What do the prayer beads (Juzu) signify?

What do the prayer beads (Juzu) signify?

When Shakyamuni Buddha taught various doctrines in India about 3,000 

years ago, people did not use prayer beads. About 1,000 years ago in Japan, people chanted the name of the Buddha by counting with red beans. Juzu is patterned after the human body. The three tufts represent two hands and the head, The other tufts represent the two legs. The number of beads totals 108, signifying 108 kinds of Bon-no (worldly desires). The four pestle-shaped beads of Juzu represent the Four Bodhisattvas (Shi-Bosatsu) and is also indicative of complete happiness. The Juzu also can be used to count the number of Daimoku.

The significance of rubbing the prayer beads is to purify oneself in front of the Gohonzon.

From Lecture on Hoben & Juryo Chapters of the

Lotus Sutra by SGI President Ikeda

the-significance-of-prayer-beads

Prayer beads are held in the hands during the recitation of the sutra and the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.  A traditional accessory, prayer beads have 108 beads, which symbolically represent the number of earthly desires that common mortals have and which are purified through one’s Buddhist practice.   

When we use beads during gongyo, after twisting them into a figure eight, the end with the two strands, is placed over the third finger of the left hand.  The end with the three strands, over the third finger of the right.  They lie on the outside of the hands, which are placed together with palms and fingers touching each other.  Although traditional meaning has been assigned to the various parts of the prayer beads, they have no special power and are not an essential part of the Buddhist practice.