Buddhist prayer beads

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Buddhist prayer beads (Juzu)
Buddhist prayer beads (Juzu)

Buddhist prayer beads are traditional devotional tools of prayer used in various forms of Buddhism.

They are similar to other forms of prayer beads and the Rosary used in various world religions; thus this tool has also been known as the Buddhist rosary.

Contents

[edit] Beads in Different Cultures

Prayer beads or japa malas are used in many forms of Mahayana Buddhism, often with a lesser number of beads than the Hindu japa malas 108 (number)--usually a divisor of 108. In Pure Land Buddhism, for instance, 27-bead rosaries are common.

[edit] Mahayana Buddhism

In Chinese culture such rosaries are named shu zhu 数珠("counting beads"), Fo zhu 佛珠 ("Buddha beads"), or nian zhu 念珠 ("prayer beads"). Chinese court beads (Chinese: 朝珠; pinyin: cháozhū) also derive from Buddhist prayer beads.

In Japanese Buddhism, they are known as "juzu" (数珠? counting beads) or "nenju" (念珠? thought beads), and both words are usually preceded by the honorific 'o-' (as in "o-juzu" (御数珠?)). Female speakers make use of the honorific o- more often than male speakers.

[edit] Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhists in Myanmar also use prayer beads, called ba-di (ပုတီး [bədí]). Such beads are typically made of fragrant wood, with a series of brightly-coloured strings at the end of the beads.

[edit] Tibetan Buddhism

In Tibetan Buddhism, traditionally malas of 108 beads are used. Some practitioners use malas of 21 or 28 beads for doing prostrations. Doing one 108-bead mala counts as 100 mantra recitations.

[edit] Number Of Beads And Significance

There are various explanations for the significance of the number 108

  • Ancient cosmology included 9 planets & 12 constellations. 9 X 12 = 108. Represents totality, the universe
  • The Sanskrit alphabet has 54 letters, each has 2 aspects: male & female. 54 X 2 = 108. Sanskrit letters correspond to energies of the subtle body, 108 recitations purifies them
  • After reciting 100 mantras, 8 extra mantras are done to compensate for errors
  • 6 senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness) multiplied by 3 reactions (positive, negative, or indifference) makes 18 "feelings." Each of these feelings can be either "attached to pleasure or detached from pleasure" making 36 "passions"-- each of which may be manifested in the past, present, or future. All the combinations of all these things makes a total of 108, which are represented by the beads in the ojuzu[1].


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bishop Shinsho Hanayama, “Story of the Juzu”