The Power of Modern Prayer Wheels By His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya

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1 The Power of Modern Prayer Wheels By His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya In old Tibet, everywhere you looked, you saw people, particularly older people, spinning prayer wheels from morning to night, while reciting the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra (a Tibetan prayer composed of Sanskrit power words) to relieve the misery of all beings. The major goal of my life has been to preserve both Tibetan Buddhist religion and culture. Prayer wheels have always been an integral part of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual practice and culture. Although born and raised in Tibet, today I am a resident of the United States and surrounded by students with expertise in computer technologies that I never imagined in Tibet. The primary goal of the traditional Tibetan prayer wheel practice is to relieve the miseries of all beings. With the completion of the Tibetan prayer wheels at Sakya Monastery, we have combined the best of Tibetan spiritual practices and the best of computer technology to create a new state-of-the-art in modern spiritual technology, or what my student Chuck Pettis succinctly calls Tibet-tech. The largest prayer wheel In Tibet, the Om Mani Dunkhor, once held 100 million Mani mantras. The Tibet-Tech prayer wheels, dwarf that, and contain more mantras than any other prayer wheel ever created. By releasing 1,349,580,000,000 mantras with each revolution, the Tibet-Tech prayer wheels are capable of radiating an incalculable amount of merit, peace, kindness, and relief from suffering to all beings. Mindfully turning a prayer wheel with 1.3 trillion mantras produces the same merit and benefits as having recited 1.3 trillion mantras. This is accomplished through the clockwise turning of the prayer wheel which activates and releases the power of the mantras inside. At one mantra recitation per second, it would take approximately 42,776 years to recite 1.3 trillion mantras. But with just one spin, a Tibet-Tech prayer wheel (100 revolutions per spin) releases 27,000 mantras for each of the five billion human beings on the planet. If placed end-to-end, these mantras would stretch from the Earth to the Moon and back 607,500 times! In order to fully appreciate the power of these prayer wheels, it is important to understand the power of mantras. The word mantra comes from Sanskrit linguistic roots whose literal meaning is protection of the mind. In Tibetan culture, mantras are interpreted as spiritual syllables which when empowered by enlightened beings, deliver benefit to sentient beings. Many Buddhists recite Om Mani Padme Hum, the six-syllable mantra of loving kindness and compassion for Chenrezi, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Although difficult to accomplish, some very diligent people have been able to recite 100,000,000 Om Mani Padme Hum s in one lifetime. Benefiting from that merit, they demonstrate achievement and calmness, gain the power to help and heal others, and have no concern about death. Some even get a new set of teeth when they are years old. I personally know people who have done this. In Tibetan Buddhism reciting mantras is one of the most effective ways in which a person can actively create a peaceful, relaxed, and happy state of mind. Spiritually, mantras manifest and catalyze the enlightened mind through sacred sound and the invocation of Deities, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dakinis and other spiritual beings. The power of the prayer wheel comes from the incalculable compassion of all the myriads of these spiritual beings who want to guide everyone to enlightenment as quickly as possible.

