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Prayer wheels are used by Tibetan Buddhists
to purify themselves and the entire world of its accumulated
negative karma. Inside each prayer wheel is a paper or some
other medium (such as microfilm) on which a mantra has been
inscribed many times over. Typically the mantra is OM MANI
PADME HUM, which Tibetans pronounce: Om Mani Pémé
Hung. In English this means "the jewel in the lotus of
the heart"; it is a reference to the hidden spark of
divinity within each of us. The mantra of compassion - avalokiteshvara
The six syllables of the mantra
are said to purify the six negative emotions: pride, jealousy,
desire, ignorance, greed, and anger, while simultaneously
engendering the six qualities of the enlightened heart: generosity,
harmonious conduct, endurance, enthusiasm, concentration,
and insight.
If the mantra is inscribed
once and placed into a prayer wheel, each rotation of the
prayer wheel accumulates the same merit as saying the mantra
once. Similarly, a prayer wheel containing 100 million instances
of the mantra yields the same purification power per rotation
as saying the mantra 100 million times. The largest of the
prayer wheels are constructed on a scale of twenty feet. They
are usually situated in or near temples and are spun by passersby,
either by pushing the side of the wheel or turning a crank.
Prayer wheels of this size contain the entire Tibetan canon.
Another large scale variety of prayer wheels are placed in
streams and on building tops, using water and wind power to
release the prayers and accrue merit. On a more practical
scale are prayer wheels spun by the steam from butter lamps
and stoves, or even smaller, wheels designed to be spun with
two fingers on a tabletop.
May
Peace Prevail On Earth
 
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