According to legend, someone once asked an Indian elder why wooden fish were hanging in temples? The elder said it was used to gather the monks. The man asked, why was it carved into the shape of a fish? The elder failed to answer. This person was not willing to give up, and then went to ask Master Wu Bian, who replied: Fish never close their eyes all day and night, and all the monks always follow the example of fish, do not sleep day and night, concentrate on the Buddhist path, and will surely become a Buddha. But the fish lives in the water, and it is impossible to see it and think about it all the time, so the wood is made into the shape of a fish, and the mallet is always knocked on the body of the fish, in order to urge the monks and nuns. This story illustrates the role and significance of wooden fish.
Buddhist wooden fish
As one of the Buddhist instruments, the wooden fish is wooden, and the wood is fish-shaped, with hollows in the middle and a clasp.
There are usually two types: one is round, carved into the shape of fish scales, and rhythmically percussed during chanting to tune the syllables.
The other is the long wooden fish mentioned in the story, which is generally carved into the shape of a large fish, suspended in front of the library hall, and struck before the monks eat porridge and rice every day at the second hour of the morning and middle school, or used as a command to gather the monks.
The rosary, the Sanskrit word for pāsakamala, also known as "Buddha beads" and "counting beads", is a tool used by monks to count when chanting Buddhist trumpets or mantras. Usually incense wood is made into small round grains and runs through into bunches; It is also made of agate, jade, etc. As for the skeleton count beads of the sand monk who made a monster in the Quicksand River, it is really a sin in the eyes of Buddhists.
Buddhist rosary
The number of rosaries per string is specified, generally 14, 18, 21, 27, 36, 42, 54, 108, 1080. The rosary has different meanings depending on the particles. For example, 27 represents the 27 sages (27 disciples who became enlightened by listening directly to his teachings while the Buddha was alive); 54 represent fifty-four cultivators (attained practitioners); 108 represents one hundred and eight Venerables, or Yunren has one hundred and eight kinds of afflictions, or one hundred and eight kinds of Samadhi, etc.; 1080 indicates that there are one hundred and eight Venerables in each of the ten realms. Each rosary has a larger mother bead and the rest is a daughter bead. Usually 108 capsules are used, and 54 capsules are used.
Counting the rosary is to start counting from the mother bead, and chant the sutra while counting the beads. For example, recite the Amida Sutra, recite the phrase "Nan no Amitabha Buddha", and pluck a prayer bead in your hand. Taking 108 pills as an example, reciting 108 times and counting 1 circle, and after reciting 200,000 times (1851 circles), the body and mind are not chaotic, and the person who recites the sutra can go to the three heavens of the desire realm. If one completes 1 million recitations (9,260 circles), the person who recites the sutra can enter nirvana. No wonder many Buddhists work tirelessly to count the beads of prayers.