Walk into many meditation or yoga
studios and you'll see a treasure trove
crystals & many other healing stones.
These prayer beads are at core a
mechanical tool for counting off a
set number of prayers, said John Kieschnick,
president of the department of religious
studies and a professor at Stanford University
in Buddhist studies.
Technology has inaugurated the
era of digital rosary and mala
applications, but for many, it is
the tactile encounter with analogue
beads that enriches a spiritual practise.
Go figure, your iPhone is not always the
best link you have with God.
Many religions, including Buddhists,
Muslims and Christians, or anyone else
who is looking for ways to mark off and keep
track of prayers, or a meditative practise, can
use prayer beads.
“I think the tactile quality of the beads is a big
part of the attraction,” Kieschnick said. “They can calm the psyche and concentrate the mind.”
The elegance of prayer beads is often
seductive to many. Some wear as jewellery.
