The meaning of the number of Buddha beads
Each string of Buddha beads is decorated with a certain number of beads, and the specific number of various Buddha beads is different. The reason why the number is different is that the records of each Buddhist scripture are different.
The list is as follows:
number
Source
1080
King Kong Top Yoga rosary
108
The Book of Mumu Disease
The Book of Merit
King Kong Top Yoga rosary
The Dharani Sutra
Wenshu Yijing
54
The Book of Merit
King Kong Top Yoga rosary
The Dharani Sutra
Wenshu Yijing
42
The Dharani Sutra
27
Wenshu Yijing
21
The Book of Merit
King Kong Top Yoga rosary
Wenshu Yijing
18
The Dharani Sutra
14
Wenshu Yijing
The Book of Merit
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From the table listed above, we can see that the number of Buddha beads varies greatly in the classics, with a total of nine kinds. In fact, Buddha beads have different numbers because they have different meanings. According to the popular sayings, the different meanings are briefly described as follows:
(I) 108
is the most common number, which is to prove the one hundred and eight samadhi and eliminate 108 troubles, so that the body and mind can reach a state of silence. There are many different opinions about the content of eight troubles. Generally speaking, six have three kinds of suffering, happiness and sacrifice, which are combined into 18 kinds; and six kinds of good, evil and flat, combined into 18 kinds, with 36 kinds, and then matched with the past, present and future three generations, combined with 108 kinds of troubles, as the scripture says:
The Bodhisattvas asked: What is the cloud? Buddha's words: If you don't know that the heart is destroyed, there are yin and collections, and you don't know that they are idiots. It's the same. Knowledge is also the same. When you see the evil color in lust, you don't know that you don't know that there are yin and collections, and even touches are the same. Although there are no words of three generations, you know about a hundred and eight, you know that it is about a moment. And for the third time. ...Three thirty-six, so there are one hundred and eight.
(II) 180
indicates that there are 108 kinds of troubles in each of the ten worlds, and 180 kinds of troubles are synthesized. The "ten worlds" means the whole world of mystery and enlightenment, which can be divided into ten categories:
(1) Hell
(2) Hungry Ghost World
(3) Animal kingdom
(4) Shura world
(5) Human world
(6) Heaven
(7) Sound and Hearing World
(8) predestined
(9) Bodhisattva world
(10) Buddhist world
(III) 54
indicates the fifty-four positions in the process of Bodhisattva's practice, including ten letters, ten residences, ten lines, ten directions, ten places, and four good roots. It is described as follows:
Ten Letters:
(l) Confidence (2) Mind
(3) refined heart (4) wisdom
(5) center (6) do not retreat
(7) Protector's heart (8) Back to the heart
(9) Caution (10) Wish
Ten residences:
(l) Live for the first time, (2) live in the land,
(3) practice and live, (4) live in noble life,
(5) is convenient to live in, (6) live with the right heart,
（7） do not retreat, (8) live in innocence,
(9) The prince lives, (10) is enlightened.
Ten lines:
(1) Joy, (2) Rao Yi,
(3) good deeds, (4) endless deeds,
(5) Be away from disorder, (6) be good at the current situation,
(7) There is no line, (8) respect line,
(9) good deeds, (10) true deeds.
Ten directions:
(1) Save all sentient beings from each other,
(2) No bad return, (3) and all other Buddha's return,
(4) Return everywhere, (5) endless merits and virtues,
(6) Return to the good roots with equality,
（7） Follow the way to see all sentient beings back,
(8) like going back to each other, (9) without binding and freeing back,
(10) The boundless return of the legal world.
Ten places:
(l) happily, (2) away from the ground,
(3) Luminous Land, (4) Flame Land,
(5) difficult places, (6) present,
（7） travel far away, (8) unmoved,
(9) Good and wise land, (10) Dharma cloud land.
