Prayer Wheels

Hi,
Prayer wheels are my hobby, there are so many benefits. A prayer wheel blesses all the insects on the ground and in the area, besides all the people who turn it. It is such a great blessing for the area. It is a quick way to liberate sentient beings from the lower realms (which is where they have been for numberless times) and enlighten them.

This is a quick way to enlighten oneself and others, because turning the wheel, you are reciting manis as much as possible. Turning it one time you get the benefit of many years of retreat in a few seconds. It is unbelievable purification and one can collect skies of merits, not only atoms of merit but the size of mountains.

Why? Because you receive blessings from the heart of the Compassionate Buddha, this is a quick way of developing compassion. Because of that, one is able to develop compassion more quickly for sentient beings and help sentient beings to reach enlightenment more quickly.

I send much love and prayers,

Lama Zopa

PS. You can use this and other quotes to raise money for the prayer wheel.

I had a very nice time at your home, thank you.

I think the prayer wheel should be made very well, very beautiful, so that it is an inspiring example for other places around the world. Therefore, I think it’s better that you order it from Nepal. This is what we have done in the past. If you can make it exactly the same as the large one at Land of Medicine Buddha, that would be the best, that would be really fantastic, made in copper and/or brass. Especially the mantras should be done well, in Nepal. There is no rush. The main thing is to have it made very well.

I heard that you were not so happy with your friend and the food left over from my visit. Don’t be upset with him; he was trying to do his best. For me, it means I use up my good karma being offered the best like this. If you understand Dharma then you can see what I mean. There is a chance to create merit and purify. Also, if your friend is someone you want to come back, then you need to be careful. 

This is what I think.

Love and prayers...

My very dear Patricia,
I'm sorry for the long delay in replying. I have received your letter and information. What a great success, that you got approval from the city for the peace park, through it being cultural and not religious. That is a great thing. I very much like the universal peace wheel. Actually, this title is even better because it fits with all the traditions in the world.

Regarding the offer of help that you received, it is great he offered to help, but I would prefer it to be made of copper. The prayer wheel should be extremely nicely designed. The mantras and design on the outside should be gold leaf or gilded with gold. The top part of the prayer wheel should have the painted animals holding jewels (see most prayer wheel designs to see what I am referring to. I can also send you photos).

Regarding the mantra on the outside of the prayer wheel, this should be in English, as well in Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese. Then, it’s up to you; it doesn't have to be in every language, otherwise the letters would become very small. All the letters should be done extremely well.

I will send you some advice regarding different mantras and texts to go inside prayer wheels. If you can please make yours like this as well. The largest amount of mantras should be “mani” mantras. It would be great to be able to have 1000 billion mani mantras inside.

This is my advice regarding the art: at the bottom of each of the steps in the four directions, leading to the prayer wheel, have two snow lions (Chinese Fu dogs), like the ones they have outside monasteries. I don’t mean African lions, I mean snow lions. Make sure they are facing out.

On the different roofs you can have garlands of different colored Christmas lights hanging, bright, nice ones in the shape of a garland. I can send you a photo if you are not sure. On the tips of the corners of the roofs have different colored lights, a bit pointed at the end, but round in the middle.

It would be good to have a canopy of five colors around the top of the first roof, made from Chinese silk (not a thick material). It can be hanging up so it does not distract from the view of the prayer wheel. Also you can have five different wide scarves, each a different one of the five colors, so they hang down from the prayer wheel (my attendant can send photos or explain if any of this is not clear).

On top of the canopy can be a garland of fake (or real) pearls, that have two hanging strings at the end of each garland (this is traditional on most prayer wheels).

It is good to have more “mani” mantras, because it is wish-fulfilling, especially for developing compassion for all sentient beings, to bring peace and happiness, temporal and ultimate happiness, for all sentient beings in the whole world.

You could have different statues in the park, like:

• St. Francis—to inspire contentment (the opposite of desire), and to inspire loving kindness for others
• Mahatma Gandhi—to inspire patience, how to solve problems with patience in a peaceful way, and how to solve global problems
• Mother Mary and baby Jesus—to inspire loving kindness
• Jesus on the cross (you could include the words of compassion he was saying when he was being crucified)
• White Tara—an extremely beautiful one, for long life, so people can come and make prayers for a long life
• Green Tara—for success
• Medicine Buddha—for healing
• Maitreya Buddha—for loving kindness, a smiling one
• Mother Teresa

You can think of other people who inspire patience, etc.

You can have different messages in the park from the Dharma, from Jesus, and other traditions, such as quotes from A Guid to the Bodhisattva Way of Life and sayings of the Buddha. In this way, people who come to the park can find solutions to their problems: relationship problems, business problems, all sorts of problems, and find peace and happiness. Also, you could have the picture of the Buddha giving his body to the tigress, offering charity.

These are just ideas, so you can think about them. It is important to think how the weather will affect things and try to do it all in the best way. 

It would be very good before you build the prayer wheel to bless the ground first, so maybe I can do this. I could go there and perform the puja.

It is great. I am very happy with your success. See what happens, and if there are things that you need help with or want to discuss, then contact me.

With much love and prayers...

My most dear Kristen,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. All your thoughts are the best thoughts: to live according to the refuge precepts and later to become a nun. I can give you the precepts by telephone, or later when we meet, once you have an understanding of the precepts.

I like this prayer wheel very much, and since I like you very much and am very happy with you, it is exactly the same if you have it. I especially appreciate your dedication to benefiting others, reciting Vajrasattva while you are doing cashier work, and memorizing the Diamond Cutter Sutra, as I have asked. I asked you seriously to do this and already you have memorized part of it. That is amazing, and it means that in the future you might be able to recite the Diamond Cutter’s Sutra while you are at the checkout.

This prayer wheel, besides making you happy, can make many people happy. Seeing the prayer wheel liberates so many people from the lower realms, by purifying even very heavy negative karma, the five uninterrupted negative karmas of killing one’s father or mother, harming a buddha, killing an arhat (one who has completed the five paths, has removed delusion and karma, and is free from the sufferings of samsara), or causing disunity among the sangha. So, there is no question about it purifying the ten non-virtuous actions.

Many people will remember being at Wal-Mart and seeing this prayer wheel. Each time they remember, it will purify their mind and plant the seed of enlightenment. That means it causes them to achieve all the realizations from guru devotion, the three principles of the path (renunciation, bodhicitta, and wisdom correctly realizing emptiness), the two stages, and full enlightenment, the two kayas. That means you are liberating all those sentient beings every day and bringing them to enlightenment. That is why, when I travel with my prayer wheels, especially the hand prayer wheels, I carry them through the airport so that many people can see and I turn them from time to time. Also, the prayer wheel is beautiful, with a crystal on top, so people really get attracted to it and stop and look at it, and while they are looking at it, it purifies them. Isn’t that a great business!

I am also sending you a text on some of the benefits of prayer wheels, which I have translated.

With much love and prayers...