№ 69. Sacred Number 108

In Vedic astrology, Navamsa means one-ninth part of a Zodiac Sign. … Moreover, the Lagna-rasi and the Lagna-lord should not form or occupy the 6th, the 8th or the 12th bhava in the Navamsa Chart nor the lords of the 6th, the 8th or the 12th of the Rasi Chart associate with the Navamsa Lagna or its lord.

Navamsa (astrology) – Wikipedia

Prayer Beads

108-beaded mala (Hinduism)
Tib. ཕྲེང་བ Wyl. phreng ba, “Trengwa” malas or rosaries (Tibetan Buddhist)
juzu ring of prayer beads ( Zen priests

malas, or garlands of prayer beads

The Shiva malas^[1], or rosaries, both Tantric and Tibetan^[2] are composed of 108 beads

Likewise, Zen priests wear juzu, a ring of prayer beads, around their wrists, which consists of 108 beads.

Stonehenge

Even the pre-historic monument Stonehenge is 108 feet in diameter.

Archectecture

[5] Lankavatara Sutra ancient teachings refer repeatedly to many temples with 108 steps.

Other Religious Traditions

The number 108 is considered sacred by the Dharmic Religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism.

The number 108 is considered sacred in many Eastern religions and traditions, such as Hinduism^[3], Buddhism, Jainism^[4], Sikhism and connected yoga and dharma based practices.

Hinduism

In Hindu tradition, the Mukhya Shivaganas (attendants of Shiva) are 108 in number…

…in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Lord Krishna in Vrindavan had 108 followers known as gopis

Hindu deities have 108 names, while in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, there are 108 gopis of Vrindavan.

Jainism

In Jainism, the total number of ways of Karma influx (Aasrav) [is 108]

Buddhism

…the words of the Buddha called in Tibetan the Kangyur (Wylie: Bka’-‘gyur) [are] in 108 volumes

The Lankavatara Sutra has a section where the Bodhisattva Mahamati asks Buddha 108 questions^[7] and another section where Buddha lists 108 statements of negation…

The Lankavatara Sutra^[5] has a section where the Bodhisattva Mahamati asks Buddha 108 questions.

—Wikipedia

Negative or Limiting Connotations in Religious Practices

In modern Gnosticism, through the teachings of Samael Aun Weor, it is believed that an individual has 108 chances, or lifetimes, to eliminate his egos and transcend the material world before “devolving” and having the egos forcefully removed in the infra-dimensions. In other words, each one of us carries the reminiscent memory cells of at least 108 previous incarnations, which constitutes the body of our incarnational selves. Inside of this mostly, the holographic template has stored the repository of the emotional and spiritual involvements that your Soul may have experienced and have retained the impression of, but that needed to be cleansed and integrated to continue the spiritual evolution.

[get this from Wikipedia for comparison]

The Buddhism tradition talks about the 108 earthly desires in mortals, 108 lies humans tell and 108 human delusions^[6].

In Tibetan Buddhism it is believed that there are 108 sins or 108 delusions of the mind: abuse, aggression, ambition, anger, arrogance, baseness, blasphemy calculation, callousness, capriciousness (unaccountable changes of mood or behavior) censoriousness (being severely critical of others), conceitedness, contempt, cruelty, cursing, debasement, deceit, deception, delusion, derision, desire for fame, dipsomania (alcoholism characterized by intermittent bouts of craving), discord, disrespect, disrespectfulness, dissatisfaction, dogmatism, dominance, eagerness for power, effrontery (insolent or impertinent behavior), egoism, enviousness, envy, excessiveness, faithlessness, falseness, furtiveness, gambling, garrulity (tediously talking about trivial matters), gluttony, greed, greed for money grudge, hardheartedness, hatred, haughtiness, high-handedness, hostility, humiliation, hurt, hypocrisy, ignorance, imperiousness (assuming power or authority without justification), imposture (pretending to be someone else in order to deceive), impudence, inattentiveness, indifference, ingratitude, insatiability, insidiousness, intolerance, intransigence (unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something), irresponsibility, jealousy, know-it-all, lack of comprehension, lecherousness, lying, malignancy, manipulation, masochism, mercilessness, negativity, obsession, obstinacy, obstinacy, oppression, ostentatious, pessimism, prejudice, presumption, pretense, pride, prodigality (spending money or using resources freely and recklessly), quarrelsomeness, rage, rapacity (being aggressively greedy or grasping), ridicule, sadism, sarcasm, seduction, self-denial, self-hatred, sexual lust, shamelessness, stinginess, stubbornness, torment, tyranny, unkindness, unruliness, unyielding, vanity, vindictiveness, violence, violent temper, voluptuousness, wrath.

Yoga

In Kriya Yoga, the maximum number of repetitions allowed to be practiced in one sitting is 108. Also, 108 Sun Salutations in yoga practice is often used to honor change, for example, the change of seasons, or at a time of tragedy to bring peace, respect, and understanding. It is said that if one can be so calm in meditation practicing pranayama to have only 108 breaths a day that enlightenment will come.

Martial arts

Many East Asian martial arts trace their roots back to Buddhism, specifically, to the Buddhist Shaolin Temple. Because of their ties to Buddhism, 108 has become an important symbolic number in a number of martial arts styles.

In several schools of martial arts the body has 108 pressure points

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_(number)#Martial_arts

Energy Points^[7]

There are said to be 108 energy lines, or nadis, converging to form the heart chakra. Marma points are like Chakras, or intersection of energy, with fewer converging energy lines. On Sri Yantra, the Marmas have 54 intersecting energy lines where three lines intersect. Each has feminine, or shakti, and masculine, or Shiva, qualities. 54 X 2 = 108. Therefore there are 108 points that define the human body and the Sri Yantra or the Yantra of Creation. The same rule is observed in the Sanskrit language, with its 54 letters, both representing the two genders and they are also called Shiva and Shakti respectively; again, 54 X 2= 108.

According to Chinese and Indian Martial Arts: Marma Adi and Ayurveda, there are 108 pressure points in a human body.

According to yogic tradition, there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.

In literature

In Homer‘s Odyssey, the number of suitors coveting Penelope, wife of Odysseus.

In science Earth-Moon-Sun distances

The distance of Earth from the Sun is about 108 times the diameter of the Sun (actually closer to 107.51, as per definition of the AU). Actual ratio varies between 105.7 (Perihelion) and 109.3 (Aphelion).

The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters.

An official Major League Baseball baseball has 108 stitches.^[15]

India

In India, 108 (1-0-8) is the toll-free emergency telephone number.
According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India.
Indian traditions have 108 dance forms.

Japan

In Japan, at the end of the year, a bell is chimed 108 times in Buddhist temples to finish the old year and welcome the new one.Each ring represents one of 108 earthly temptations a person must overcome to achieve nirvana.

In Japan, at the end of the year, a bell is chimed 108 times in Buddhist temples to finish the old year and welcome the new one.

Mathematics

108 is a Harshad Number, an integer divisible by the sum of its digits. Harshad in Sanskrit means “joy-giver.”

An Apocalyptic Synthesis

"The Time for Thinkers has Come" —Mary Baker Eddy