160 BULLETIN 148, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



265. Two inscribed yarchment scrolls for the prayer wheel. — Tibet. 

 (Cat. Nos. 331754-331755, U.S.N.M.) Gift of Rev. David C. 

 Graham. 



ROSARIES 



The rosary, like the prayer wheel, is especially peculiar to the 

 northern, or Mahayana, school of Buddhism, with its belief in the 

 merit and efficacy of meditation and in the potency of repeating 

 mystic spells and formulas. The Buddhist full rosary is composed 

 of 108 beads, and this number is given a symbolic signification. The 

 number 108 is said to correspond to a like number of mental condi- 

 tions, or sinful inclinations, which are to be overcome by the recita- 

 tion of the beads. The number 108 generally plays a great part in 

 the tradition and philosophy of Buddhism: 108 Brahmans were 

 summoned at Gautama's birth to foretell his destiny. The Burmese 

 footprints of Buddha have sometimes 108 divisions. The Ka-gyur, 

 the Tibetan canon of scriptures is composed of 108 volumes, and the 

 white pagoda at Peking is surrounded by 108 columns. In Japan, 

 on the festival of the dead (bommatsuri or honku), which is celebrated 

 from the 13th to the 15th of July, 108 welcome fires {mukaeli) are 

 lighted along the shores of the sea of lake or river by which a city or 

 village is situated. 



The full rosary of 108 beads is usually divided by three beads of a 

 different size or material into four groups of 27 beads each. The 

 two ends of the string before being knotted are passed through three 

 extra beads, called "retaining beads," or "union holders," as they 

 keep the proper rosary beads in position and indicate the completion 

 of a cycle. They symbolize the Buddhist triad — the Buddha, the 

 doctrine (dharma), and the community (sangha). Attached to the 

 main string are two small pendant strings, having each 10 smaller 

 beads. These pendants are used as counters to keep count of the 

 number of times the rosary is said. A bead of one pendant string is 

 slid down on completion of a single recital of the rosary, while the 

 beads of the second note each 10 repetitions. They thus serve to 

 register the utterance of 108 multiplied by 10 multiplied by 10, 

 equaling 10,800 prayers or formulas. Sometimes there are two 

 additional pendants. 



Alongside of the full rosary of 108 beads, employed by the monks, 

 there are in vogue rosaries of 18 and 16 beads, representing, respec- 

 tively, the 18 lohans or chief disciples of Buddha counted by the Chi- 

 nese, and the 16 rohns of the Japanese. The common people, more- 

 over, use indifferently rosaries with various numbers of beads. 



The material of the Buddhist rosaries varies according to the 

 taste, wealth, and rank of the owner. The commonest are made of 

 seeds, wood, pebbles, shells, glass, or bone; the more costly of jade, 

 turquois, coral, amber, silver, and gold, and even of pearls and other 