2 Benefits of Prayer Wheels The practice of the prayer wheel has many magical benefits. According to tradition, the prayer wheel was brought to Earth from the realm of nagas (dragonlike beings who live in oceans) by the great Bodhisattva Nagarjuna because he was told by Avalokiteshvara in a vision that the benefits to living beings will be enormous. Nagarjuna gave the prayer wheel practice to the Lion-Faced Dakini, who in turn gave it to Padmasambhava, who brought it to Tibet. Sakyamuni Buddha said that turning a prayer wheel once is better than having done years of retreat, intensive spiritual practice. He said, Turning the Dharma wheel is better than listening, reflecting and meditating for eons 1. Amitabha Buddha said, Anyone who recites the six syllables while turning the Dharma wheel at the same time is equal in fortune to the Thousand Buddhas. Padmasambhava said, even those lacking perseverance in their practice, who pass the time passively, will be able to attain mystic powers. Those with perseverance for reciting the mantra and turning the wheel will undoubtedly attain the tenth level. 2 Use of the prayer wheel is one of the easiest ways to purify past negative karma, nonvirtuous actions, defilements, and obstacles that prevent us from realizing our true self and understanding the true nature of reality. Buddha said, One benefit is that the karma and disturbing thought obscurations that have been accumulated for beginningless rebirths are purified without effort 3. Other prayer wheel benefits: Transforming one s own body, speech and mind into the Body, Speech and Mind of a Buddha. One s own body becomes like a holy place. Transforming one s home and property into a very peaceful, pleasant, holy, and precious Potala pure land or high heavenly realm. Saving all the beings in the area around prayer wheels from rebirth in the lower realms (e.g., animal incarnation). Purifying our body, speech and mind. Accumulating extensive merit for oneself and all beings in the area. Preventing harm from spirits and negative beings. Healing sicknesses and protecting from contagious diseases and epidemics. Even this list of benefits do not fully describe the benefits of spinning a prayer wheel. Proper Visualizations While Spinning a Prayer Wheel Spinning a prayer wheel is not a mindless exercise. Spinning the prayer wheel should be done with the proper intentions. The prayer wheel practice should be visualized as a manifestation of the Body, Speech and Mind of the Buddha. With our hands (Body) we spin and move the prayer wheel. With our speech, we recite one of the mantras in the prayer wheel (e.g. Om Mani Padme Hum). And with our mind, we engage in visualizations or recitations, using our motivation and intention to bless all beings and bring peace to our surroundings and the entire world. 1 Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism by Lorne Ladner, Wisdom Publications, 2000, Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism by Lorne Ladner, Wisdom Publications, 2000, viii. 3 Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism by Lorne Ladner, Wisdom Publications, 2000, 45.

3 Visualizations and contemplations that can be done while spinning a prayer wheel include: Reciting Om Mani Padme Hum while spinning the prayer wheel. This strengthens our mind and brings the optimal intention to the spiritual practice and increases the benefits to all sentient beings. Focusing your thoughts on loving-kindness, equanimity, and the benefit of others, not oneself. Visualizing beams of light, bright like the sun, radiating out from the prayer wheel in all directions. The light beams destroy the negative karma and sufferings of not just humans, but all beings, including animals, hungry ghosts, hell beings, demigods and gods. All the negativity is absorbed into the prayer wheel and destroyed. Focusing on a problem, like a war or tragedy, and spinning the prayer wheel to try and relieve the suffering of the people being harmed and hurt. Dedicating the merit of one s prayer wheel practice to purify the underlying cause of someone s illness in order to promote healing. The Buddha once said that undedicated merit is like a drop of water on a stone; it soon evaporates and disappears. Dedicated merit is like adding a drop of water to the ocean; it will persist for as long as the ocean exists. After turning the prayer wheel, it is beneficial to dedicate the merit of this spiritual practice for the liberation of sentient beings, the arousal of Bodhicitta (love and compassion for all beings), and the long lives and works of one s teachers (Lamas). How the Tibet-Tech Prayer Wheel Was Constructed Prayer wheels were traditionally filled with mantras that were very carefully block-printed on paper and wound up inside the prayer wheel. Because a prayer wheel becomes more powerful with more mantras inside it, Lamas such as Lama Zopa Rinpoche have put mantras on microfilm to increase the number of mantras contained in a prayer wheel. The Tibet-Tech prayer wheels are the first to use DVDs to store mantras inside a prayer wheel. The idea for these modern prayer wheels came from Chuck Pettis, Sakya Monastery President who explains in his own words, as follows, H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya (Dagchen Rinpoche) and H.E. Dagmo Kusho Sakya (Dagmo Kusho) recommended that I use prayer wheels in my daily practice. They gave me two prayer wheels as gifts. One was electric and revolves continuously on my shrine. I hold the other prayer wheel in my hand and spin it while I do my daily mantras. When I started spinning the prayer wheels, my wife immediately noticed an increase in the spiritual feeling around our altar. One day, while meditating, the question arose in my mind, How many mantras could be put in a prayer wheel? The result is the Tibet-Tech prayer wheel. Chuck Pettis company, Earth Sanctuary, managed the construction of the Tibet-Tech prayer wheels. He will now explain the technical details of how the prayer wheels were constructed, At the beginning of the project, Dagmo Kusho and I (Chuck Pettis) contacted Head Lama Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche of the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center, who has created over 1,600 prayer wheels. Tarthang Tulku was kind enough to provide us with a very helpful article entitled, Prayer Wheels of the Nyingma Centers. The Tibet-Tech prayer wheels are the first to use DVDs to store mantras inside a

