Hilton Chen
Hands of Faith
Elderly Bhutanese women in their colorful traditional dress grasp their prayer beads and handheld prayer wheel at a dzong in Punakha. Prayer wheels come in many sizes. The handheld ones are usually decorated with carvings of deities, mantras, or auspicious symbols. A small metal weight is attached to the wheel with a short chain, which allows the practitioner to spin the wheel with a slight rotation of the wrist. The wheel is always spun in the clockwise direction. In Bhutan it is a common sight to see the faithful walking around a stupa while spinning the prayer wheel or doing it while simply sitting or resting.
Hands of Faith
Elderly Bhutanese women in their colorful traditional dress grasp their prayer beads and handheld prayer wheel at a dzong in Punakha. Prayer wheels come in many sizes. The handheld ones are usually decorated with carvings of deities, mantras, or auspicious symbols. A small metal weight is attached to the wheel with a short chain, which allows the practitioner to spin the wheel with a slight rotation of the wrist. The wheel is always spun in the clockwise direction. In Bhutan it is a common sight to see the faithful walking around a stupa while spinning the prayer wheel or doing it while simply sitting or resting.