History of Buddhist Prayer Beads

Buddha

The repetition of prayer has been a meditation technique for centuries. Buddhist prayer beads are used by believers to count petitions to the Universe and remind followers of both their flaws and level of enlightenment. The origin of these beads can be traced to an even earlier religion. Eventually, these tools of contemplation, endorsed by the Buddha, spread to other forms of spirituality.

History

Buddhist prayer beads, traditionally called mala, first developed as a religious tool on the Indian continent. "The use of beads in prayer appears to have originated with Hindu religious practices in India, possibly around the 8th century," writes the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Missouri. "B.C.E. Buddhism, which developed from a sect of Hinduism, retained the use of prayer beads as it became established in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet."

Identification

Just like the Hindu variety, Buddhist mala consist of a strand of 108 beads, each a symbol of impurities and flaws that an individual must overcome in order to progress to the blissful existence of nirvana. Prayer, for each one of these character defects, is crucial to achieving release from a failing of the flesh. Most Buddhists normally utilize mala consisting of 108 beads, but the number may vary in different sects of Buddhism.

Significance

The Buddha himself is believed to have instructed followers to utilize mala. "There is a sutra (thread of knowledge) in which a King prays to the Buddha for a simple practice to help ease his suffering from various difficulties and the Buddha responded by telling him to string 108 seeds and recite the three part refuge prayer upon them," reports Eastern Healing Arts.

Origin

The word mala, also referred to as jap mala, is derived from the Indian Sanskrit phrase for garland. The English word rosary, the western term for prayer beads, owes it's etymology to Roman miscommunication. "When Roman explorers came into India and encountered the mala, they heard jap mala, and jap for the Romans meant 'rose,'' according to ReligionFacts.com. The word "rosary" eventually evolved from that translation as Romans carried the prayer bead concept back to the western world.

Features

While Burmese monks prefer beads of black lacquer, most Buddhists have historically claimed wood as the primary source material for prayer beads. Bodhi wood is the preferred component as history maintains that the Buddha meditated under a Bodhi tree. Additional options are sandalwood, seeds, stones or inlaid animal bones. "In Tibet, malas of inlaid bone originally included the skeleton parts of holy men, to remind their users to live lives worthy of the next level of enlightenment," according to the book "A String and a Prayer," by Eleanor Wiley and Maggie Oman Shannon. "Today's bone malas are made of yak bone, which is sometimes inlaid with turquoise and coral."

References

• University of Missouri: Museum of Anthropology: Prayer Beads: A Cultural Experience
• Eastern Healing Arts: Prayer Beads: Tibetan Mala
• A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads; Eleanor Wiley and Maggie Oman Shannon; Red Wheel/Weiser; September 2002
• ReliogionFacts.com: Mala: Buddhist Rosary Beads