Description:
Silver with repousse decoration
Label Text:
Om Mani Padme Hum, Om Mani Padme Hum, Om Mani Padme Hum. This simple, rhythmic mantra, difficult to translate but believed to contain the essence of all of the Buddha’s teachings, is the basis for a devotional practice held sacred by Tibetan Buddhists. One of the many ways to intensify the effect of this or similar mantras is to incorporate it into a mani or prayer wheel, which can take many forms: tabletop wheels, handheld wheels such as this one, and larger prayer wheels powered by wind or water that are often found in sacred sites.
Through the sound of the devotee’s voice reciting the mantra, the simultaneous spinning of the mantra’s script decorating the silver wheel, and the repetition of syllables written on slips of paper wrapped around the inner axle of the prayer wheel, the worshipper is able to draw upon the larger force of these interlocking circles to invoke a more pure and enlightened state of being. The intention is to emulate Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, who is cherished in myriad incarnations throughout Buddhist cultures.
This prayer wheel was given to the Museum by the son of Celestia Bradford Carleton, who became a missionary in Northern India after graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1854. While the specific details of this prayer wheel’s history remain uncertain, an object such as this still provides the viewer with a direct connection to a spiritual tradition of enduring power.
-Ellen Alvord, Andrew W. Mellon Coordinator of Academic Affairs, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
Global Perspectives: Exploring the Art of Devotion (February 9 - May 30, 2010)
Tags:
missionaries Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+1903.3.J.M |
