Monday, June 28, 2010

1 0 8

"Why 108?" my friend asked.

"108 is said to be an auspicious number in Hinduism and Buddhism," I replied.

We were in Tagaytay yesterday.  A friend who's been living in the US came home with her American husband so it was a good opportunity for us to reconnect and catch up.  I was wearing my Buddhist prayer beads and at some point, one of them asked how it is used.

"Just like how you use the rosary," I said.

It's suppose to help you remember how many times you've already chanted your mantra.

But why 108?  I googled for some answers and this site gave several reasons as to why there are 108 beads in the mala.

This is my favorite:

108
Some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.

Have to go and grab something to eat.  It's almost eleven o'clock in the morning and all I've had is a cup of coffee.

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