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
the original six feelings, which include the feelings born of sense-impression from the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, combined with whether these feelings are painful, pleasant or neutral, multiplied by whether these feelings are internally generated, or if they are occurring externally from another source, and finally multiplied again by past, present, and future. According to Buddhist teachings, there are one hundred and eight earthly desires that cause suffering. These earthly desires must be conquered in order to achieve nirvana. These “defilements” range from cruelty, envy, vanity and greed, to inattentiveness, ambition, and haughtiness. There have been many practices created in different cultures to help over come these defilements. For example, in Japan, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s eve, temple bells across the country toll one hundred and eight times. By listening to the bell’s toll, one can dispel each desire one by one. The ritual is called Joya-no-Kane and is a purification rite that encourages a spiritual fresh start for the coming year. One of the major uses of the number is in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which is a sutra of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The sutra recounts a teaching between a bodhisattva named Mahāmati and the Buddha. One of the key parts of the sutra is in the second chapter where the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra states;
“At that time Mahāmati the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva praising the Blessed One with such verses as these, made his own name known to the Blessed One.
9. I am Mahāmati, Blessed One, and am well versed in the Mahāyāna. I wish to ask one hundred and eight questions of thee who art most eloquent.
10. Hearing his words the Buddha, the best knower of the world, looking over the whole assembly, spoke to the son of the Sugata thus:
11. Ask me, sons of the Victorious, and Mahāmati, you ask and I will instruct you in self-realisation.”

At this point, Mahāmati asks one hundred and eight questions.
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
past.” The mala is a collection of one hundred and eight beads used by Buddhists while repeatedly, either vocally or internally, reciting a mantra or the name or names of a deity. According to the article, "Myanmar Buddhist Prayer Beads, The Garland of Faith" "The purpose of the mala from the point of view of the Buddhist traditions is for counting of sacred mantra during a period of recitation. For example, one might recite,”Om”or “Arahan” for the young starter and a long prayer for serious practitioners. In Mahayana one might recite "Om Mani Padme Hum," or "Om Tare Tam Soha" and keep count of each mantra by moving your fingers over each bead. One should keep the prayer beads with respect and care so as to accrue the magical power depending of the long duration of use."

The mala is like an anchor, something physical to hold on to while repeating the mantras.
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
count.