4 prayer wheel. Each of the eight mantras contained in the Tibet-Tech prayer wheel were placed into an evenly spaced 10 by 5000 cell Microsoft Excel worksheet matrix, which was printed to an Adobe Acrobat-6.0 PDF file containing 50,000 mantras. One thousand of these PDF files were compressed in to single zip file containing 50 million mantras. For each of the eight mantras, as many of the zipped files as possible were copied to a DVD. Then 16 copies of each DVD were made for each single Prayer Wheel so that a total of 128 DVDs are contained in each prayer wheel. The construction of these unique spiritual devices builds on traditional prayer wheel design techniques by incorporating modern computer technology. In the center is a sandalwood life-tree obelisk painted by Yeshi Tulku with the three mantra syllables, Om Ah Hum, symbolizing the Body, Speed, and Mind of the Buddha. Stacked on and around this obelisk are 128 DVDs, comprised of eight sets of 16 DVDs on which are stored eight mantras (see explanation of the mantras and their benefits below). Dagchen Rinpoche selected the mantras, Yeshi Tulku word processed the mantras into text, and Dagmo Kusho and Dagchen Rinpoche proofread the mantras. Then, Tom Ashbrook, a Sakya Monastery board member, arranged the mantras into pages that were again double-checked and proofed. Finally, Tom Ashbrook stored and compressed the mantras onto DVDs in PDF format that were then duplicated on a Disc Makers ReflexPro7 DVD+RW. The DVD duplicator uses lasers to read and write mantras onto an opaque reflective layer in 0.4-micron pits in a spiral track. Although that is a technically accurate description of the DVD-RW process, explains Tom Ashbrook, while producing the DVDs it looked to me like the mantras were being written by light onto a rainbow onto the DVD. Labels, applied to each DVD, include the name of the mantra, the mantra itself it Tibetan script, the number of mantras on the DVD, and the Sakya Monastery seal. Below and above the stack of DVDs are the Earth Wheel and Sky Wheel symbols, etched onto brass as drawn by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and depicted in the book, Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism by Lorne Ladner (Wisdom Publications, 2000). All the design and creation of the prayer wheel enclosure was done by artist and metal craftsman Mike Sweeney with some engineering assistance from Charlie Pettis (Chuck Pettis father). The DVDs are enclosed by a copper and brass cylinder housing. This sits on top of a cubical section that includes a bearing and mechanisms to count each revolution of the prayer wheel. The prayer wheel is turned by putting one s hand on one of the four arms at the bottom of the cylinder and spinning the prayer wheel clockwise. The wooden balls at the end of the arms are made from Jarra wood of the Australian Eucalyptus family, a wood selected for long life in the outdoors. Om Mani Padme Hum was hand drawn by Yeshi Tulku in Indian Ranjana script and then embossed into the outer copper casing. The entire prayer wheel is sealed with silicone, to ensure the inside remains dry, and held tight, by a specially machined top ornament that matches the one on Dagmo Kusho s personal prayer wheel. The Sakya Monastery seal is etched on brass and mounted to the front of the prayer wheel beside the counter. On the back is the Earth Sanctuary logo, the location of Sakya Monastery s retreat center, the Tara Meditation Center. After the prayer wheels were assembled, on May 13, 2004, they were blessed and consecrated by myself (Dagchen Rinpoche) with the assistance of Dagmo Kusho and Yeshi Tulku. The blessing ceremony had three parts. The first part was a praise of the mantras, then the prayer wheels were consecrated. Finally, a Dedication of Merit prayer

