What’s the significance of 108?!
For nearly a decade I’ve been wearing a mala around my wrist as a reminder of the contemplative sacredness of (my) life. At one one point, early on, I was curious why there were 108 beads. What I discovered surprised me, as 108 appears in different cultures and traditions around the world, going back centuries.
As some historical context as to the meaningfulness of 108… here’s some of what I found:
Certain cosmologies define the number 108 as the basis of all creation. In this context, the number ‘1’ represents Divine Consciousness; God; higher truth; and the self… ‘0’ indicates the clear light of the void from which everything arises and returns... with ‘8’ representing the infinite, eternal nature of creation.
It’s said we take about 108,000 breaths every day.
A traditional mala is strung with 108 prayer beads.
Mantras are typically recited 108 times.
In Buddhism, it is among the tenets that there are 108 types of defilements, as well as 108 temptations the road to nirvana.
In Buddhism, there are said to be 108 Earthly desires, 108 lies, and 108 delusions of the mind.
In Buddhism, it is said there are six type of senses: hear, smell, taste, touch, sight, and consciousness. These senses can be divided on the basis of the three feelings they give, i.e. pleasant, painful or neutral. These can, once again, be divided into two on the basis of origin, i.e. whether they are internally or externally generated. Which can be divided, yet again, based on whether they are of past, present, or future. Putting all these together you get 6 (senses) x 3 (feelings) x 2 (origins) x 3 (time) = 108.
Japanese Buddhist ring the bell 108 times to usher in a new year.
Both Buddhism and Hinduism believe that there are 108 different types of feelings, i.e. 36 revolving around the past, 36 around the present, and 36 around the future.
In Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, there are 108 virtues to cultivate and 108 defilements to avoid, which speaks to the value of balance.
The holy writings in Tibet are divided into 108 sacred books.
Most Buddhist temples usually have 108 steps and 108 columns.
There are said to be 108 styles of meditation.
It is believed that if an individual can be so calm as to only breathe 108 times in one day, enlightenment will be achieved.
In the Hindu tradition, there are 108 attendants of Shiva.
Both Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva have 108 names each.
According to Ayurveda, there are 108 marma points in the body (vital points of life energies considered to be sacred places).
The chakras are the intersections of subtle nerve channels or nadiis, and there are said to be a total of 108 nadiis converging to form the heart chakra.
According to yogic tradition, there are 108 sacred sites, known as pithas, throughout India.
There are 108 Upanishads (a collection of Indian religious and philosophical texts from as early as 800 BC).
There are 54 letters in Sanskrit, where each can be seen as either masculine (Shiva) or feminine (Shakti), i.e. 54 x 2 = 108.
As per Bhagvad Gita, there are 108 names of every God in Hindu culture.
Sun salutations are often performed in 9 rounds of 12 postures, i.e. 9 x 12 = 108 poses.
In Islam, the number 108 is used to refer to God.
In Jainism, there are 108 virtues one must acquire to achieve enlightenment.
There are 108 movements in Tai Chi.
In astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets, i.e. 12 x 9 = 108.
Pranayama (the yogic practice of controlling the breath) is often completed in cycles of 108.
There are 108 beads on a juzu (prayer beads) worn by Zen priests.
Indian traditions have 108 dance forms.
The inner angle of a pentagon is 108 degrees.
There are even 108 stitches on a baseball!