Mala beads, commonly known as a japa mala or simply a mala, are a type of prayer beads. Prayer beads have been used for centuries by a range of religions, from Hinduism to Catholicism.

Purchasing mala beads is deeply personal. Mala beads are most commonly used as a tool to keep track of prayers, mantras or affirmations.

Buddhism Some sources say that the first prayer beads, called mala, were used around the eighth century by Buddhists, a religious sect that developed from Hinduism. The Buddhist monks had a special ...

Acer's Leap Beads, effectively smart prayer beads, help practising Buddhists count the number of times they have chanted their mantra with a chip tracking how often the mala has been rotated ...

As Rafael Alvarez takes a closer look at praying the rosary, he shares how the religious discipline – a slow, methodical meditation with prayer beads – brings him comfort, peace and insights ...

He has spent his life since then as a practicing Buddhist, which is why his prayer beads — or mala bracelet — can almost always be found on his wrist.

Kent taught drama at a public high school, and, on his schoolteacher’s salary, in the years before the Internet, he shopped the world from home—mala prayer beads carved in the shape of ...