The Tibetan Prayer Wheel
History of the Prayer Wheel:
Prayer Wheels are tools or devices designed to spread Spiritual Blessings and evoke general well being. A typical prayer wheel
of old consisted of rolls of thin paper imprinted with multiple copies of the Tibetan Mantras and Prayers The printing was in
ancient Indian or Tibetan script. These rolls of paper were wound around an axle then placed in a protective container, and
spun. Tibetan Buddhists believe saying the Mantra out loud or silently invokes the blessings of the Mantra. Spinning the written
form of the mantra in a prayer wheel has the same effect.
The Prayer Wheel plays a very important role in Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Brought to our world by one of the most renowned
historical Buddhist teachers, Nagarjuna, the prayer wheel has been used for over a thousand years by the great Yogis of Tibet,
including Marpa and Milarepa, as well as Tibetan people from all various walks of life. The practice of turning the Prayer
Wheel, or even wearing or having in one’s home, is said to be of immeasurable benefit for oneself and others. Buddhist
teachers and the ancient texts expound the profound benefits of the Prayer Wheel for its ability to quickly harmonize the
environment, increase compassion, encourage a peaceful state of mind, and assist practitioners on their journeys to
enlightenment.
We can readily see Prayer Wheels when entering most Tibetan Monasteries and Communities. Often time prayer wheels are
placed in areas where the wind itself can turn the wheel, thereby bringing blessings to the owner of the Prayer Wheel and their
families even while they are away or sleeping.
Prayer Wheels are tools or devices designed to spread Spiritual Blessings and evoke general well being. A typical prayer wheel
of old consisted of rolls of thin paper imprinted with multiple copies of the Tibetan Mantras and Prayers The printing was in
ancient Indian or Tibetan script. These rolls of paper were wound around an axle then placed in a protective container, and
spun. Tibetan Buddhists believe saying the Mantra out loud or silently invokes the blessings of the Mantra. Spinning the written
form of the mantra in a prayer wheel has the same effect.
The Prayer Wheel plays a very important role in Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Brought to our world by one of the most renowned
historical Buddhist teachers, Nagarjuna, the prayer wheel has been used for over a thousand years by the great Yogis of Tibet,
including Marpa and Milarepa, as well as Tibetan people from all various walks of life. The practice of turning the Prayer
Wheel, or even wearing or having in one’s home, is said to be of immeasurable benefit for oneself and others. Buddhist
teachers and the ancient texts expound the profound benefits of the Prayer Wheel for its ability to quickly harmonize the
environment, increase compassion, encourage a peaceful state of mind, and assist practitioners on their journeys to
enlightenment.
We can readily see Prayer Wheels when entering most Tibetan Monasteries and Communities. Often time prayer wheels are
placed in areas where the wind itself can turn the wheel, thereby bringing blessings to the owner of the Prayer Wheel and their
families even while they are away or sleeping.
This particular Prayer Wheel is said to contain over 1,000,000 Om Mani
Padmi Hum Mantras. Thus the person turning this particular Prayer
Wheel is blessed with 1,000,000 Om Mani Padmi Hums each time they
turn the wheel.
Many people make special yearly pilgrimages to locations such as this
one and The Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Arthur has been to the Kopan
Monastery and folks claimed they could feel the benefits of having him
turn the Prayer Wheel there for them.
Padmi Hum Mantras. Thus the person turning this particular Prayer
Wheel is blessed with 1,000,000 Om Mani Padmi Hums each time they
turn the wheel.
Many people make special yearly pilgrimages to locations such as this
one and The Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Arthur has been to the Kopan
Monastery and folks claimed they could feel the benefits of having him
turn the Prayer Wheel there for them.
In 1987, when I was at Chenrezig Institute in Australia, I noticed that the place had become incredibly peaceful. It felt so
serene that you wanted to be there, to live there. Chenrezig Institute had not been like that before, and I wondered why it had
changed. At that time, Geshe Lama Konchog was there. Geshe-la has done a lot of Dharma practice. After he escaped from
Tibet, he spent many years in retreat in Milarepa's caves in the Himalayas. He did 2000 Nyung-nays, the intensive two-day
retreat on the Compassion Buddha, that involves taking the eight Mahayana Precepts and doing many prostrations and
mantras. Geshe Lama Konchog has trained his mind well in the path, so I thought that the serenity of Chenrezig Institute
might be due to his Bodhicitta. However, one day near the end of my stay there, the thought came into my mind, "Oh, the
change might be due to the prayer wheel -- it wasn't there before." The prayer wheel is much smaller than the one here at
Land of Medicine Buddha, but it also contains many mantras on microfilm and is very nicely made.
