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Om Mane Padme Hum of Prayer Wheels

When you are in Nepal, you will find many Buddhist monasteries, Stupas and Temples where several cylindrical spindles are on the perimeter of the Stupas or a huge cylinder in a high room. Do you ever wonder what those are? They are called Mane, Mani, or Prayer Wheels in English. It is a symbolic Buddhist device. People with Buddhist beliefs use this device to pray and to meditate. There are also handheld versions of these Prayer Wheels which are used by people from Himalayan regions and Tibet. There is something enchanting about these wheels that brings peace and pleasure. People love to go around the Stupas and feel the circular motion walking around several times.

Prayer Wheels, sometimes referred to as the Buddhist wheel is a hollow cylinder made of brass and copper with paper scrolls inside. The paper scrolls are printed with up to 23,000 of sacred mantras. This means that each cylinder contains up to 32,200,000 printed mantras! The paper scrolls are usually dusted with saffron blessed by Buddhist Monks. The blessed scrolls are then wrapped tightly and inserted into the cylinder. The cylinder also has Om mani padme hum written on it. There are mainly two kinds of Prayer Wheels. Large Mani Wheels around Stupas built on walls are designed for people to spin using their hands while walking around the Stupas. There is also a hand held prayer wheel which has a cylinder sitting on a wooden stick. Buddhist hold the prayer wheel upright and spin smoothly with the help of a chain attached with a metal ball at the end.

According to Buddhist beliefs, rotating the prayer wheels allows the mantra to be released thousands of times. They also recite the Mantra simultaneously to help them concentrate in praying. Praying has the benefit of meditation while removing bad karma or energy leading it to remove obstacles to enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. The rotation must be in clockwise direction because of the direction of the mantra written on the paper and on the cylinder.

Om mani padme hum is the most sacred mantra of all. The first word Hum or Om is also a sacred syllable found in Hinduism.

The word “Mani” signifies a jewel or bead, Padme is the lotus flower (the Buddhist sacred flower), and Hum represents the spirit of enlightenment. Together these six syllables make the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum”.

Prayer wheels are used by Buddhist disciples and majority of the Tibetans everyday. Many worshipers turn the prayer wheels throughout the days for hours. So what is the importance of turning the wheels for hours? The mantras in the wheels and verbalized by worshipers help accumulate goodness to all beings in the world and to cleanse their karma. The rhythmic motion also helps the user to meditate. Buddhist believe the thousands of mantras in the prayer wheels help purify the air and the surrounding with its blessing. 

Do you want to try and help build good Karma? You can find Tibetan Prayer Wheels like stated above and many more on our platform.. We ship anywhere within the USA. Your support and business will help us bring awareness of Buddhist and Hindu culture of Nepal to the rest of the world .

 

This article is sponsored by www.foomantra.com.

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