Filled with scrolls of Buddhist mantras, this prayer wheel boosts the merit of its user.
Handheld Prayer Wheel, early 20th century (central Tibet), silver, wood, semi-precious stones, 19.6 x 5 x 4.5 inches (Rubin Museum of Art, New York). Speakers: Dr. Elena Pakhoutova, Senior Curator Himalayan Art at the Rubin Museum of Art and Dr. Steven Zucker
Rubin Museum senior curator Dr. Elena Pakhoutova and Smarthistory’s Dr. Steven Zucker take a look at an ornate handheld prayer wheel, which are ritual objects that are ubiquitous in Tibetan Buddhist culture. The action of turning a prayer wheel with conscious intent is believed to “recite” or “read” the mantras, activating and releasing them into the world for the benefit of all.
The Rubin Museum of Art has teamed up with Smarthistory to bring you an “up-close” look at select objects from the Rubin’s preeminent collection of Himalayan art. Featuring conversations with senior curators and close-looking at art, this video series is an accessible introduction to the art and material culture of the Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian regions. Learn about the living traditions and art-making practices of the Himalayas from the past to today.
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0:00:06.6 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.
0:00:21.7 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 [a] reliquary, and the reason being is that inside are tightly bound paper rolls filled with mantras.
0:00:52.3 Dr. Steven Zucker: Text that has been written out by a scribe, very likely in a monastery.
0:00:57.8 Dr. Elena Pakhoutova: And the texts are the mantras repeated multiple times over and over again for the maximum accumulation of religious merit.
0:01:07.4 Dr. Steven Zucker: And merit is crucial for Buddhist practice.
0:01:10.5 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.
0:01:24.0 Dr. Steven Zucker: And in that way, move closer to the ultimate goal, which would be enlightenment.
0:01:29.7 Dr. Elena Pakhoutova: Yes, enlightenment or awakening.
0:01:31.7 Dr. Steven Zucker: That is, breaking the cycle of death and rebirth, what is known in Buddhism as samsara.
0:01:37.8 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.
0:02:15.4 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.
0:02:25.8 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.
0:02:55.6 Dr. Steven Zucker: And the wheel is a very common iconographic form in Buddhist art.
0:03:00.8 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.
0:03:13.9 Dr. Steven Zucker: But there’s even more. If we look at the bottom of this cylinder, there’s another circular form.
0:03:19.2 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.
0:03:37.0 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.
0:03:47.1 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.
0:04:42.2 Dr. Steven Zucker: So really, any technology can be used to turn these objects.
0:04:46.2 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.
0:05:10.9 Dr. Steven Zucker: The origins of prayer wheels are not fully understood.
0:05:14.0 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.
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