Prayer Wheel - A spiritual blessing

Prayer is spiritual communication between a person and a god as prayer is said to be a universal human activity. The purpose of Buddhist Prayers is to awaken our inner capacities of strength, courage, wisdom rather than to petition external forces. As a Buddhist we believe that nothing is fixed or permanent and that change is always possible. The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom. As one can discover wonderful Monasteries, Stupas or a Buddhist place of worship, Prayer flags and Prayer wheels heading out to the Himalayan locale (Nepal, India) which represents Buddhist culture and custom in the Himalayan area (Nepal, India). Many of us have also noticed that old aged Buddhist people carrying a hand held prayer wheel spinning and chanting mantra and walking towards the Monasteries in morning and evening time to pray to invoke good karma in their next life. It is also believed to be a part of meditation practice. So today let me share some information to my companions about the Prayer wheel and its significance.

Prayer Wheel:

Likewise many of us have visited Monasteries while travelling to the Himalayan region (India, Nepal) and have noticed or seen Prayer wheels beautifully embossed or mounted on a rod handle or axis made of wood or a precious metal containing a tightly wound scroll inscribed with a mantra and also a small hand held size Prayer wheel which signifies the ancient Buddhist Tradition. A Prayer wheel is a hollow cylindrical wheel made from metal, wood, or stone and on the wheel are written or encapsulated prayers or mantras. The inner and outer portion of the cylinder is inscribed by a sacred mantra Om Mani Padme Hum in an ancient Indian script or in Tibetan script. The mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is the most ubiquitous mantra and the most popular form of religious practice. Prayer wheels are also well-known as Mani wheels within the Tibetan language. It is believed in Buddhism that when a worshipper spins or turns the prayer wheel it will purify the negativities and will accumulate good karma and wisdom. It is also said that simply touching the prayer wheel and uttering the mantras brings great purification of negative karmas and obscurations. The Worshippers most often spins the wheel clockwise, as the direction in which the mantras are written is that of the movement of the sun across the sky. It is believed that turning the prayer wheel with millions of mantras inside is the equivalent of saying those millions of mantras, so turning it one time is the same as having recited that many mantras.

Om Mani Padme Hum

It is the six-syllable mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It is also one of the most powerful mantra in Buddhism, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. It is said that each of the six syllable mantra have its great meaning and significance in life. As Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche has beautifully described the true meaning of this six syllable in his book “Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones”

The first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics,

Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience.

Pä, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance,

Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration,

The final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.

"So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by all the Buddha’s of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"

Sources: “Om Mani Padme Hum.” Wikipedia.

Types of Prayer Wheels:

• Mani wheel (a hand prayer wheel)

• Water wheels (turned by flowing water)

• Fire wheel (turned by the heat of a candle or electric light)

• Wind wheel ( a type of prayer wheel is turned by wind)

• Stationary prayer wheels

• Electric dharma wheels(powered by electric motors)

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. -Buddha