BERKELEY BUDDHIST TEMPLE

… What? And Why Do We Do That?

What is the difference with the beads? Some people call them "nenju" and others call them "juzu." Are they the same? In some Buddhist traditions and other religious traditions, the "nenju" or "juzu" is used for counting how many times a person recites something. "Ju" means "bead" and "zu" means "counter". However, in our Shin tradition, since we do not use the "juzu" as an aid for meditation or chanting, we should refer to it as a "nen-ju" ~ nen (mindful/thinking) + ju (beads) = beads to keep us mindful of the Buddha. The traditional strand of the nenju will have 108 beads, but today, most lay members will carry an abbreviated version with fewer beads for easier carrying. The number of beads is insignificant, however, traditionally, the number of beads on the shorter strands have been in numbers evenly divisible into 108 (usually 54 or 27). Different denominations and traditions have different styles and tassels. When carrying the nenju in your hand, you should carry it in your left hand. If you're wearing a wrist-style nenju, you should also wear this on your left hand. Why should we wear or carry the nenju or wrist nenju on our left hand? In the Asian tradition almost every action and aspect of anything has a special meaning. If you look at the traditional Shin altar, the flowers are placed to the left and the candle is placed on the right side. The left side represents the world of samsara, the world we live in. The flowers as beautiful as they are on the altar are dying at that very moment (just as we are). The candle light represents the light of Buddha's wisdom (teaching). In the same manner,the left hand represents the world of samsara and the right hand represents the world of Amida Buddha. When we place our hands together in Gassho with the nenju beads surrounding our hands, our two hands (representing the world of samsara and the world of enlightenment) come together as one within the realm of Namo Amida Butsu. Therefore, the nenju (modified or in its original form with 108 beads representing the 108 egotistical desires of humans), should be worn on the left hand as a reminder of the world of samsara we all exist within. Of course, if a person has no left arm or hand or the hand or arm is broken and you can not carry anything, then it is perfectly acceptable to wear or carry the nenju on the right hand. more …

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