[Dr. Steven Zucker] We're in the McMullen Museum of Art, at a special
exhibition with objects from the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art.
And it contains this beautiful, fairly large handheld prayer wheel.
[Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] This specific example is quite impressive because it's
rather large for a handheld device. What you see in this prayer wheel is
the standard elements, which are the cylinder handle, and this little counterweight,
which helps the cylinder to spin around the axis. The cylinder is also
called reliquary, and the reason being is that inside are tightly bound
paper rolls filled with mantras. [Dr. Steven Zucker] Text that has
been written out by a scribe, very likely in a monastery.
[Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] And the texts are the mantras repeated multiple
times over and over again for the maximum accumulation of religious merit.
[Dr. Steven Zucker] And merit is crucial for Buddhist practice.
[Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] I call merit an investment in the future
life. Because during this life, we have the opportunity to accumulate as
much merit as possible so you can reap benefits in this life,
but most importantly in the next life. [Dr. Steven Zucker] And in
that way, move closer to the ultimate goal, which would be enlightenment.
[Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] Yes, enlightenment or awakening.
[Dr. Steven Zucker] That is, breaking the cycle of death and rebirth,
what is known in Buddhism as samsara. [Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] And
these two registers of mantras written in two different scripts are of the
same mantra, "Om mani padme hum," which directly relates to Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of compassion and a very popular deity in
Tibetan Buddhist culture. On the top register we see the mantras written
in the Lantsa or Ranjana script, and on the bottom they're written in Tibetan
script. And each syllable is in this little arch or mandorla, if you
will, which reflects the respect for the syllables themselves.
[Dr. Steven Zucker] And surrounding the mandorla and the text are these beautiful,
intricate floral decorations. A lot of care was taken in the production
of this object. [Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] And you can also see that
there are semi precious stones in this band that holds the cylinder together.
The top of the prayer wheel has a finial, which is shaped as
a lotus bud. And it also directly references Avalokiteshvara because Avalokiteshvara
is usually shown holding a lotus, and he's also part of the Lotus
Family of the Buddha Amitabha. The top of this cylinder is also decorated
with the wheel. [Dr. Steven Zucker] And the wheel is a very common
iconographic form in Buddhist art. [Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] This specific
wheel represents the Dharmachakra, or the wheel of the Buddha's teachings,
the dharma, and directly relates to the content of the cylinder,
which contains the mantras, which are the dharma.
[Dr. Steven Zucker] But there's even more. If we look at the bottom of this cylinder,
there's another circular form. [Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] And this form
is a crossed vajra. Vajra, sometimes translated as a thunderbolt scepter,
refers to the quality of being indestructible. The counterweight is actually
a very interesting invention. When you hold it, it really helps the wheel
to turn. [Dr. Steven Zucker] So the wheel that we're seeing here
in this case in the museum is divorced from its use.
And to really understand this object is to understand it within the hand
of a practitioner. [Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] What usually happens in
Tibetan culture is that people would go around sacred sites or stupas,
having in one hand a prayer wheel and another hand a string of
prayer beads. And they would recite mantras, counting them on their beads,
at the same time turning the wheel, and at the same time walking
around the sacred object and sacred site in a practice called circumambulation.
And all of these three actions of the speech through reciting mantras,
of the body through turning the wheel and walking around, and the right
intention are creating positive karma in body, speech, and mind. Tibetan
prayer wheels come in many shapes and sizes. In this case,
the action is powered by the hand. But prayer wheels can also be
activated by the elements: By wind, water, sometimes fire.
[Dr. Steven Zucker] So really, any technology can be used to turn these objects.
[Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] These days you can get a prayer wheel with
a solar panel and you can put it on a dashboard and it'll be
working, accumulating merit on your behalf. But you have to have a good
intention, of course. And there are also gigantic prayer wheels that are
filled with millions of mantras. And the way to turn it is only
through working together with other people.
[Dr. Steven Zucker] The origins of prayer wheels are not fully understood.
[Dr. Elena Pakhoutova] We don't really know definitively where the idea of prayer wheels
comes from. Consensus seems to be that having something revolving around
the axis that contains Buddhist text comes from the so called revolving
scripture depositories in Chinese monasteries. So when the person is walking
around a stupa or a temple, turning the prayer wheel and reciting mantras,
and also counting these mantras that they recite on their prayer beads,
they are committing these actions of body, speech, and mind to accumulate
good karma, increase their merit. Very often it's actually also a social
event, where some Tibetan women or families would do the same practice together.
They would go for a walk around a gompa or a temple,
and it's a social occasion, and it's also accumulation of merit at the
same time. Especially for people who have to work and provide for their
families and earn their livelihood, this is one of the best religious devices
to increase the amount of merit they can generate, I think.