37 and Buddhism

by Rob - 4/06/13 8:29 PM

Buddhism is what brought me here. There's something called the 37 Factors of Enlightenment (if you google that you'll see a wiki page for it too.) and I found something that adds to why the Buddha might have used the number. This is from a book (also online) called The Wings To Awakening :

"Another hypothesis — not necessarily at odds with the first — is that the Buddha wanted the number of factors to total 37 because the number had symbolic meaning. In ancient times, before the development of the decimal system, multiplication tables were arranged in hexagonal patterns. The complete table used to calculate the ratios used in tuning musical instruments to reciprocal scales — scales that played the same notes going up as going down — had one member in the middle surrounded by three hexagonal rings containing, in ascending order, six, twelve, and eighteen members, giving a total of 37 members. (See the diagram on the back cover of this book.) The table of whole-number ratios that formed the basis for trigonometry, and thus for the study of astronomy, contained 37 members. Thus the number 37 carried connotations of basic completeness. This principle is at work in Plato's Laws, where the ideal city has 37 guardians, and it may also be at work here."

Hope this helps one or more of you!

By the way, the 111: 1+1+1=3 and 3 x 37 = 111, 222: 2+2+2=6 and 6 x 37 = 222, etc, is fascinating, thanks!

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