Mala beads are a string of 108 beads used for meditation, mantras, and similar in Buddhism, Hinduism, and other Indic religions and philosophies. They’re basically the eastern equivalent of a rosary. The beads can be made of pretty much any material, but tend to be made of seeds or stones. Each bead is usually circular or at least rounded off.
Mala beads usually have a larger bead in the middle which ends with a tassel. This tassel may or may not include something else, but it isn’t counted in the sequence. The other beads should be largely uniform.
History of Mala Beads
Mala beads have been in use for thousands of years. They are typically used for counting mantras or similar, and have been for ages. They were traditionally included in meditation and other spiritual practices.
The number 108 is considered a special number in many Indic traditions, including Buddhism. There a numerous reasons for why this number is revered, but whatever the original reason, the number has remained. Be it desires in Buddhism, paths to god, or constellations in the sky, the number has meaning.
The exact history may be lost, but we can see the marks of mala beads on eastern spirituality at many levels. Anything derived from India may feature them at some level. While they’ve largely lost their meaning in parts of Asia, they remain a testament of initiation in others.
Mala in Buddhism
Mala beads are often mentioned in Buddhist practices. Some branches use them to count mantras, others use them as a way to count repetitions of practices. Other practices will use a divisor of 108 to get 54 or 27 repeatitions of something. One theory says that the number represents 2 times the number of Sanskrit letters (2 times 54) with the filter of duality.
Different regions have different practices and different mala beads, but they all remain roughly the same in function. You don’t necessarily need Mala beads to practice Buddhism, but they provide a way to count. Some will have counting beads to get to further numbers of recitations while others don’t.
If you want to recite mantras like Om Mani Padme Hum, mala beads will help. If you just want to count breaths, they can help as well. You don’t need mala beads to practice, but they give you something tactile to help during meditations. They can be a crutch, but they can be a stepping stone too.
Using Them to Count
As mentioned before, a standard string of mala beads has 108 beads. Most practices assume that you will successfully do 100 recitations or iterations per string. Basically, 8 of them are for incomplete or imperfect practices.
Some strings have an extra set of smaller bead on a thicker rope for counting whole runs through. Basically, each time you reach a full recitation, you move one bead up on one side. When all of the beads are up on one side, you move on up on the other, move the originals back down and resume. If you have standard mala beads, this means if you have 2 secondary strings of 10, you could count to 10,000 roughly.
Wearing Them
Most standard sized mala beads can be worn as a necklace or as a bracelet. They typically hang down as a relatively long necklace (depending on the bead size). They can be worn as a bracelet by coiling over themselves. Most include elastic threading to make this easier.
Some manage to be convenient to wear without going too far away from tradition, but there are mala beads which are more decorative than anything. These usually include a clasp or something which would make them harder to count with. If you’re buying for looks, it doesn’t really matter, but if you want to count, stick with something more traditional.
What to Look for
Mala beads come in different shapes and sizes, as well as different counts. There are also other options such as secondary strings, items like a dorje, or any number of other decorations. You also have materials ranging from beads made from seeds, wood, bone, stone, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
What are you practicing for? If you’re trying to practice Tibetan Buddhism, you may want something with secondary counting beads. If you’re into Yoga, maybe something made of stones for chakras might either be more in line with your beliefs, or at least more fashionable. What you want and why is going to vary.
There are mala beads sold which aren’t a standard 108 beads. Some will be either a multiple or a factor (216, 54, 27, etc.), or else be seemingly at random. Depending on what you’re counting and why, this may matter.
Another thing to look for is the size of the beads. Some are extremely small and almost unusable from a practical standpoint. Others are too big to be convenient. 6mm beads are too small for me, but 12mm might be a bit too big for me to use. The necessary size will depend on your hands and your dexterity.
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