Small table prayer mill made of copper and brass

This handmade Tibetan prayer wheel is made of copper and brass in Nepal. Inside is a carefully rolled paper prayer scroll with numerous repetitions of the mantra Om Mani Padme Humwhich is also engraved on the outside.

The prayer wheel rests on an ornate, four-legged base with stylized vajras. With a height of approx. 10 cm and a diameter of 4.5 cm, it is a handy object for meditation or as a spiritual decoration.

Prayer wheels are widespread in Tibetan Buddhism and are used to chant mantras such as Om Mani Padme Hum by spinning them around the world. Believers spin them clockwise, often accompanied by prayers or circling holy sites.

Om Mani Padme Hum(ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྃ) is probably the best-known mantra in Tibetan Buddhism. It is attributed to the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig in Tibetan), and is a central element of the spiritual practice of many Buddhists. The mantra consists of six syllables, each of which has a deeper symbolic meaning:

1. Om(ཨོཾ་) - Purifies pride and ego
2. Ma(མ་) - Purifies jealousy and desire for pleasure
3. Ni(ཎི་) - Purifies passion and desire
4. Pad(པད་) - Purifies stupidity and prejudice
5. Me(མེ་) - Purifies poverty and possessiveness
6. Hum(ཧཱུྃ་) - Purifies hatred and aggression

Together, the mantra stands for the transformation of the impurities of the mind into the wisdom and compassion of an enlightened being.