Learn About the “Buddhist Rosary” — and Its 21st-Century Reincarnation
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An illuminated lotus flower decorates the exterior of the Leap Beads’ “guru” bead.
Inside the guru bead is where Acer’s smart-mala technology — a smart chip, vibrating element, and battery — is housed. The smart chip, found just beneath the bead’s splash-resistant cover, connects to your phone via Bluetooth and adds to the Leap Beads’ functionality, offering a step-counter, an alarm clock, and a sleep monitor. You can also use the Leap Beads app to time your meditation sessions, log your daily practice, track your calorie intake, and preset scheduled reminders to stay hydrated and take breaks. With all these features, Leap Beads are not only a spiritual companion but a practical and attractive way to attend to all your overall self-care and wellbeing.
Learn more about and order your Acer Leap Beads. Use the promo code “LIONLEAP” for 10% OFF.
To use a mala, the practitioner moves their thumb along the string of beads (or, moves the string of beads through the hand) from one bead to the next after, say, taking a breath or reciting a mantra. (A mantra is a word or phrase meant to help calm and focus the mind, or reorient it to a certain spiritual principle. One common mantra, for example, is OM MANI PADME HUM, the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion who is said to hear and attend to all the cries of suffering in the world.) When the revolution of the mala comes full circle, one might close the practice or continue for another cycle.
Malas designed to be worn around the neck typically have a bead-count of 108—an auspicious number for many Buddhists. But malas are made in a variety of lengths, styles, and materials. Common smaller versions, more often worn on the wrist, have 54 beads (half of 108) or 27 beads (one quarter of 108). The beads themselves might be crafted from seeds, wood, stones, plastic, animal bone, or even human bone. Often key to a string of malas is the presence of the “guru” or end-bead, larger than the others, which gives the practitioner a tactile reference point so that they can know by feel where they are in a given practice cycle, as well as a starting and ending place. Malas may also have tassels, knots, or ornamental talismans, such as a representation of the lotus flower, the famous Buddhist symbol of purity and enlightenment.
Bringing this centuries-old tool up to the moment, the pioneering tech company Acer has created Acer Leap Beads, a “smart” mala that helps users keep track of their spiritual progress just like a traditional mala does — but with quite a number of helpful extras. Just like their non-tech counterparts, Acer Leap Beads are a tool for counting recitations or other practices, but Leap Beads do the counting for you, recording the repetition of each mantra or prayer in a companion app on your phone. A lotus blossom in the middle of the accompanying display opens slowly as you get closer to your practice-session goal, effectively keeping your practice on track and your mind at ease.
Originally only available in Taiwan, where more than 8 million people identify as Buddhist, Leap Beads are now available worldwide. A bracelet of 14 beads in length, the Leap Beads mala is made in cedar or sandalwood, each version giving the bracelet a lightweight look and feel, as well as a relaxing woodsy smell. Compatible with Android 4.4 or higher and IOS 8.0 or higher, this smart mala has a four-day battery life. You can charge them with an included compact travel charger or by using a charging station. With the app, you can play a selection of pre-loaded scriptures and chants.
To use a mala, the practitioner moves their thumb along the string of beads (or, moves the string of beads through the hand) from one bead to the next after, say, taking a breath or reciting a mantra. (A mantra is a word or phrase meant to help calm and focus the mind, or reorient it to a certain spiritual principle. One common mantra, for example, is OM MANI PADME HUM, the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion who is said to hear and attend to all the cries of suffering in the world.) When the revolution of the mala comes full circle, one might close the practice or continue for another cycle.
Malas designed to be worn around the neck typically have a bead-count of 108—an auspicious number for many Buddhists. But malas are made in a variety of lengths, styles, and materials. Common smaller versions, more often worn on the wrist, have 54 beads (half of 108) or 27 beads (one quarter of 108). The beads themselves might be crafted from seeds, wood, stones, plastic, animal bone, or even human bone. Often key to a string of malas is the presence of the “guru” or end-bead, larger than the others, which gives the practitioner a tactile reference point so that they can know by feel where they are in a given practice cycle, as well as a starting and ending place. Malas may also have tassels, knots, or ornamental talismans, such as a representation of the lotus flower, the famous Buddhist symbol of purity and enlightenment.
