Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

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The Mantra Mongoose
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Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by The Mantra Mongoose »

Hello all,

I was reflecting recently on how i love very simple practices in Tibetan Buddhism, and how meaningful i find them to be for my practice. In particular, i love spinning my prayer wheel in conjunction with the vajra guru mantra for all sentient beings in my free time outside of formal sessions of practice. Taking Refuge/Bodichitta I like to visualize little Guru Rinpoches or Chenrezigs going out from my heart and the wheel to all mother sentient beings especially those in the lower realms along with the bardo beings alleviating there suffering. I'm interested in learning more about prayer wheels especially there lineages or practices but in the west it seems theirs not that much information on them. I've read Lama Zopa's book on prayer wheels, snippets from the Mani Kabum, and other short articles online but i couldn't find much else not to mention any sort of practices associated with them. I've seen High Lamas recommend there use, but very few teachings about the history or practice associated with them. Is there a reason for this? What are your experiences with prayer wheels, and have they affected your practice in a positive way?
karmanyingpo
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Re: Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by karmanyingpo »

The Mantra Mongoose wrote: Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:39 am Hello all,

I was reflecting recently on how i love very simple practices in Tibetan Buddhism, and how meaningful i find them to be for my practice. In particular, i love spinning my prayer wheel in conjunction with the vajra guru mantra for all sentient beings in my free time outside of formal sessions of practice. Taking Refuge/Bodichitta I like to visualize little Guru Rinpoches or Chenrezigs going out from my heart and the wheel to all mother sentient beings especially those in the lower realms along with the bardo beings alleviating there suffering. I'm interested in learning more about prayer wheels especially there lineages or practices but in the west it seems theirs not that much information on them. I've read Lama Zopa's book on prayer wheels, snippets from the Mani Kabum, and other short articles online but i couldn't find much else not to mention any sort of practices associated with them. I've seen High Lamas recommend there use, but very few teachings about the history or practice associated with them. Is there a reason for this? What are your experiences with prayer wheels, and have they affected your practice in a positive way?
I too love simple practices. I have a mantra practice from my main teacher that I love because of its utter simplicity. I treasure it for it's simplicity and uncomplicatedness.

Garchen Rinpoche also has many good things to say about prayer wheels. I was inspired to get one by him. He can pretty much always be seen spinning one.

I do not spin mine as much as I should, but I do love it. It is a bit cheap and actually kind of broken but I managed to fix it by adding some puddy to the inside to keep it spinning better...

KN
ma lu dzok pe san gye thop par shok!
AppearanceVoid
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Re: Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by AppearanceVoid »

I think prayer wheels are sacredly simple. All that merit, what work? Don't know the answer to your question but I'll pray until I receive signs. Bless you....
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明安 Myoan
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Re: Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by 明安 Myoan »

Here are some resources from the FPMT.

Prayer wheels are wonderful, and easy to use for everyone. A little white lithium grease goes a long way to keep them spinning!
Namu Amida Butsu
cjdevries
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Re: Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by cjdevries »

Here is one resource for more information, Garchen Rinpoche's teaching on prayer wheels:

https://prayerwheelshop.com/2015/07/27/ ... er-wheels/
"Please call me by my true names so I can wake up; so the door of my heart can be left open: the door of compassion." -Thich Nhat Hanh

"Ask: what's needed of you" -Akong Rinpoche

"Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents, never revenges itself." -Gandhi
The Mantra Mongoose
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Re: Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by The Mantra Mongoose »

Hey all,

Thank for the replies. I’ve heard that there are also teachings on using wrathful mantras with a prayer wheel. I believe I read some were this is associated with the Lion Face dakini in particular given her importance in preserving the prayer wheel lineage. It’s to bad that there isn’t more information in English about all the different practices someone could do with a prayer wheel. Maybe in the future I’ll try and seek out different Lamas to see if I can’t find these teachings for myself.
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Könchok Thrinley
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Re: Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

I think you might enjoy this particular writing: https://bodhiactivity.files.wordpress.c ... -wheel.pdf

In my personal practice, I try to use it daily. During meditations I usually have hands full or find it a bit too distracting, but when relaxing and watching a movie it is a superb reminder of love, compassion and bodhicitta.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
The Mantra Mongoose
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Re: Prayer wheels in your daily practice and there lineages/practices

Post by The Mantra Mongoose »

Könchok Thrinley wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:57 pm I think you might enjoy this particular writing: https://bodhiactivity.files.wordpress.c ... -wheel.pdf

In my personal practice, I try to use it daily. During meditations I usually have hands full or find it a bit too distracting, but when relaxing and watching a movie it is a superb reminder of love, compassion and bodhicitta.
Hey Konchok Thrinley,

Thanks for that text it’s wonderful. I personally like to spin my prayer wheel when I’m reciting the 35 confession Buddha’s. Instead of prostrations I just spin my wheel while I visualize and recite the confession. There are so many ways to incorporate prayers wheels into practice it’s a beautiful thing. Thanks for shareing.
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