Some time later, when I was in Brazil at the invitation of a meditation center there, a student gave me a book written by one of
Tarthang Tulku's senior disciples about his experiences when he was in charge of building stupas and prayer wheels in
Tarthang Tulku's centers. In one section he mentioned that after a prayer wheel was built, the area was completely
transformed, becoming so peaceful, pleasant, and conducive to the mind. This confirmed my belief, based on my own
reasoning, that Chenrezig Institute had become so peaceful because of its new prayer wheel. Learning about somebody else
experiencing a similar effect from building a prayer wheel helped to stabilize my faith.
serene that you wanted to be there, to live there. Chenrezig Institute had not been like that before, and I wondered why it had
changed. At that time, Geshe Lama Konchog was there. Geshe-la has done a lot of Dharma practice. After he escaped from
Tibet, he spent many years in retreat in Milarepa's caves in the Himalayas. He did 2000 Nyung-nays, the intensive two-day
retreat on the Compassion Buddha, that involves taking the eight Mahayana Precepts and doing many prostrations and
mantras. Geshe Lama Konchog has trained his mind well in the path, so I thought that the serenity of Chenrezig Institute
might be due to his Bodhicitta. However, one day near the end of my stay there, the thought came into my mind, "Oh, the
change might be due to the prayer wheel -- it wasn't there before." The prayer wheel is much smaller than the one here at
Land of Medicine Buddha, but it also contains many mantras on microfilm and is very nicely made.
Some time later, when I was in Brazil at the invitation of a meditation center there, a student gave me a book written by one of
Tarthang Tulku's senior disciples about his experiences when he was in charge of building stupas and prayer wheels in
Tarthang Tulku's centers. In one section he mentioned that after a prayer wheel was built, the area was completely
transformed, becoming so peaceful, pleasant, and conducive to the mind. This confirmed my belief, based on my own
reasoning, that Chenrezig Institute had become so peaceful because of its new prayer wheel. Learning about somebody else
experiencing a similar effect from building a prayer wheel helped to stabilize my faith.
In Solu Kumbu all the old men and women turn prayer wheels every day. When they are at home in the morning and in the
evening before they go to bed, they hold a Mala in their left hand, a prayer wheel in their right, and recite OM MANI PADME
HUNG. And when they walk around, they constantly turn the prayer wheel and recite OM MANI PADME HUNG.
I often used to think, "How does turning of the prayer wheel become Dharma practice?" I had this question in my mind, simply
because I was ignorant as to the benefits of the practice. I didn't know what an important practice it is and how beneficial it is
in terms of purification. Just touching and turning a prayer wheel brings incredible purification and accumulates unbelievable
merit.
At Lawudo I found many old manuscripts, handwritten texts by the Lawudo Lama. The previous Lawudo Lama was called
Lama (Kunsang) Yeshe and some people think he has something to do with my life. The Lawudo Lama did not have a
monastery, but lived in retreat in a cave. He put a lot of effort into copying texts of the practices of various Vajrayana deities.
At that time such texts were very rare, so he wrote many out by hand. Because they had been stored in the cave which was
very humid, the texts were damp, and I used to dry them in the sun. If you don't dry them, the texts grow fungus and are then
destroyed by worms. The worms reincarnate among the texts and make some interesting holes in them.
One day when I was laying the texts out in the sun, I saw one old text with the title "Mani Kabum." It contains all the history
of the evolution of the world, including how Dharma came into this world and how the sentient beings of Tibet, the Snow
Land, became the particular objects to be subdued by the Compassion Buddha Avalokiteshvara. Amitabha and the Compassion
Buddha are the same in essence and are very strongly linked. And for more than twenty years, the Compassion Buddha and
Amitabha have guided not only Tibet and China, but also Western countries, especially by spreading Dharma.
In Mani Kabum I saw a short explanation of the lineage of the prayer wheel practice and a few lines on how to visualize and
meditate when you do the practice. In Tibet, and generally wherever there are the Mahayana teachings of Vajrayana, the
practice of the prayer wheel has spread. Nagarjuna gave the practice to Lion-faced Dakini, who gave it to Padmasambhava,
who then brought it to Tibet. After reading this, I developed faith that the practice was not nonsense, but had valid references
and was valuable and meaningful. From this text, I got some idea of how powerful the prayer wheel practice is in purifying the
mind and in accumulating extensive merits.
evening before they go to bed, they hold a Mala in their left hand, a prayer wheel in their right, and recite OM MANI PADME
HUNG. And when they walk around, they constantly turn the prayer wheel and recite OM MANI PADME HUNG.
