prayer beads ［数珠］ ( juzu): A circular string of beads held in the hands during Buddhist prayer or worship or when counting the number of recitations of a Buddha’s name or Buddhist incantations such as dhāranī (mystic formulas). The basic number of beads is 108, which is said to represent the number of earthly desires humans possess. The origin of prayer beads in Buddhism is uncertain. In Southern Buddhism, there is no tradition of using prayer beads, but in countries such as Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan, they have long been used as an implement essential to Buddhist practice.