The short answer
Keep them dry, let them darken, and expect a faint scent. The wood, seed and root pieces in the Sacred Wood collection are judged by resin, grain and the evenness of the beads; they take a polish from handling alone; and they must not get wet. One thing to know before you order: pieces made mainly of wood, bodhi seed or bodhi root do not ship to the United Kingdom or the European Union.
What the materials are
Green sandalwood, agarwood, huanghuali, high-oil Ya Bai cypress and boxwood are woods. Agarwood is resinous heartwood, and the resin is what carries its scent. Huanghuali is a dense, fine-grained rosewood long used for Chinese furniture and scholars' objects.
Bodhi seed and bodhi root are not wood at all. They are seeds and roots, carved and polished, long used for prayer beads. Dragon-vein bodhi seed has a deeply ridged surface, and the five-star mark is the pattern on the end of each seed. The name on each product page is the name we hold for that piece.
How quality is judged
Agarwood
By resin content. The darker, denser and more fragrant the wood, the more resin it holds. A bracelet of large agarwood beads is worn, not burned; its fragrance is faint and close to the skin.
Sandalwood and huanghuali
By the grain and the depth of the natural colour. Green sandalwood carries a light natural fragrance that returns when the beads are warmed by the wrist. Huanghuali is valued for its figure and a faint sweet scent, and its beads take a deep polish from handling alone.
Bodhi seed
By the evenness of the pattern, whether the five-star mark is clear, and how well the beads are matched.
Any of them should feel smooth at the drill hole and have no filler in the grain.
Why they darken
Handling is what polishes these beads. Wood and bodhi beads darken slowly with years of wear and take on a sheen; that is the intended patina, not damage. The scent of sandalwood, agarwood and huanghuali rises with the warmth of the wrist. It is faint, and it fades if the piece is not worn.
What a mala is
A strand used for counting recitations, traditionally 108 beads. The Dunhuang-inspired mala in the collection has 108 bodhi root beads of 6 × 9 mm with a carved guru bead. Bodhi seed prayer beads are traditionally used for the same counting, and they darken and polish with handling over the years.
How to keep them
The one rule is dryness.
- Take them off before washing, swimming or a hot shower. Water raises the grain and can crack a bead as it dries.
- Keep them away from perfume and lotion.
- Wipe with a dry cloth, never a wet one.
- Do not store them in direct sun or beside a radiator, which dries and cracks the wood.
- No oil or other treatment is needed. The more the beads are worn and handled, the shinier they become.
Shipping
This piece does not ship to the United Kingdom or the European Union. That sentence appears on every product page it applies to: pieces made mainly of wood, bodhi seed or bodhi root. It follows from the rules that apply to wooden and seed articles entering those markets. Pieces in which wood is only one component among stones or metal, and framed art, ship to every country we serve.
What they traditionally stand for
These materials have long been used in spiritual practice, for counting recitations and for their scent. The lotus is a traditional symbol of purity and calm, the gourd, hulu, of blessing, and the Pixiu of protection and wealth. In Chinese tradition the gourd is said to gather good fortune and hold it, and the Pixiu, a winged guardian creature, to draw fortune in and never let it out. We describe these as tradition and promise nothing.
