View allAll Photos Tagged prayers
Evening prayer call. Excuse poor video quality - taken on camera from moving vehicle. Lovely mosque, though.
The smell of burning incense and the thongs of people make a visit to the Longshan Temple a memorable experience. But it is first and foremost a place for prayer.
Many Christians will spend some extra time talking to God while our country observes the National Day of Prayer.
A soldier writes down a prayer on a piece of paper. There is a custom that when people go to the Western Wall in Jerusalem they write down a prayer on a piece of paper and put it in the cracks of the wall.
Persatuan Seni Silat Cekak Malaysia hold the solat hajat prayers at the National Mosque to pray for prosperity and security to the country and also as a sign of protest against BERSIH 4. The Star/MUHAMMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI
Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags in the morning mist at the great stupa at Bodhnath (Boudha), Kathmandu, Nepal.
The whole of the Kathmandu Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Prayer of consecration for GC officers an their spouses during the first Sabbath GC Session in the Georgia Dome, Saturday, June 26. [Photo: Josef Kissinger]
U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from the 200th Military Police Command's headquarters company participate in a prayer breakfast organized and hosted by the chaplain's office during battle assembly at Fort Meade, Maryland, May 15. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Michel Sauret)
Ninghai, China
1999
This is Jing, a Chinese friend of mine when I first came to China. She took me to her hometown to meet her parents and also to the very old temple where her mother goes to pray daily. Here she is bowing to a monk who looked as old as time, as we crossed the threshold of this temple.
Most of China's temples were destroyed by Mao's Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution. Some here not beaten down but convereted to use as animal barns for ten or so years. I expect that is what happened to this one. But, one of the most important things going on in China at this time now, is the temples are being restored. People are freely practicing their beloved religion. Monks are returning. You can smell the fresh paint sometimes.
A prayer wheel is a cylindrical 'wheel' (Tibetan: 'khor) 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. Also sometimes depicted are Dakinis, Protectors and very often the 8 auspicious symbols Ashtamangala. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, spinning such a wheel will have much the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the prayers.
It is said that prayer wheels are used to accumulate wisdom and merit or good karma and to purify negativities such as bad karma. The idea of spinning mantras comes from numerous Tantric practices where the Tantric practitioner visualizes mantras revolving around the nadis and especially around the meridian chakras such as the heart and crown. Therefore prayer wheels are a visual aid for developing one's capacity for these types of Tantric visualizations. The spiritual method for those practicing with a prayer wheel is very specific (with slight variations according to different Buddhist sects). The practitioner most often spins the wheel clockwise, for the direction the mantras are written is that of the movement of the sun across the sky.