What is a Prayer Wheel?
Prayer wheels usually consist of cylinders containing rolls of thin paper, imprinted with many, many copies of the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum, the mantra of loving kindness and compassion of Chenrezig (Avaloketeshvara), the Bodhisattva of compassion. The paper is wound around an axle inside the cylinder, and the axle placed in a handle or a frame so the cylinder can be spun. Typically, larger decorative versions of the syllables of the mantra are also carved on the outside cover of the wheel.
"Turning a prayer wheel containing 100 million om mani padme hum mantras accumulates the same merit as having recited 100 million om mani padme hums. In that few seconds you perform so much purification and accumulate so much merit!"
--Lama Zopa Rinpoche
What is the origin of prayer wheels?
According to an old Tibetan Buddhist text (the Mani Kabum) the prayer wheel was brought to earth by beings (Dakinis) from a realm beyond earth and given to the great Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, who was told by Avaloketeshvara (the Pure Light Realm Bodhisattva of Compassion), in a vision, that benefits to living beings will be enormous. Nagarjuna then gave it to the Lion-Faced Dakini, who gave it to Padmasambhava, who brought it to Tibet.
The power and benefits of prayer wheels
"Use of the prayer wheel is one of the easiest ways to purify past negative karma, non-virtuous actions, defilements, and obstacles that prevent us from realizing our true self and understanding the true nature of reality."
--H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya
The Buddha said,
"One benefit [of the prayer wheel] is that the karma and disturbing thought obscurations that have been accumulated for beginning-less rebirths are purified without effort." --Wheel of Great Compassion by Lorn Ladner, p. 45.
Why These Wheels are different
Mani-Tech prayer wheels combine ancient Tantric technology with modern cyber technology in order to magnify the pervasive power and blessing benefits of these prayer wheels. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that generating mantras on the computer works the same as a traditional prayer wheel. Since a computer's hard disk spins hundreds of thousands of times per hour, and can contain many copies of mantra, any one can turn their computer into a prayer wheel.
Here we have put the versatile power of the prayer wheel and the computer together. Our modern prayer wheel contains sets of 24 powerful mantras, repeatedly duplicated up on DVDs for a total of over half a billion in each prayer wheel. That means with each spin of the wheel half a billion mantras are releasing unfathomable healing benefits for all beings, the environment, and every thing in any way connected with the environment. The mantras are carefully produced in Tibetan script, and then blessed and consecrated in sacred ceremony. *
Genuine Dharma Practice
- Working with prayer wheels is not a mindless passive activity. Various visualizations and contemplations can be done while working with spinning prayer wheels. For example:
- Send out your inspirational intention (thought of boddhicitta) with the aspiration for all beings to be released from dualistic confusion, ignorance, and delusion.
- Recite Om Mani Padme Hum and/or other mantras.
- Visualize beams of light, bright as the sun, radiating out from the prayer wheel in all directions, blessing all beings.
- Then Dedicate the merit of your prayer wheel practice for the benefit of all beings. The Buddha once said that un-dedicated merit was like a drop of water on a stone. It soon evaporates and disappears. Dedicated merit is like a drop of water in the ocean; it will persist as long as the ocean exists.
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Accessible cost
David Broman explains his inspiration to create these wheels:
"...At the beginning of my 3rd year of retreat in India, my friend Victor Gabriel told me about an incredible new prayer wheel, containing over a trillion mantras, that had been developed at the Sakya monastery in Seattle by the monastery's president Chuck Petis, under the guidance of his teacher, H. H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya, head Lama at the monastery. I already had the habit of hand turning the many prayer wheels around the Nyingma monastery, during my morning kora (circumnambulations) around Tso Pema. At first I simply wanted to purchase a few wheels from Seattle to place them in strategic places, an idea I had received from Tarthang Tulku back in the 80's, when he was building large electrically driven prayer wheels near the fault lines in California.
"I was disheartened to learn that the cost of the Seattle prayer wheels was about US$3000. Although they were beautiful, made in an appropriate sacred way, and could be used indoors or out, they were simply not affordable for me or anyone I knew. Hence my inspiration to develop a reliable, smaller version that was beautiful, electrically powered, and affordable enough that everyone could have them on their shrine, and in other places in their home and garden. I visualized seeing them in libraries and other public places where their blessings could benefit countless beings."
Choose a traditional hand-held or desktop electrical version
The desk top prayer wheels spin automatically on electricity. The hand held wheels are rotated clockwise by your own energy. Either method will set the energy of the mantras spinning with the combined power of your pure motivation and prayers to heal, help, and benefit all beings with qualitites of enlightened intention.
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Hand held Prayer Wheels: 200 million mantras on Mini DVD |
$ 139.00 + shipping |
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Electric Prayer Wheels: Over 1/2 billion mantras on full size DVD |
$ 295.00 + shipping |
How to order: send email to davidgbroman@rediffmail.com
* Mantras: 1. Ali/Kali 2. Vajra Sattva 100 syl. 3. Vajra Sattva short 4. Om ye Dharma... 5. Space Treasury 6. Mani 7. Guru Rinpoche 7 line 8. Guru Rinpoche short 9. Amitaba short 10 Amatayus long 11. Amatayus short 12. Dorje Drolo 13. Kilia 14. Yeshe Tsogyal 15. Tara 16. Lion Face Dakini 17. Yang Zab 3 roots 18. Tara 19. Medicine Buddha 20. Khandro Norla 21. Y.Z. Medicine Buddha 22. Y.Z. Wealth 23. Kuru Kulle 24. Krodi Kali
Optional: We can provide models with mantras of your choice.
** David Broman is a retired psychologist living and practicing the Buddha Dharma in North India.