Wherever you go in Tibet, you can see people turning the prayer wheels. They believe that turning the wheel is equivalent to reciting scripture, hence it is the best way to confess the wrong deeds, ward off disasters and cultivate merit and virtue. That is why the prayer wheels are placed in every quarter. People even take with them for handy turning anytime.

The size of the wheels is varied. The small ones, called hand Mani wheels, can be taken in hand. They are usually made of gold, silver or bronze. Their main bodies take a shape of cylinder, in which there is a shaft for spinning. On the cylindrical surface, the six-syllable mantra prayer of Tibetan Buddhism is inscribed. Even inside of the cylinder, some scriptures are stored. The wheels are usually elaborately made, on which there are not only inscriptions of scripture and birds-animals patterns, but also colored painted polychromes, like artworks. Some wheels are even embedded with corals and gems, adding economic value to its religious value. On the wheels, there are some small holes for hanging small pendants, turning with the wheel. The local people firmly believe that their merits and virtues can accumulate as fast as the wheels rotate.

Though the hand wheels rotate very fast, the followers still hold that the small ones cannot compare with the big ones, because the big ones are inscribed and loaded with much more scripture and mantras. Also each rotation of the big ones has a much longer track than that of the small ones, hence gaining much more merit and virtue. Therefore, except for turning their hand wheels at any moment, they take some specific time to turn the big wheels, which are often installed in special prayer wheel verandas in monasteries. Rows of uncountable wheels are installed in good order, looking spectacular and mysterious.

The big prayer wheels are cylindrical, one meter high and 40- odd centimeters in diameter, and are usually made of bronze or wood. The wooden ones are often red-colored, coated with silk fabric or cattle or sheep skin, on which are also inscribed the six-syllable mantra prayer and the bird-animal patterns; and inside of which are fully loaded the scripture. Starting rotation of the wheels means starting reciting all of the scriptures inside of the wheels. Most of them can be easily turned by hand. While there are some huge ones that can not be turned by one or two persons, several meters high and two meters in diameter, and inside of which a complete series of Tripitaka can be stored.