Handheld Prayer Wheel

[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.