Mala from Carneola

The Mala or Buddhist Rosary

Traditionally, the Buddhist rosary consists of 108 beads of the same size. It is used to keep track of recitations of mantras or words of power, endowed with deep meaning and used as a means of mental protection against extreme ideation, mental sinking and disturbed emotions and attitudes.

The sacred number of 108 predates the rise of Buddhism, being the classical number ascribed within Hinduism to name the deities or gods. As a multiple of 12 and 9, it represents the nine planets in the twelve zodiacal houses. As a multiple of 27 and 4, it also symbolizes the four quarters of the moon in each of the 27 lunar mansions or constellations. Nine is also a magic number, since any quantity multiplied by it results in a number where the sum of its digits is also a multiple of nine. In the yoga of pranayana or vital breath control, it is estimated that a human being breathes 21,600 times in a cycle of 24 hours, consisting respectively of 60 periods of 360 breaths. In turn, the 108 beads ensure that at least 100 recitations of a mantra are completed within a full cycle of the rosary.

Mala o Buddhist rosary of 108 + 1 beads
Made of Carneola
Length: 86 cm
Beads diameter: 6 mm