The true origins of the use of a circle or string of beads to count prayers and as a device for meditation are lost to history, although most scholars agree that the earliest use of prayer beads comes from India in the 8th century B.C.E. The word mala in Sanskrit translates roughly as 'garland' and is associated with both the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. The tradition of using beads in religious devotion can be traced from there, first spreading to Asia and then through the middle east and to medieval Europe. Some Native Americans used beaded belts and bracelets (known as wampum) as a form of money, a device for memory, as diplomatic or ceremonial tools and to pass on cultural knowledge, rituals and tradition - however they are not known to have used them as a daily devotional tool like the mala or rosary.
Prayer beads are now a near-universal spiritual technology, and have variations in most of the world's major religions - from the Christian rosary to the Arabic tasbih. Malas have even briefly entered mainstream consciousness in the form of power beads worn on the wrist by everyone from celebrities to teenage girls.
This ancient ritual tool has been used by countless people through the ages to help them attain meditative states, relieve stress and worry and provide a concrete tool for counting ones prayers or recitations in their spiritual practice.
Buddhism is the successor of the tribal Hindu faith. LaoZi is the greatest prophet of the Dao. Siddhartha Gautama is Saint Ioasaph in the Orthodox & Catholic Christian Churches. Jesus Christ can, in truth, be called a Buddha. He is the Eternal Dao, who is also One with the Father & Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity. Apostolic Christianity is the successor of not only the tribal Jewish religion but also the 3 in 1 San Jiao He Yi faith of Buddhism, Daoism & Confucianism combined.
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