A Mala is considered one of the most sacred and treasured tools of a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner. Malas are primarily used to aid with one's personal yidam practice or they are simply used for any number of mantras that may be recited during puja or day to day activity. Mantra recitations are counted in order to complete important aspects of the practice. These recitations have the power to liberate the practitioner and benefit sentient beings in limitless ways. Some practitioners spend their lives accumulating many millions of mantras, because of this they are thought to develop deep insights into genuine reality and gain great siddhi.
The benefits of reciting the mantra Om Mani Peme Hung
It is mentioned in the tantras that by reciting this mantra you achieve the four qualities of being born in the Amitabha Buddha pure land and other pure lands; at the time of death, seeing Buddha and lights appearing in the sky; the devas making you offerings; and never being reborn in the hell, hungry ghost or animals realms. You will be reborn in the pure land of Buddha or as a happy transmigratory being.
"When one who recites ten malas a day goes swimming, whether in a river, an ocean or some other body of water, the water that touches that person's body gets blessed.
It is said that up to seven generations of that person's descendents won't get reborn in the lower realms. The reason for this is that due to the power of mantra, the body is blessed by the person reciting the mantra and visualizing their body in form of the holy body of Chenrezig. Therefore, the body becomes so powerful, so blessed that this affects the consciousness up to seven generations and has the effect that if one dies with a non-virtuous thought, one is not reborn in a lower realm.
Thus, when a person who has recited ten malas of om mani padme hum a day goes into a river or an ocean, the water that touches the person's body gets blessed, and this blessed water then purifies all the billions and billions of sentient beings in the water. So it's unbelievably beneficial; this person saves the animals in that water from the most unbelievable suffering of the lower realms.
When such a person walks down a road and the wind touches his or her body and then goes on to touch insects, their negative karma gets purified and causes them to have a good rebirth. Similarly, when such a person does massage or otherwise touches others' bodies, those people's negative karma also gets purified.
Such a person becomes meaningful to behold; being seen and touched becomes a means of liberating other sentient beings. This means that even the person's breath touching the bodies of other sentient beings purifies their negative karma. Anybody who drinks the water in which such a person has swum gets purified."
~Lama Zopa Rinpoche~
and
The benefits of reciting Om Ah Hung Benza Guru Pema Siddhi Hung
......if this essence mantra, the Vajra Guru mantra, is repeated as much as possible, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times, a hundred thousand times, a million, ten million, a hundred million times and so forth, if it is repeated in holy places, in temples, next to great rivers, in areas where gods and demons abound, if it is recited in these places by tantric practitioners with pure samaya, by people with monastic ordination who maintain their vows purely, by men and women who possess faith in the teachings, if they give rise to bodhicitta on a grand scale and recite this mantra, then the benefits and advantages and energy of such practice are truly inconceivable. This will avert all of the negative forces of disease, famine, unrest, bad harvests and all bad omens and indications in all the countries of the world, such that the rain will fall in a timely manner for the crops so there will always be a plentiful supply of water for agriculture and for human and animal life, and all regions and areas will experience prosperity and auspicious conditions.
~Guru Rinpoche~
Large malas, traditionally made of 108 beads or in some traditions 111, are usually worn around the left wrist. Hand malas, made up of usually 27, 21 or 18 beads, can also be used for practice and are easier to use whilst doing prostrations.
When counting, the mala is normally held in the left hand at the level of the heart and one of the beads immediately next to the guru bead is used to register the first mantra. Some believe that the energy of accummulated mantras is stored in the mala - one of the many reasons that malas are cherished by those who use them. Bodhiseed malas are considered appropriate for counting all kinds of mantras, prayers, prostrations and circumambulations. Other types of stone, seed or coloured bead are used because of their association with a particular deity or form of practice. Crystal or conch shell beads are particularly appropriate for prayers linked with Chenrezig; sandalwood is valued for pacifying; bone can be used for wrathful practices. Tibetans also prize malas made of coral, lapis, turquoise and carnelian; these beads are often added to malas as extra spacers. Dzi stones are the most cherished and sacred of all beads.
Below you will see a wide range of both 108 and 111 bead malas. We also have a variety of original antique malas and hard to find beads. Hand malas, counters, spacers, guru beads and mala cord are also stocked.
