prayer wheel

In Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, a prayer wheel is a cylinder on the outside of which is written a mantra (sacred utterance), very often the mantra “Om mani padme hum” (“ Om, the Jewel in the Lotus,” referring to Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion). Such wheels vary greatly in size, some small enough to fit in a person’s palm, others suspended within the temple complex. The spinning of the wheel sets the mantra’s power in motion.