What are your stand on mantra wheels ?

TWE SG

I have been wondering for a long time that does spinning the mantra wheels really produce merit ? Or is it based on faith alone where if you belive it will then it will have the effect otherwise it won’t have the effects of creating merits ? And does writing the Noble Mahayana Sangatasutra dharma-paryaya or in chinese called the seng jia tuo jing produce merits ? What are your stand on such things ? Why issit that some believe in it while others don’t belive or even say not true . Is there really any merit in writing sutras ? How should we store such sutras ?

An Eternal Now SG

There are indeed merits for writing sutras.... especially so in the past, where there is no photocopying machine, and everything has to be hand written. If you can copy the sutra, and pass it to someone else, isn't that great merits? But even today... there are still merits. Because by copying the sutra you will also deeply look into the content of the sutra, and that itself is great merits. And I believe somehow if you copy the sutra by hand, you will treasure it more because it is done with great effort. And even to keep, recite, read, and expound the sutras, all these have very vast merits that are immeasurable Smile

As for Mantra wheels, I am not a Tibetan Buddhist but you can refer to this article which is well written on this subject: http://www.fpmt.org/resources/lzrbenefits.asp

bohiruci SG

the mantra wheel is a minature of mantra wheel of tibetan temple

as to when it all started ... i think have to do with

Tibet is under chinese dynastic influence

they saw a self-rotating lantern thus comes abt the idea of mantra wheel around the monastery

to turn one is to recite it once of the mantra of Om Mani Padme Hum

All this are not created out of giving false hope

many realised master in tibet write abt the benefit of reading the sutra
and chanting the mantra

I as a Buddhist dare to say this
"If its all bullshit , Buddhism wont survive to this day , 2500 yrs later

TWE SG

So what about the storing of sutras ? Can anyone tell me some ways to keep or store a sutra properly ? Can i after writing a sutra seal it in a hard cover cupboard box then put it somewhere like for example behind a statue of shakyamuni or just put it on a table to pray to ? And must it be facing the window or can let it face anywhere ? ( of cos not the toilet for sure ) . Cos i know taoist god have to be facing the sky/window but buddha wise i wonder if this rule still applies .

An Eternal Now SG

There is no rules regarding where the sutra should be placed or facing. Just make sure you put it in respectful places (i.e never on the floor or toilet, etc). Put it somewhere not messy.

neutral_onliner SG

Don't think there's rules regarding where the Buddha statue should be placed or facing also.Basically The Buddha statue represents the Enlightened One. Many people looking on the Buddha statue find it a source of happiness and serenity. It is a symbol of the end of suffering and true peace. Cool

An Eternal Now SG

Zen masters would tell you, there is not a place where Buddha cannot be found (our buddha nature is omnipresent/all pervading). So how does it matter where does the Buddha face? Cool

In fact paperflower asked me the same question, her relatives (who is also Buddhist with their own Buddhist altar, but somehow influenced by other beliefs) imposed many 'restrictions' on how she should placed her Buddhist altar and end up no place to put it.. and asked me how to solve it.. which I find quite silly (she also thinks it is silly, hope she has solved it now). (i.e must face sky, two buddha cannot face each other), I think it is quite superstitious.

neutral_onliner SG

agree Cool