they’re like worlds on their own right. Alive and decaying at the same time.
So if someone uses this Super Mala you made to contemplate, the Four Noble Truths, that could be a very powerful practice.. Or the 4 Brahmavihara..
The Catholic Rosary currently also has 4 phases where they pray 200 “Hail Marys” and 20 “Our Fathers”… to complete this Christian practice they take an average of 2 hours.
Of course, we just have to be careful not to overdo it…
In the movie Zu Warriors they tried to show some Buddhists from an ancient era who used malas, giant beaded necklaces… I have no idea what phrases or texts they used with those beads lol..
I like using mala for buddhanussati. I do it in a similar way to Chinese style nian fo: simply reciting “namo buddhaya” mindfully, using the sensation of the beads as an extra reference to the present moment, as well as a counting device.
I thought a skull mala for Mara would be appropriate for Maranupassati, Asubha and related practices, hopefully!
I also got curious and wanted to build a standard Christian Rosary. They use an interesting system, I’ve learned where the beads are but can’t say I’m exactly sure how they go about the actual prayer, which seems complicated a little.
It’s been a fun excuse to learn more about their traditions though.
They’re an interesting subject for the delicate balance of trying to make something proper and dignified, without getting caught up in the gaudy esthetics and sensual obsession. 
in East Asian Buddhism”
But when I play the Ney, my hands get quite a bit wet from oils and breath, so it’ll be both a practical and a ritualistic way to keep that breath alive as I wipe my hand.
