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A prayer wheel is a cylindrical “wheel” (Tibetan: འཁོར་, Wylie: ‘khor) on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone, leather or coarse cotton. Traditionally, the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is written in Sanskrit on the outside of the wheel. 

Many monasteries around Tibet have large, fixed, metal wheels set side by side in a row. Passersby can turn the entire row of wheels simply by sliding their hands over each one.

According to the lineage texts on prayer wheels, prayer wheels are used to accumulate wisdom and merit (good karma) and to purify negativities (bad karma).

Rolls of thin paper with the mantra (prayer) ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ printed in Sanskrit are wound around an axle inside, and spinned around. Larger decorative versions of the syllables of the mantra are also carved on the outside cover of the wheel.

Large size fixed prayer wheels which are often aligned around Buddhist shrines and are set in motion by pilgrims who walk around the building in a clockwise direction.

Tibetan Prayer Wheels and their uses….

A prayer wheel is a cylindrical “wheel” (Tibetan: འཁོར་, Wylie: ‘khor) on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone, leather or coarse cotton. Traditionally, the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is written in Sanskrit on the outside of the wheel. Also sometimes depicted are Dakinis, Protectors and very often the 8 auspicious symbols Ashtamangala. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on the lineage texts regarding prayer wheels, spinning such a wheel will have much the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the prayers.

In Buddhism, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have created a variety of skillful means (upaya) to help bring practitioners ever closer to realizing enlightenment. The idea of spinning mantras relates to numerous Tantric practices whereby the Tantric practitioner visualizes mantras revolving around the nadis and especially around the meridian chakras such as the heart and crown. Therefore, prayer wheels are a visual aid for developing one’s capacity for these types of Tantric visualizations.

The spiritual method for those practicing with a prayer wheel is very specific (with slight variations according to different Buddhist sects). The practitioner most often spins the wheel clockwise, as the direction in which the mantras are written is that of the movement of the sun across the sky.

Source: Wikipedia.com