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Choosing and Using Your Mala
by
Polly Turner

    Recite one mantra, move your thumb and forefinger along the next be of the strand, then repeat.

    The Tibetan Buddhist mala, or beaded rosary aims to practitioner in counting mantra recitations while also helping one to focus concentration and awareness.  As one works the malas' beads with one is fingers, recites the mantra and visualizes the deity, one is at once involving the body speech and mind.

    The basic instructions for using them, are quite simple.  As with nearly any other form of ritual in the Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, however, many specifics may vary from tradition to tradition, even within a given school of Buddhism.  Always consult with a knowledgeable person in your tradition about matters of ritual.

Some Mala Basics
    The mala is filled with gentleness and respect, generally in the left hand.  One be discounted for each recitation of the mantra, beginning with the first deed after the "guru" bead at the malas' end the first bead is held between the index finger and thumb, and with each count the thumb pulls another bead in place over the index finger.

    After completing a full circuit of the mala, the practitioner flips them all around 180 degrees (this takes practice to accomplish) and continues as before, in reverse order.  One aims to avoid passing over the "guru" be as doing so is symbolically like stepping over one's teacher.

    According to the office of Tibet, the official agency of his holiness the Dalai Lama in London, the guru bead signifies the wisdom that cognizes emptiness.  Surmounting at it is another, cylindrical bead that symbolizes emptiness itself; together, these two beads symbolize having vanquished all opponents.

    To aid mantra counting, on many Tibetan malas' there are divider beads of a different color, spaced equally along the malas' length.  One also may attach a pair of counter strings to the mala as an additional counting aid-each string of the pair is a double plated cord divided with 10 small ring beads, generally made of silver, gold or bronze, which are used to count the tens and hundreds of completed mala cycles.

    A third counter also may be attached to the mala to keep track of the thousands of cycles completed.  Often featuring the symbol of a wheeled or jewel, this counter is attached to the thread between the two beads and then repositioned from bead to bead.

Choosing A Mala
    A mala of 108 beads may be is used for general purposes by most practicing Tibetan Buddhist's.  Beads of Bodhi seed generally are considered auspicious for any practice or mantra, and read to settle would or lotus seeds also are widely recommended for universal use.

    A variation that of the standard 108 bead mala is the wrist mala of 27 beads - four circuits total 108 mantra repetitions.  The number 108 is abundant in significance, according to Robert Beer.*

    The sacred number of 108 predates Buddhism, being the classical number of Hindu names assigned to a deity or God.  As a multiple of 12 and 9, it represents the nine planets in the 12 zodiacal  houses.  As a multiple of 27and 4, it also represents the four quarters of the moon in each of the 27 letter mentions or constellations.  9 is also a magic number.  A number multiplied by 9 results in a number the sum of whose digits is also a multiple of 9.  In pranayana yoga it is calculated that a human being takes 21,600 drafts in a 24-hour cycle consisting of 60 periods of 360 breaths; a 12 hour day cycle therefore equal's 10,800 breaths.  The 108 beads also ensure that at least 100 and mantra recitations have been completed in a full rosary turning.

    Besides the multi-purpose malas described above, there are other types of mullahs that are deemed auspicious for various purposes.

    Mantras can be recited for four different purposes: to appease, to increase, to lower calm, or to tame by forceful means, according to the office of Tibet in London, which offers these additional guidelines for choosing the right mullahs for the purpose: the beads used to count mantras intended to appease should be of Crystal, pearl or mother of pearl, and should at least be clear or white in color.  A rosary for this purpose should have 100 beads.  Mantras counted on these beads serve to clear away obstacles, such as illness and other calamities, and purify one of the unwholesomeness.

    The beads used with mantras intended to increase should be of gold, silver, copper or loaded seeds, and a grocery is made of 108 of them.  The mantras counted on these serve to increase lifespan, knowledge and merit.

    The beads used with mantras which are intended to overcome our made from a compound of ground settled lead, saffron and other fragrant substances.  There are 25 deeds on this rosary the mantras counted on them are meant to tame the others, but the motivation for doing so should be a pure wish to help other sentient beings and not to benefit oneself.

    The the beads used to recite mantras aiming at subduing beings through forceful names should be made from raksha seeds or human bones in a string of 60.  Again, as the purpose should be absolutely altruistic the only person capable of performing such a feat is a bodhisattva motivated by great compassion for a being who can be tamed through no other means, for example extremely malicious spirits, or general afflictions, visualized as a dense black ball.

    Beads made of bodhi seed or wood can be used for many purposes, for counting all kinds of mantras, as well as other prayers, prostrations, circumambulations and so forth.**

    Different Tibetan spiritual traditions may offer variations on the above guidelines.  For example in the Bon tradition a bodhi seed mala is recommended for all four activities; and for pacifying activity, and a mala with 100 beads of Crystal, conch or a lapis lazuli is recommended.  For increasing activity, a mala of 108 beads of gold or silver is recommended; for power activity, a mala of 50 beads of coral, copper or red sandalwood is recommended; and for wrathful activity a mala of 10 rudraksha seeds is recommended.***  Rudraksha  seeds are dried areas of the read Russia attorney, which grows in Indonesia, Nepal and India: they are round and pitted with granular protuberances and are sized between a quarter of an inch to more than an inch in diameter.

    Is often advised the malas of bone-whether human or animal bone-should only be used by accomplished yogins, since the ritual objects crafted of bone are believed to harbor karmic influences.

Some Words About Mantra
    Who is saying the mantra, how it is said, was intent while saying it-all these are important considerations.  In some cases, when they also need to consider who is within hearing distance as one recites, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche notes that in his kind you tradition, is acceptable in any circumstances to recite a mantra out loud, even when others who are unlikely to understand or respect to sacredness of the mantra came here it.  However a number of other traditions specify that certain powerful mantras must be kept entirely private.

    Some practices require a practitioner and to recite a certain mantra as many as 100,000 or even one million times.  Because just one mantra recitation condenses the essence of vast spiritual teachings into a few concise syllables, it is easy to conjecture about the power of repeating a mantra so many times over.  Those who faithfully dizzy recitations, who keep the semi heat in their mind while reciting, and who rely on the blessings, and harm us and instructions of a qualified master, had another to the deed to experience the power love and blessings of mantra firsthand.

What not to do with a mala
    Wearing a mala without knowing its significance is similar to win a woman a door is herself with a necklace, according to the Tibetan bomb Citra this address specified is that one should hold the mala above the waste when praying, and that one should avoid:

  • stepping on a mala

  • passing one's mala to others while one is engaged in recitation

  • mixing different types of beads together in one mala

  • decorating one's mala to make it look more beautiful

  • using a mala that might have been used by an impious person

  • using a mala that is not consecrated

  • hanging one's mala from one's belt

  • placing one's mala under contaminated things

  • throwing one's mala in a playful way

  • carrying one's mala while going to the toilet

    From information compiled by his holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima spiritual head of the Tibetan Bon tradition

 

    Polly Turner is a freelance writer in Charlottesville, Virginia and former editor of Sangha Journal she can be reached: pturner2@aol.com

Footnotes:
*From the Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs by Robert Beer, Boston: Shambalah, 1999.

**Reprinted with permission from www.tibet.com, the website of the office of Tibet, the official agency of his holiness the Dalai Lama in London.

***Bon specifications are per his holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima spiritual head of the Tibetan Bon tradition; courtesy of Sherab Palden and Judy Marz

Factoid:
A Catholic Rosary contains 107 beads.