Spiritual
Yushou, Quinhai Provence, China
An older woman waits for her family and while she waits she spins her prayer wheel. With each spin, prayers fly heavenward. I once saw prayer wheels set in a rushing stream. As the force of the water flowed over the prayer wheels they rotated like the beaters of a mixer. A jet blast of prayers emanated from that one place.
When you enter a Buddhist monastery, you walk in a clockwise motion and spin the prayer wheels that are set along the way. Some prayer wheels are as tall as a man but turn easily. Our guide had brought a bottle of clarified butter for the oil lamps. He didn’t disperse it himself as he was working for us, but he gave it to a monk instead. I had offered to pay for the butter, but he refused. It was his offering.