One Hundred And Eight's Role In Religion

The number one hundred and eight plays a vital role not only in Buddhism as a religion, but also in its artwork. It is considered sacred to the religion as a whole and has different implications in different countries. There are also deities that have different forms that incorporate the number. The number can be seen in various spiritual practices and theories, as well as in many monuments and objects. While the origin of this sacred number may be hard to pin point, it’s significance is still obvious throughout the religion. In Buddhism as a religious practice, the number one hundred and eight recurs quite often. Many in Buddhism like to refer to the one hundred and eight feelings. The one hundred and eight feelings are a multiplication of …show more content…
These questions range in topic from “What are the elements of enlightenment?” to “How many particles of dust are there in the body of a being?” The next section of the chapter, the Buddha responds to these questions in what is known as the The One Hundred and Eight Negations. In this section, the Buddha responds to each question in the form of “A statement concerning X is not a statement concerning X.” So for example, when Mahāmati asks, “Whence are the clouds in the sky?” the Buddha responds. “A statement concerning clouds is not a statement concerning clouds.” This is repeated for every question that has been asked and the section simply ends with, “These are the one hundred and eight statements recounted by the Buddhas of the …show more content…
Many find that the beads are very helpful in focusing on a single point. The practitioner moves through the beads while reciting their mantras. This allows the individual to use something phyiscal to keep count while the practitioner is reciting internally. The mala is constructed of one hundred and eight beads which the practitioner must count through in order to finish their mantra. The mala string should be composed of three, five or nine threads, symbolizing the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), the five Celestial Buddhas and their wisdoms, or Buddha Vajradhara and eight Bodhisattvas. In Vajrayana Buddhism specifically, the mala is used when performing a prostration. Prostrations are often performed before meditations and teachings, and seen as a means of purifying ones body, speech and mind from Karmic defilements. These prostrations are done up to one hundred and eight times and the mala is used to help keep the practitioner focused on his