mani khorlo (Prayer Wheel)

Mani khorlo འཁོར་ལོ། (prayer wheel). This handheld mani khorlo (“mani wheel or prayer wheel) spins with the movement of the wrist, while the stone on the short chain sustains the momentum. The wrapped spindle is known as the “life tree.” The top and bottom of the cylinder are adorned with stylized lotus blossoms, an auspicious symbol of one’s progression from delusion to enlightenment. In spinning the wheel, the practitioner reaps the same benefits of having read the countless prayers coiled inside, a useful means for illiterate Buddhists to attain merit. The wheel should be spun clockwise to coincide with the sun’s movement and the direction of the writing on the wheel to facilitate the release of the blessings into the world.

Silver, cylindrical mani khorlo (prayer wheel). The silver wheel is covered in repoussage metalwork, with two bands of Sanskrit text inscribed in Lantsa script conveying iterations of **||Om mani padme hum|, the sacred six-syllable mantra for Avalokitesvara. The same mantra is printed on thin paper and rolled around the cylinder’s core spindle, where it is hidden from view; a bud-shaped finial with a flat, circular base is featured on the top, while a metal chain with a polyhedron finial is attached to the side. Cylinder is mounted on dark brown wooden handle capped with metal, about which it turns.