The Proper Way of Using Tibetan Prayer Beads

When mentioned Tibetan religion, its dense nationality color and its mysterious atmosphere will appear in mind，giving you the feeling of mystery and dignity. On each temple，you can see some believers wrap mala around their wrists or dangle the mala from fingers, accompanying the humming recitations of mantras like om mani padme hum. In this sense, we can say that the mala is the symbol of Tibetan long history religion .Explore Tibet Team, a professional Tibet travel agency, introduces the proper way of using Tibetan prayer beads.

Mala is some prayer beads used for counting mantra recitations. Repeating mentally or speaking out loudly certain mantras such as om mani padme hum thousands or even hundreds of thousands of times is a common part of Tibetan Buddhist practice. So the proper way of holding and counting Tibetan prayer beads plays an important role for the practice of Tibetan believers. The type of mala are various，but most common one is a string of 108 beads. Besides, there is a head bead that is larger than the others beads, and it is the starting point for the circuit. It is called a “guru bead.” for the reason that it can represent one’s guru and has a special significance, but it is not counted in the 108 total.
You should start with the first bead next to the “guru bead.” Then you should hold the bead between the index finger and thumb, and recite your mantra once out loud or silently. Each time you work your way around the mala, saying a mantra for each bead. Then move on to the next bead and recite your mantra again and repeat. When you get to the guru bead again, you are considered to have completed 100 mantras. The extra 8 beads are set for making up for any miscounts you recite.
Finally, you should remember that the culture is different, and there is no strict rule and everybody does it slightly differently when it comes the way to count your mantras as you are praying from the bottom of your heart. Usually it is suitable to use the mala in your left hand.