http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol4no4c.htm
....The 6 roots, 6 external sense fields and 6 sense-consciousness,
in relation to the three periods, namely, the past, present and
future, and all the distresses associated with them; the distresses
of yesterday, today, tomorrow, last year, this year and next year;
result in a total of 54 distresses. Such distresses consist of both
the ideal and the real. For example, a person thinks of committing
a robbery. It only becomes real when the crime is committed. If we
wish to build a school then that is just an idea, it only becomes
real when it is erected. Therefore, all matters consist of both the
ideal and the real, thereby resulting in a total of 108 distresses.
Every single day human beings live within these 108 worries. If
people concentrate in reciting the name of the Buddha with a string
of chanting-beads, and without being distracted by the 18 realms of
senses (6 roots, 6 external sense fields and 6
sense-consciousness), these distresses will be transformed into
enlightenment. This is the principle of the 108 beads. The practice
of using chanting-beads continues to the present day.....