Bringing this centuries-old tool up to the moment, the pioneering tech company Acer has created Acer Leap Beads, a “smart” mala that helps users keep track of their spiritual progress just like a traditional mala does — but with quite a number of helpful extras. Just like their non-tech counterparts, Acer Leap Beads are a tool for counting recitations or other practices, but Leap Beads do the counting for you, recording the repetition of each mantra or prayer in a companion app on your phone. A lotus blossom in the middle of the accompanying display opens slowly as you get closer to your practice-session goal, effectively keeping your practice on track and your mind at ease.
erhaps you’ve seen the strings of beads some Buddhists wear, or maybe you wear them yourself. They’re very popular, and for some, are worn mostly as a fashion accessory. But they have a smart spiritual, and practical, purpose—and now, they’re getting even “smarter.”
Known as malas, these strings of beads are worn around the neck or wrist and are used to count one’s Buddhist-prayer or mantra recitations, prostrations, or even simply to keep track of one’s in- and out-breaths in meditation. You might think of a mala as Buddhism’s version of the Catholic rosary, and this isn’t an inaccurate comparison. Similar tools have been used for generations in a variety of other spiritual traditions and religions too, including Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Islam. The mala helps us focus on what we’re really doing when undertaking certain repetitive spiritual practices so that, instead of getting caught up in counting (and “zoning out” as a result) we can bring more of ourselves to our spiritual disciplines.
erhaps you’ve seen the strings of beads some Buddhists wear, or maybe you wear them yourself. They’re very popular, and for some, are worn mostly as a fashion accessory. But they have a smart spiritual, and practical, purpose—and now, they’re getting even “smarter.”
Known as malas, these strings of beads are worn around the neck or wrist and are used to count one’s Buddhist-prayer or mantra recitations, prostrations, or even simply to keep track of one’s in- and out-breaths in meditation. You might think of a mala as Buddhism’s version of the Catholic rosary, and this isn’t an inaccurate comparison. Similar tools have been used for generations in a variety of other spiritual traditions and religions too, including Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Islam. The mala helps us focus on what we’re really doing when undertaking certain repetitive spiritual practices so that, instead of getting caught up in counting (and “zoning out” as a result) we can bring more of ourselves to our spiritual disciplines.
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To use a mala, the practitioner moves their thumb along the string of beads (or, moves the string of beads through the hand) from one bead to the next after, say, taking a breath or reciting a mantra. (A mantra is a word or phrase meant to help calm and focus the mind, or reorient it to a certain spiritual principle. One common mantra, for example, is OM MANI PADME HUM, the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion who is said to hear and attend to all the cries of suffering in the world.) When the revolution of the mala comes full circle, one might close the practice or continue for another cycle.
Malas designed to be worn around the neck typically have a bead-count of 108—an auspicious number for many Buddhists. But malas are made in a variety of lengths, styles, and materials. Common smaller versions, more often worn on the wrist, have 54 beads (half of 108) or 27 beads (one quarter of 108). The beads themselves might be crafted from seeds, wood, stones, plastic, animal bone, or even human bone. Often key to a string of malas is the presence of the “guru” or end-bead, larger than the others, which gives the practitioner a tactile reference point so that they can know by feel where they are in a given practice cycle, as well as a starting and ending place. Malas may also have tassels, knots, or ornamental talismans, such as a representation of the lotus flower, the famous Buddhist symbol of purity and enlightenment.
Bringing this centuries-old tool up to the moment, the pioneering tech company Acer has created Acer Leap Beads, a “smart” mala that helps users keep track of their spiritual progress just like a traditional mala does — but with quite a number of helpful extras. Just like their non-tech counterparts, Acer Leap Beads are a tool for counting recitations or other practices, but Leap Beads do the counting for you, recording the repetition of each mantra or prayer in a companion app on your phone. A lotus blossom in the middle of the accompanying display opens slowly as you get closer to your practice-session goal, effectively keeping your practice on track and your mind at ease.
Originally only available in Taiwan, where more than 8 million people identify as Buddhist, Leap Beads are now available worldwide. A bracelet of 14 beads in length, the Leap Beads mala is made in cedar or sandalwood, each version giving the bracelet a lightweight look and feel, as well as a relaxing woodsy smell. Compatible with Android 4.4 or higher and IOS 8.0 or higher, this smart mala has a four-day battery life. You can charge them with an included compact travel charger or by using a charging station. With the app, you can play a selection of pre-loaded scriptures and chants.