5 was recited to benefit all sentient beings and to work for a more peaceful world. As long as the Universe exists, these mantras will remain potent. The first set of three Tibet-Tech prayer wheels will be installed at Sakya Monastery s retreat center, the Tara Meditation Center at Earth Sanctuary. The prayer wheels will be mounted on stone columns and located next to the Dolmen, the Cottonwood Stone Circle, and the Fen Stone Circle, where they can be turned by retreatants and visitors to gain great merit, benefit all living beings, and help bring peace to Earth. Tibet-Tech prayer wheels are also available for purchase. For information, contact Chuck Pettis of Earth Sanctuary ( at or cpettis@earthsanctuary.org. Mantras in the Tibet-Tech Prayer Wheel The mantras in the Tibet-Tech Prayer Wheel represent the foundational teachings of Buddha. These mantras are the actual spoken words of Sakyamuni Buddha and have never been changed. The mantras incorporate the power of Buddha s sound and the power of meaning, as each mantra represents profound truths and teachings. Each prayer wheel includes 16 DVDs of each of eight magical and powerful mantras (128 DVDs total). The mantras are stacked from the bottom up, starting with 16 DVDs of the A-li mantra; 16 DVDs of the Ka-li mantra, and so on up to the eighth mantra, the 100-syllable Vajrasattva mantra. Mantra Mantras per DVD DVDs per Wheel Mantra per Wheel 1-A-li 21,750,000, ,000,000,000 2-Ka-li 7,000,000, ,000,000,000 3-Ta-ra 12,650,000, ,400,000,000 4-Ma-ni 14,400,000, ,400,000,000 5-Long-life 13,400,000, ,400,000,000 6-Se-dhe 9,800,000, ,800,000,000 7-Ye-dhr-ma 5,250,000, ,000,000,000 8-Vajrasattva 98,750, ,580,000,000 Totals 84,348,750, ,349,580,000,000 Mantra Tibetan Script & English Benefits 1-A-li The vibrational AA II UU RiRi LiLi E Ai O Au Am Ah foundation of all mantras. 2-Ka-li Ka Kha Ga Gha Nga Tsa Tsha Dza Dzha Nya; Tra Thra Dra Dhra Nra Ta Tha Da Dha Na; Pa Pha Ba Bha Ma Ya Ra La Wa Sha Kha Sa Ha Cha Purifies speech and cleanses the mind.

6 3-Ta-ra 4-Ma-ni 5-Long-life Om Tara Tuttare Ture Soha Om Mani Padme Hum Provides immediate help for suffering. Promotes loving kindness and compassion, while relieving suffering of all beings. Promotes long-life. Om Amarana Tsibin Tiye Soha 6-Se-dhe Grants divine powers and realizations. 7-Ye-dhr-ma 8 -Vajrasattva Om Ah Hum Bendza Guru Padma Siddhi Hum Ye Dharama Hetu Prabhava Hetun Teshan Tathagato Hyavadat Tekhan Tsayo Nirodha Evam Bhadi Maha Shramana Consecration and stabilization. Purification. Om Bendza Sato Samaya Manupalaya Bendza Sato Tenopa Tita Dridho Me Bhawa Suto Kayo Me Bhawa Anurakto Me Bhawa Supo Kayo Me Bhawa Sarwa Siddhim Me Trayatsa Sarwa Karma Sutsa Me Tsittam Shreyam Kuru Hung HA HA HA HA HOH Bhagawan Sarwa Tatagata Bendza Mame Muntsa Bendzi Bhawa Maha Samaya Sato AH 1. A-li Mantra: AA II UU RiRi LiLi E Ai O Au Am Ah A-li, meaning vowels, refers to the 16 Sanskrit vowels that are the original basic sounds, the vibrational foundation of all mantras and the first words as taught by