I often used to think, "How does turning of the prayer wheel become Dharma practice?" I had this question in my mind, simply
because I was ignorant as to the benefits of the practice. I didn't know what an important practice it is and how beneficial it is
in terms of purification. Just touching and turning a prayer wheel brings incredible purification and accumulates unbelievable
merit.
At Lawudo I found many old manuscripts, handwritten texts by the Lawudo Lama. The previous Lawudo Lama was called
Lama (Kunsang) Yeshe and some people think he has something to do with my life. The Lawudo Lama did not have a
monastery, but lived in retreat in a cave. He put a lot of effort into copying texts of the practices of various Vajrayana deities.
At that time such texts were very rare, so he wrote many out by hand. Because they had been stored in the cave which was
very humid, the texts were damp, and I used to dry them in the sun. If you don't dry them, the texts grow fungus and are then
destroyed by worms. The worms reincarnate among the texts and make some interesting holes in them.
One day when I was laying the texts out in the sun, I saw one old text with the title "Mani Kabum." It contains all the history
of the evolution of the world, including how Dharma came into this world and how the sentient beings of Tibet, the Snow
Land, became the particular objects to be subdued by the Compassion Buddha Avalokiteshvara. Amitabha and the Compassion
Buddha are the same in essence and are very strongly linked. And for more than twenty years, the Compassion Buddha and
Amitabha have guided not only Tibet and China, but also Western countries, especially by spreading Dharma.
In Mani Kabum I saw a short explanation of the lineage of the prayer wheel practice and a few lines on how to visualize and
meditate when you do the practice. In Tibet, and generally wherever there are the Mahayana teachings of Vajrayana, the
practice of the prayer wheel has spread. Nagarjuna gave the practice to Lion-faced Dakini, who gave it to Padmasambhava,
who then brought it to Tibet. After reading this, I developed faith that the practice was not nonsense, but had valid references
and was valuable and meaningful. From this text, I got some idea of how powerful the prayer wheel practice is in purifying the
mind and in accumulating extensive merits.
| Advice on the Benefits of Prayer Wheels By Lama Zopa |
Enter the 21st Century. The Digital Prayer Wheel
Simply Cut and Paste the Image on Right and You'll Have a Digital
Medicine Wheel of your own!!!!!
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has said that having the mantra on your computer works the same as a
traditional Prayer Wheel. As the digital image spins around on your hard drive, it sends the peaceful
prayer of compassion to all directions and purifies the area.
Simply Cut and Paste the Image on Right and You'll Have a Digital
Medicine Wheel of your own!!!!!
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has said that having the mantra on your computer works the same as a
traditional Prayer Wheel. As the digital image spins around on your hard drive, it sends the peaceful
prayer of compassion to all directions and purifies the area.
We are of Energy
The theory has long been held that we are all creatures of energy, created from energy, consisting of energy, and thus both
exuding and absorbing energy. It is further theorized that given we are all constructed from energy; our energy signature may
be imparted to visual representations of our physical being. Visual representations such as photographs, video and audio
recordings are thought to contain a vibrational fingerprint, a carbon copy of the energy patterns that make up our existence. It
naturally follows that harmony introduced to the carbon copy would mean harmony also being introduced to the owner of the
energy pattern, namely, the participant. Just as magnetic impulses are imparted to the strip on the back of your credit card
causing that card to be personalized to you, it is believed that energy can be applied to your proxy, and you reap the benefits.
"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy.
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
HH The 14th Dali Lama
The theory has long been held that we are all creatures of energy, created from energy, consisting of energy, and thus both
exuding and absorbing energy. It is further theorized that given we are all constructed from energy; our energy signature may
be imparted to visual representations of our physical being. Visual representations such as photographs, video and audio
recordings are thought to contain a vibrational fingerprint, a carbon copy of the energy patterns that make up our existence. It
naturally follows that harmony introduced to the carbon copy would mean harmony also being introduced to the owner of the
energy pattern, namely, the participant. Just as magnetic impulses are imparted to the strip on the back of your credit card
causing that card to be personalized to you, it is believed that energy can be applied to your proxy, and you reap the benefits.
"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy.
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
HH The 14th Dali Lama
Enter the 21st Century. The Digital Prayer Wheel
Simply Cut and Paste the Image on Right and You'll Have a Digital
Prayer Wheel of your own!!!!!
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has said that having the mantra on your computer works the same as a
traditional Prayer Wheel. As the digital image spins around on your hard drive, it sends the peaceful
prayer of compassion to all directions and purifies the area.
Simply Cut and Paste the Image on Right and You'll Have a Digital
Prayer Wheel of your own!!!!!
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has said that having the mantra on your computer works the same as a
traditional Prayer Wheel. As the digital image spins around on your hard drive, it sends the peaceful
prayer of compassion to all directions and purifies the area.
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