We started and ended our first day in Thimphu (second day in Bhutan) by visiting some of the monasteries around the city (3 of them.) Tibetian Buddhist monasteries have a distinctive look, and the presence of prayer wheels is perhaps the most significant aspect.
A prayer wheel is a cylindrical ‘wheel’ on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone, leather, or even coarse cotton. Traditionally, the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is written in Sanskrit externally on the wheel. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, spinning such a wheel will have much the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the prayers.
The Memorial Chhorten
The Memorial Chorten dominates the skyline of Thimphu. This Chorten is dedicated to the Third Druk Gyalpo (King), Jigme Dorji Wangchuck after his sudden death while traveling abroad in 1972. A great amount of renovation took place for the 2008 celebrations to mark the Century of the Monarchy in Bhutan. Fortunately that was the time we visited Bhutan.
The chorten looks beautiful early in the morning with its golden tip shining in the morning sun. School children make a quick trip to the temple rushing their way to school, often interrupting the slow and regimented morning prayers of older people who linger around the premise. This place was very busy, even among the pigeons, who didn’t seem to mind people spinning the large prayer wheels around them.
Lots of monasteries and temples dot the streets of Thimphu and the air is filled with silent chants and the lovely clitter clatter of spinning prayer wheels.
The lady in this picture makes 108 circuits around the monastery every day. Being a society focused on religion, doing something like that, I understand, is the primary activity of most old people in Bhutan. If anything, by climbing stairs and walking so much, they get more exercise than I do!
Prayer wheels – never heard of that! It is so nice to learn about all these Bhutanese things from your blog. The monastery is beautiful.
Are they clean and well-maintained too?
Thanks Vamsee. Yes, the monasteries are quite clean and kept. The construction is old and creaky wooden, but feels nice!
Hi Priyank – I had seen these prayer wheels being spun in Dharamsala! Your post refreshed my memories of this trip with my family there 4 years ago. Is chorten the local word for temple? Not an english word i know of. Kindly enlighten me.
Hi Gopinath,
I should have clarified (I ignorantly assume a lot). A Chhorten is a shrine dedicated to an individual of high respect, this instance it was the king. It is equivalent to the Sanskrit word ‘Stupa’ which are quite famous in India.
Beautiful pics…Not in a bad way, but most of these places look so alike with the kind of structures, aint it?
Ajeya, yeah very typical structures. After 2 weeks I was at a point where I had seen enough of Buddhist dzongs. About the same feeling as I got after spending 3 weeks visiting Orthodox churches in Russia!
I find it interesting to see the different rituals that people have regarding religion. Some people have prayer beads, some people have prayer flags, and some people have prayer wheels.
Wow. 108 circuits every day. How big is the monastery?
LIW,
Tibetian Buddhism has all of these instruments of worship! LOL…
The perimeter of this particular monastery might be approximately 80m or so, and spinning every wheel is quite a task!
There is somethg abt prayer wheels..I wanted to own one of them..finally picked up a small one at a Tibetan settlement close by
Lakshmi, thats cool, I got one too!
There is something therapeutic and peaceful about prayer wheels.
Mark, yes I agree, spinning them and listening to the sound that they make is really soothing…
Its interesting that Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism all have relevance to the number 108. I suspect that it is because of the religion BON. Do you know about it? In the past some years ago it was routine to find old Tibetan people with prayer wheels but alas it seems that they mostly seem to be giving them up and opting for rosaries. May be because of RS injuries!
From Bon religion? I don’t think so but I might be wrong. There is no documented record of religious beliefs moving from north to south of Himalayas, but Buddhism did cross over the other way. Buddhism, as you know, picked up several tenants from Hinduism before really flowering to its glory in Tibet. It is very likely that 108 was passed on to them. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs and 9 planets so 12 X 9 = 108. There are also 27 Lunar stations with 4 segments each, 27 X 4 = 108. Or this could be simply be a number game. 🙂
Ah, I didn’t know about those changing prayer habits! What is RS? Wrist problems I would imagine?
Very interesting as usual, love the pics. Wow 108 circuits around the monastery daily,lol, reminds me of the mall walkers here, wish they could find a monastery to do their circuits instead of our mall,lol
Ah, there are mall walkers for real? I heard it from someone and I thought they must be joking. Looks like people have same intentions, some go to monastery, others go to a mall!
[…] Ø Blogged by Priyank This post is part of Mystic Druk Yul, a series of travelogues narrating my trip to Bhutan. Here are the other posts! Previous post: Spinning some prayer wheels […]
Hi Priyank,
Lovely photographs.
Was curious to know abt the climate there in December. Seeing you in a half sleeved t-shirt..I thought it must be frozen in December.
All Tibetan settlements in India have temples with prayer wheels. Spinning those wheels gives one a strange and peaceful feeling.
Thanks Mavin,
It was comfortable in December – about 4 or 5 degrees. I wore sweater during some times of the day. 🙂
These prayer wheels are called as Mane (or Maney) by the locals in Sikkim and Ladakh, and are encouraged to be turned clockwise.
Maney, good to know that word. I wondered what happens if we turn it anti-clockwise. I asked someone and they had no answer, many religious things are based on random practises.
This type of Prayer Wheel is a Stationary Electric Prayer Wheel which can be activated over a web interface. Before turning the wheel a wish or a mantra can be entered at the web interface. Via a webcam the user can watch the wheel.
Thanks for the comment.
[…] wheel span. The prayer wheels have scrolls of prayers written inside them. Buddhists believe that spinning the prayer wheel will have the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the […]