Prayer Beads
A rosary has 108 beads. It is used for counting mantras, chants or prayers. Buddhist rosaries are made from variety of materials, most commonly wood. Preferred woods are sandalwood or sacred wood from the bodhi tree. More expensive rosaries are made of precious and semi-precious stones. They can also be made of seeds and bones.
The 108 beads represent the 108 human passions that Chenrezig assumed when telling the beads. This number also ensures the worshipper repeats the sacred mantra at least 100 times, the extra beads allowing for any omissions made through absentmindedness in counting or for the loss or breakage of beads.
Before being knotted, the string is passed through a large central bead and two smaller beads. These three additional beads keep the rest in place and indicate the completion of a cycle of mantras. They also symbolize the Tree Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The hidden string that passes through all the beads symbolizes the penetrating power of the Buddhas.
Chenrezig is often depicted holding a lotus, a water sprinkler, and a rosary of 108 beads. Wrathful deities are sometimes shown holding rosaries made of skulls.