How to use mala beads for mantra meditation

A mala is a string of beads for counting. In mantra meditation, you repeat a word or phrase once for each bead, so your fingers keep the count while your attention stays on the sound. The practice of repetition is called japa, which is why a Hindu mala is often called a japa mala.

You do not need a mala to repeat a mantra, but the beads keep your place and tell you when a round is finished without looking at a clock.

What is a japa mala made of?

A traditional mala has 108 beads on a cord, plus one larger bead called the meru (in some traditions, the guru bead) where the two ends of the string meet. Many add a tassel below the meru, and some have spacer beads after every 27.

Materials often carry meaning in their tradition. Rudraksha seeds are linked with devotion to Shiva in Hindu practice, and tulsi (holy basil) wood is used in Vaishnava devotion to Krishna and Vishnu. Sandalwood, lotus seeds, bodhi seeds and other woods and seeds are common in Hindu and Buddhist malas. What matters for practice is a bead you can move easily with your thumb.

Buddhist traditions use prayer beads too, often also with 108 beads, and Tibetan practitioners count mantras such as om mani padme hum, the mantra of compassion on them. Similar counting beads appear in other religions, including the rosary in Catholic Christianity, which many Filipino families will know.

Why does a mala have 108 beads?

There is no single agreed answer, and it is better to say so than to pick one. The number 108 recurs across Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions. In Hindu tradition, the Muktika Upanishad lists 108 Upanishads, and 108 is the product of 12 and 9, two numbers with their own place in Indian astronomy and symbolism. In many Buddhist traditions, 108 is linked with the mental states or afflictions a practitioner works with, which is one reason some Japanese temples ring their bell 108 times at the new year.

For your own practice, the plain reason is enough: 108 repetitions is a full round that takes roughly ten to fifteen minutes at a steady pace.

How do you hold a mala?

1. Sit comfortably. Use any steady seat from our guide to meditation postures and how to sit. Rest the left hand on the left thigh.
2. Drape the mala over the right hand. Let it hang over the middle finger or between the middle and ring fingers. In Hindu custom the index finger, linked with the ego, stays out of the way, pointing slightly outward.
3. Find the start. Begin at the first bead next to the meru, not on the meru itself.
4. Count with the thumb. Say the mantra once, then use your thumb to pull the next bead towards you. Keep a slow, even rhythm.
5. Turn at the meru. When you reach the meru again, you have done 108. Traditionally you do not cross it. Turn the mala around and go back the other way if you want a second round.

Some traditions use slightly different hand positions. If you learn from a teacher in a particular tradition, follow their way.

A ten-minute mala practice to start with

1. Choose the mantra before you sit. A single syllable such as Om, the most widely chanted mantra, is the simplest. A short phrase such as om shanti works well too.
2. Settle for three breaths. Let the breath move on its own. Hold the mala in your lap.
3. Begin the round. Say the mantra once per bead, on the out-breath if that feels natural.
4. Notice the drift. When you realise you are thinking about something else, check which bead you are on and carry on from there. Losing count is normal. The returning is the practice, as the guide to how to meditate explains.
5. Close at the meru. Rest for a minute with the hands still. Notice how you feel before you get up.

If you want something longer, the Gayatri mantra, a Vedic verse often counted on a mala, is traditionally repeated in rounds of 108.

How do you look after a mala?

Keep it clean and dry in a small pouch or box. In humid Philippine weather, wooden and seed beads last longer if they can air dry after use. Many people keep their practice mala for themselves and do not lend it out, and in Hindu and Buddhist settings a mala is not worn below the waist or put on the floor.