prayer wheels
Prayer wheels in the Swayambhunath Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal.
prayer wheel
Also known as: ’khor-lo, mani chos ’khor
prayer wheel, in Tibetan Buddhism, a mechanical device the use of which is equivalent to the recitation of a mantra (sacred syllable or verse). The prayer wheel consists of a hollow metal cylinder, often beautifully embossed, mounted on a rod handle and containing a tightly wound scroll printed with a mantra. Each turning of the wheel by hand is equivalent in efficacy to the prayer’s oral recitation multiplied by the number of times the mantra is printed on the scroll.
- Tibetan:
- mani chos ’khor
- Related Topics:
- thang-ka
Buddhist prayer wheelBuddhist prayer wheels at the base of the Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China.
Variants to the hand-held prayer wheel are large cylinders that can be attached to windmills or waterwheels and thus kept in continuous motion. The mantra on a prayer flag is similarly activated by the blowing of the wind.