7 Lord Sakyamuni Buddha. 2. Ka-Li Mantra: Ka Kha Ga Gha Nga Tsa Tsha Dza Dzha Nya Tra Thra Dra Dhra Nra Ta Tha Da Dha Na Pa Pha Ba Bha Ma Ya Ra La Wa Sha Kha Sa Ha Cha Ka-li, meaning consonants, refers to the 34 Sanskrit consonants that are thought of as the God s spoken language or the Voice of God. Hence, this mantra purifies your speech. In Tibet, when yogi s and yogini s began a long retreat, they would first wash their face and then recite many A-li Ka-li (Ali-Kali) mantras to cleanse their minds before starting their retreat. In fact, the combination and sequence of mantras within the Tibet-Tech prayer wheel allows you to gain the benefits of a significant spiritual retreat if you spin the prayer with that intention in mind. 3. Ta-ra Mantra Om Tara Tuttare Ture Soha Tara is the main Mother of all the Buddha s and Bodhisattvas. She represents the manifestation of Buddha s actions and activity. She helps everyone, right now and fast! Om represents Tara's holy body, speech and mind. Tare liberates us from suffering and the control of delusion and karma. Tuttare liberates us from fears and dangers. Ture liberates us from ignorance. Soha means "may the meaning of the mantra take root in my mind" and so be it. 4. Ma-ni Mantra Om Mani Padme Hum Each of the six syllables in this mantra Om, Ma, Ni, Pad, Me, Hum represent one of the six realms: the hell realm, the hungry ghost Realm, the animal realm, the human realm, the demigod realm and the god realm. This Mani mantra is the most widely used of all Buddhist mantras. It s meaning is vast and deep. In brief,

8 Om Mani Padme Hum is the mantra of Chenrezi, the Bodhisattva of loving kindness and compassion. This mantra is also found on the outer copper casing of the prayer wheel in the ancient Indian Ranjana script: 5. Long-Life Amitayus Mantra Om Amarana Tsibin Tiye Soha Amitayus is the Buddha of longevity and long-life. 6. Se-dhy Mantra Om Ah Hum Bendza Guru Padma Siddhi Hum I invoke you, Vajra Guru, Padmasambhava; by your blessing may you grant us ordinary and supreme realization. This mantra is dedicated to Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche and the second Buddha. This mantra invokes Padmasambhava to bless us, protect us, remove obstacles, and grant us divine powers and realizations. 7. Ye-dhr-ma Mantra Ye Dharama Hetu Prabhava Hetun Teshan Tathagato Hyavadat Tekhan Tsayo Nirodha Evam Bhadi Maha Shramana The Ye-dhr-ma mantra is the mantra of consecration, stabilization, and emptiness. 8. Vajrasattva 100-Syllable Mantra Om Bendza Sato Samaya Manupalaya Bendza Sato Tenopa Tita Dridho Me Bhawa Suto Kayo Me Bhawa Anurakto Me Bhawa Supo Kayo Me Bhawa Sarwa

9 Siddhim Me Trayatsa Sarwa Karma Sutsa Me Tsittam Shreyam Kuru Hung HA HA HA HA HOH Bhagawan Sarwa Tatagata Bendza Mame Muntsa Bendzi Bhawa Maha Samaya Sato AH The 100-syllable mantra is the Vajrasattva mantra. Its key benefits are purification and compassion. ## H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya is a Head Lama of the Sakya sect and Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in Seattle. Dagchen Rinpoche was raised and trained as a religious leader in old Tibet. The Sakya leaders hold a position third only to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in rank. Dagchen Rinpoche is also one of the few elder non-sectarian (re-me) lineage holders living today. He is currently working on completion of his four-volume biography documenting his life in old Tibet and his life in the West. The Tibet-Tech prayer wheels are available for sale through Earth Sanctuary ( For information, contact Chuck Pettis at or via at cpettis@earthsanctuary.org. Recommended book: Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism by Lorne Ladner, Wisdom Publications, 2000.