I have seen these in new age shops and I was wondering if any of you guys use them. How do you use them to count mantras/prayers etc.? Is it just one mantra for every bead or what?
Let's see, malas are almost always made of 108 small beads and the large meru bead (i.e., the big one that has the strings sticking out of it). People use the beads to count their mantras, and you use the beads for one mantra, in multiples of up to 108. You use the right hand and hold the mala over your middle finger, without the index finger touching the beads. You pull the beads toward you (still without the index finger) and one bead after you say the mantra one time. Repeat up to 108 times. You shouldn't cross the meru. Instead, you turn the mala over and start again. Make sense?
Hmmm, kinda... so you would, for example, go past one bead for every om mani padme hung, and when you get past 108 start again?
I just recently learned about mala beads, and I had been wondering the same thing! Also, I have heard of smaller mala beads that only have 24 beads, and I was wondering if those are ever used? Since I was informed of them, I thought it would be interesting to acquire some, but I have no idea where I would find them. In love, Diana
Not to be diverse, but Buddhists in general use the left hand for counting beads, over the left finger. One ideally holds the mala near the heart, but you'll find that's tiring over a period of time so just to count the mantras is what's important. Various beads are for various things. It depends on what deity you are activating. But ingeneral Buddhists use Bodhi seed malas which feel good, are relatively cheap and are used for all mantras that might be performed. A crystal mala is the mala of Chenrezig, so if Om Mani Peme Hung is your mantra than check that out. Peace. Glory B to the 3.
I mean above, over the left index finger. The mala is pushed with the thumb. When you get to the guru bead, also called Meru bead, then you flip the mala around and go back the other way. I usually strike a line on a pad for each turn, or there are bead counters which have five or ten small beads which one moves like an abacus. Hindus use the right hand. Buddhists the left.
...Oh, I did say the right hand, didn't I? Yeah, like Chodpa said, it's the left hand. I donno what I was thinking (especially since I had just FINISHED doing mine with my left hand). Um... Yeah, some people use the 24 bead ones just cos they're smaller, or so that's what I've been told. I don't like them very much, because they always seem too short, yanno?
I have a really nice set of mala beads made from the seeds of a bodhi tree, I carry them around everywhere but strangely enough I don't often use them during meditation, although I have now and again. Maybe I should use them a little more often.
