Using a rosary or prayer beads for meditation practice

 Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

There are innumerable methods of meditation out there, my current daily method is probably as simple as it has ever been, I pretty much just sit and watch the breath for a set period of time a couple of times a day. But anyone who has practiced any sort of meditation or yoga for a while will know that the mind is a tricky beast that really needs training. While actual mental silence is impossible without being dead, we can however use various methods to lower the volume, and one method is mantra yoga. Any one of thousands of mantras could be used, each to their own, and this method is discussed in Crowley's writings and is an accepted part of Raja yoga.

However, what is not talked about is the use of a rosary or beads to aid this. To remedy this I would like to talk a little about the use of counting beads in spiritual traditions, and how these might be adapted to a more or less Thelemic practice.

The first picture (on the left) is a Buddhist set of prayer beads, usually called a Mala, or Nenju in Japanese. This particular set belong to the Soto sect of Japanese Zen Buddhism. There are many different types which vary by sect, as well as formal, informal, and made from a range of materials. Also, unlike the Catholic rosary, the method of usage is much more general, and varies not only from sect to sect, but even from temple to temple.

As non-Buddhists and non-Catholics we can still use these tools, although I imagine the Buddhist Mala would be more generally useful and free of unwanted theological connotations, and therefore much more useful as an aid to mantra yoga.

Many will recognise the rosary (on the right) as being Christian in origin; Roman Catholic to be precise. The Catholics have a very precise and detailed approach to saying the rosary, and it is essentially a method of meditation on the mysteries of Christ via five decades of ten prayers. The order is to recite the Nicene creed holding the crucifix, then at single beads the lords prayer, and grouped beads a hail Mary, and a Salve Regina is recited when one gets to the medal. 

Mantras should be simple, repetitive, and easy to memorise. In this way they differ from prayers which generally convey devotion, although these too can be used. I would like to suggest some ideas for mantras within a Thelemic context.

We could easily recite the following: 

A ka dua

Tuf ur biu

bi a’a chefu

Dudu nur af 

an nuteru.

Unity uttermost showed! 

 I adore the might of Thy breath, 

Supreme and terrible God, 

 Who makest the gods and death 

To tremble before Thee - 

 I, I adore thee!

Either in the original or in English, at each bead. The Gayatri mantra would also be a good option given its universal nature: 

Om bhūr bhuvah svah

tat savitur varenyam

bhargo devasya dhīmahi

dhiyo yo nah pracodayāt.

This is traditionally recited 108 times (one for each bead), which is handy if we are using a Buddhist Mala. Being an invocation of the Solar principle this is particularly suitable for a Thelemic context. My personal favourite is from the heart sutra:

Gyate gyate 

paragyate,

parasamgyate

bodhi svaha!

We could use this while in sitting meditation, although personally I like to separate mantra practice from sitting practice, and tend to go out for a walk reciting a mantra. Of course, a set of beads is not essential for this, but it does help to focus the mind. Specifically, when meditation is performed incorrectly we can get the idea that we need to lose awareness of the body. I feel that this is not helpful and more likely to lead to a wafty, unfocussed mindset at odds with what we want to develop. Having a set of beads to count requires the use of the hands and a connection between the mind and the body, bringing increased focus on the here and now. We can see if the mind is wandering because our mind and fingers go out of sink and we lose track of where we were in the mantra. Another useful point is that during meditation we can find ourselves unintentionally clock watching, wondering if our time is up yet, and growing impatient as a result. If instead of clock watching, we find out how many times we need to recite a mantra for a given amount of time, we can use the beads to help with this. Some people just recite their mantra 108 times, once for each bead, so that when they get to the large mother bead they know their session is finished. Again there are no rules, each should find his or her own way.

As with anything, the objective of the practice should be considered, and the beads, like the mantra itself, are really only a means to an end, and that end is greater integration of mind and body, and greater integration of the practitioner with the world around them. If the use of a mantra or a set of beads helps, then it it can't be a bad thing.

Love is the law, love under will.