Meet Me in the Center, in the Soul of the World…
Contemplating the hidden good of the center, I thought of this familiar quote:
We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot
But it is the emptiness inside
That holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house
But it is the inner space
That makes it livable."
—Tao Te Ching
All Things revolve around or encompass a center. Atoms, cells, people, worlds, systems, galaxies. In my book The Directory of 33 Systems and Solutions for the New Culture I explain that I once asked my Teacher what would define an “ideal reason” on which to center an intentional community striving for the “best existence obtainable,” being that how one defines their best possible existence is so very subjective. The response was “Center it on Respite, for there is ever rest and refuge within the center of All Things.” A five pointed star was drawn, and the number 108 was placed in the center. I was assured that if I examined the star and the central number, I would better understand how the center is a point of “vibrant stillness,” rest, refuge, respite, et al… Here I quote from my book:
I know the number 108 as a number of compassion and refuge, so this made sense. For example, when studying the Chakra system one will find that there are 108 energy lines converging in the Heart Chakra. Any who practices mediation, chanting and breath-work will also be familiar with calm developed through work with the number 108.
In Dharma traditions it is the number of names for God. In Islam, it is the number of God‟s name.
In astronomy, it is recognized for its frequent appearances when comparing the distances and measurements of the Sun and Earth. For example, the diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun. There are also interesting astronomical correlations between Earth and the star Eta Draconis featuring 108. When Eta Draconis was the Pole Star, the cosmic revelation that is the 108 temples of Angkor Wat was constructed. The last temple, in which 108 is heavily featured, is the terrestrial counterpart of the star Eta Draconis, dedicated to those who are “suffering in the ocean of existence” so as to bestow on them “the ambrosia of remedies to win them immortality.”
In Astrology there are 9 planets moving through 12 constellations, which also happens to multiply to 108.
108 is a number of being immersed in or “deep within” sound, or is even a way of understanding sound itself. This may be best demonstrated by the Sanskrit alphabet which has 54 letters in both a Shiva and Shakti, male and female form, for a total of 108. These pairs are mystically associated to the 54 points of intersection on the healing Sri Yantra, symbolically charging it with “all sounds” and linking it to states of extreme peace and healing. In Tantra, a practice of conscious Union, the Sri Yantra is known as a “sonic mandala”. From the permutations of Sri Yantra and the equilateral pentagon (which always has interior angles of 108º) the proportional equation governing the relationship of the notes to the musical scales is derived.
108 is a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits. Harshad is a Sanskrit word meaning “bringing a great joy.”
It is also the extension of the first three Powers in math. 1x4x27=108. (1 to 1st power=1; 2 to 2nd power=4 (2×2); 3 to 3rd power=27 (3x3x3).) And shares various relationships to 666, a number of Union and the Sun:
Example: 6²+6²+6² = 108
