Gorgeous 6 inch tall Spinning Prayer wheel, Buddhist order Prayer wheel handmade in Nepal, home and living, small shrine design collectibles

Prayer wheels are used primarily used by the Buddhists of Tibet and Nepal, where hand-held prayer wheels are carried and turned by pilgrims and other devotees during devotional activities.

It usually bears the mantra "OM MANI PADME HUM (ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པ་དྨེ་ཧཱུྃ།)”, the six syllables mantra of the Buddha of compassion, Avalokitesvara.

The mantra is printed or carved on the wheel exterior and printed mantra scroll on paper is kept inside. According to Tibetan Buddhist belief, it is said that each turn of the cylinder generates as much merit as the reading of the sutra of the formula enclosed within the prayer wheel. This belief derives from the Buddhist belief in the power of sound and the formulas to which deities are subject. For many Buddhists, the prayer wheel also represents the Wheel of the Law (or Dharma) set in motion by the Buddha.

The prayer wheel is also useful for illiterate members of order the lay Buddhist community, since they can "read" the prayers by turning the wheel. Prayer wheels come in many sizes: they may be small and attached to a stick, and spun around by hand; medium-sized and set up at monasteries or temples; or very large and continuously spun by a water mill. Prayer wheels at monasteries and temples are located at the gates of the property, and devotees spin the wheels before passing through the gates.