The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five joyful, five luminus, five sorrowful and five glorious mysteries. Praying the Rosary is a type of contemplation.
I agree with you about the rosary in the sense that it is marking events in the life of Jesus Christ and Mary. However, a buddhist is saying a mantra with the beads. The mantra has as meaning to the buddhist and is also contemplation exercise.