Rating: 
Summary: Humble bead kit made in China
Review: Enough beads for making 3 small wrist malas (carnelian, an oddly colored tiger's eye, and an unfragrant sandalwood) are included in this very basic kit, along with an 80-page book that lightly touches on the history and use of malas, and beads in general. The photos and graphics are pleasant, but there is far less depth of information in this book than I was hoping for. A few mantras are included (along with some suggested affirmations) but not many, and the instructions for making the malas are so basic that if you've ever done any beadwork at all you could easily figure it out yourself. No information is included on using ornate knots for closing, or how to include a traditional tassel, and, in fact, the closure used for these three malas makes use of a specialized bead with an extra half-hole 90-degrees out from the usual holes -- I've searched but cannot find any more of these "mother beads" or "guru beads" out there so I don't know what use learning this method really is (unless you're going to drill your own). And, in fact, one of the three mother beads I got was very badly drilled and was useless.I did learn a few interesting facts, and the chapter on the properties of various stones was perhaps the most useful. As well, I gained three very basic home-made malas (one with a mother bead I provided myself, tied off in a different manner than suggested), but overall this book and kit was a disappointment.
For those devoted to the Tibetan cause, it should be noted that the book and kit are made in China.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book with everything to make 3 wrist malas
Review: I love this book. It has beads enough to make 3 wrist malas.
I'm getting more beads to make wrist malas for my friends.
Rating: 
Summary: I think that last review was a plant
Review: The writer of the last review did not say anything special about the kit and still managed to give it a top-notch rating. I presume he had read some of the other comments and yet had no response to their detailed and specific criticism.
Could it be that a certain book seller gets someone to check out low-scoring reviews and plants a 5-star review to "improve" the average on display?
I sure hope not because that would be DISHONEST AND WRONG.
Rating:
Summary: Two stars is being generous!
Review: This book is full of pretty pictures, but that's about it. It lacks any sort of indepth knowledge or teachings about the subject of prayer beads....
I would save my money or purchase the book, "Beads of Faith" by Gray Henry and Sussnah Marriot!
I don't recommend this book to anyone unless you really want it! It's a total waste of money.....borrow a copy from your local library!
Rating:
Summary: Two stars is being generous!
Review: This book is full of pretty pictures, but that's about it. It lacks any sort of indepth knowledge or teachings about the subject of prayer beads....
I would save my money or purchase the book, "Beads of Faith" by Gray Henry and Sussnah Marriot!
I don't recommend this book to anyone unless you really want it! It's a total waste of money.....borrow a copy from your local library!
Rating:
Summary: I took it back for a refund.
Review: Well, having read some of the reviews, I can say as a chinese pureland buddhist, the beads are overpriced. I have been to china on pilgrimages and full sets of the 108 beads are very much cheaper than what this set is priced. As I have strung and did decorative knots for many prayer beads for myself and others, readers should note that the beads are of the chinese type and wrist beads of 21,27 beads, normally do not have the tassels, only 36,54 and the 108 set have the decorative knots. however as readers have noted, the book should also feature the full set of 108 beads, how to string them either with extra seperator beads at every 27th bead ie 4x27=108, and how to tie the decorative chinese knots. I mean surely the publisher do not want to restrict the readers to learn how to tie the 21 wrist beads only, right? The photos featured the full 108 type used by serious buddhist for formal occasions. For those whose do not have the barrel shaped bead, I reccomend that a smaller round bead of the same colour be used. As for the frayed elastic strings, use a lighter to burn the ends after the knots are tied. As for the beads being of chinese origin, I urge people not to byocott chinese goods, I am neutral on the tibet issue but the chinese people are innocent, even chinese buddhist were persucuted on a similar scale.
Rating:
Summary: another disappointed customer...
Review: Well, to be honest, I bought this kit at (a store), but I must also voice a concern with the poor manufacture of this product. The sandalwood beads did have an aroma....but not sandalwood. It was easy to tell that they had been stained to make them darker than they really were. The tigers eye varied in color, from yellow to almost to a green, and if it werent for that fact I would guess they were plastic. Perhaps the most offensive to my intelligence was the fact that the "carnelian" beads were not just plastic, but white plastic with red paint that wears off gradually with wear. I have cut apart the wrist malas and used the wood and "tigers eye" beads in other various necklaces and whatnot. The "carnelian" beads for the most part i threw away. The book was slightly better than the beads, but not much. The bulk of the book was spent talking about the special properties of materials it didnt include, and most of them they didnt even profess to include, and also talked about what a mala is (decent enough, although little information) and rosaries in various other religions (although judging by the quality of this product, it isnt likely that this information is 100% accurate). They gave rather confusing and vague instructions on stringing the mala, and didnt really even make that great looking a mala.
Also my kit was missing a few of the wooden beads! Please, do not purchase this product, you are better off learning about malas via the internet and purchasing your own beads from a craft store or something.
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