Four good roots:
Refers to the four levels of practice before seeing the Tao, the four meanings and the practice of sixteen elements to achieve the holy position without omission, including:
(l) warm position (2) top position (3) ninja position (4) the first place in the world.
(IV) 42
represents the forty-two levels of the Bodhisattva's practice process, that is, ten residences, ten elements, ten directions, ten places, etc. As mentioned above, I will not repeat it.
Equivalent consciousness: Equal consciousness, that is, it refers to those who are equal to Buddha in content, but slightly inferior to Buddha in actual practice. For more information, please refer to (Yao Qin) Jiu Moroshze's Prajna Paramita Sutra - Receiving Product.
Miajue: The Buddha's fruit of the perfection of the consciousness is obtained by the obscurity of the equal consciousness position.
(five) thirty-six
has no exact meaning, and is usually considered to be easy to carry, so 108 pieces are divided into 36 pieces. It contains small and large righteousness, so it is the same as 108.
(six) twenty-seven
indicates the twenty-seven sages of the practice of the four-way fruit, that is, the "eighteen learning" of the first four-way three fruits and the "nine no learning" of the fourth Arhat fruit.
Eighteen learning refers to: (1) those who follow the faith, (2) those who follow the law, (3) those who believe and understand, (4) those who see them, (5) those who testify, (6) those who testify, (6) those who have a family, (7) those who pre-flow, (9) those who pre-flow, (9) those who pre-flow, (l0) those who come, (l1) those who come and (12) those who do not return Those who do not return, (14) those who do not return, (15) those who are born, (16) those who have a practice, (17) those who do not, (18) those who are upper-class.
Nine learning refers to: (l) retreat, (2) think, (3) protect the law, (4) settle down, (5) Canda method, (6) do not move the law, (7) do not retreat, (8) wisdom liberation, (9) liberation.
(7) 21
means ten places, ten paramita, 21 places, Buddha fruit, "ten places" and "fifty-four" sections, "ten paramita" see the introduction of the "Buddha beads" paragraph, I will not repeat. And "Buddha fruit" refers to reaching the ultimate fruit level of becoming a Buddha.
(eight) eighteen
commonly known as "Eighteen Sons", in which the so-called "18" refers to the "18 worlds", that is, six roots, six dusts and six knowledge.
Six: (1) eye, (2) ear, (3) nose, (4) tongue, (5) body, (6) Italian,
six dust: (l) color dust, (2) sound dust (3) fragrant dust, (4) flavor dust, (5) touch dust (6) method dust
Six knowledge: l) eye knowledge, 2) ear knowledge, 3) nose knowledge, 4) tongue knowledge, 5) body knowledge, 6) consciousness.
(9) fourteen
indicates that Guanyin Bodhisattva has the same compassion as all sentient beings such as Shifang, San and Liu Dao, so that all sentient beings can obtain 14 fearless merits.
Fourteen Fearless:
1) It is fearless to bring all sentient beings back to their own nature and get relief.
2) Make all sentient beings rotate and see, and when they are in trouble, fire cannot be burned, which is fearless.
3) Make all sentient beings rotate and listen. Although they are drifted by the water, the water cannot drown, which is fearless.
4) It is fearless to bring all sentient beings into the kingdom of Rasha ghosts and destroy evil.
5) It is fearless to make six roots of all sentient beings recover, and when they are killed, and the knife section is broken.
6) Bodhisattva shines on the ten directions to protect all sentient beings from the medicine forks and the underworld.
7) To protect all sentient beings from false voices and dust is to be fearless.
8) It is fearless to make all sentient beings walk on a dangerous road and avoid being robbed by thieves.
9) Those who are multi-silver and do not have lust, which is fearless.
10) It is fearless to make those who aregrudgeless.
11) It is fearless to keep all dull and unkind people away from darkness.
12) It is fearless to make all sentient beings want a man and give birth to a man.
13) It is fearless for all sentient beings who want a woman to have a daughter.
14) The blessings obtained by those who hold the name of Guanyin are no different from the sand of the Ganges River.