Bodhi Seed Meaning: Prayer Beads Named for the Buddha's Tree

White bodhi seed bracelet with green accent beads and a lotus bud charm

The Buddha is said to have reached awakening while meditating under a fig tree at Bodh Gaya in India. That tree became known as the bodhi tree, from the Sanskrit word for awakening, and Buddhists have honored it ever since. Prayer beads made from seeds carry its name. In China they are called bodhi seeds, puti zi.

Which seeds are bodhi seeds?

The bodhi tree's own seeds are far too small to string. "Bodhi seed" is a name for beads made from many different plants: a 2014 study of the bodhi beads sold in China traced them to 47 plant species, among them palms, jujubes and timber trees. Three are especially well known.

  • Star and moon bodhi is the seed of a rattan palm. Each bead has a round dimple, the moon, ringed by tiny dark dots, the stars. Huiwen, a town on Hainan Island, is home to China's largest star and moon bodhi market.
  • Bodhi root comes from the talipot palm, whose leaves were used for writing Buddhist scriptures.
  • Rudraksha seeds come from Elaeocarpus trees and are sacred to Shiva in Hindu tradition.

Beads that change with wear

Bodhi seeds are a favorite among Chinese collectors of wenwan, small objects made to be handled. Over months of wear, oils from the hand slowly deepen the beads from ivory toward honey and amber and give them a soft gloss. Collectors call this patina and prize it.

Bodhi seeds and the mala

Light and warm in the hand, bodhi seeds are a natural choice for a 108-bead mala used to count mantras such as Om Mani Padme Hum. They are often strung with a lotus charm, a dzi bead or a tassel.

Caring for bodhi seeds

Seeds can crack with sudden changes in heat and humidity. Take bodhi beads off before washing or swimming, and keep them out of direct sun and hot cars. Hand lotion and perfume can stain them.

Bodhi seeds at Buddha.store

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