Inauguration of the Thame Prayer Wheel (located in its house), on August 12, 2022.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born in The Mount Everest region of Thame, Nepal, located near Lawudo which was the home of Rinpoche’s previous incarnation. Rinpoche’s sister, Anil-la Ngawang Samten, had the wish to build a prayer wheel in Thame, near the house where Rinpoche was born. She offered some of her own money toward the building of the prayer wheel and the prayer wheel house, and thanks to a very kind benefactor we were able to offer a grant to fund the rest of this project. The prayer wheel is 9 ft x 6 ft in size and contains 100 trillion mantras on microfilm (using nanotechnology). This is possibly the most mantras contained in a prayer wheel in the entire world (to date)!

On August 12 the incarnation of the Thame Lama and other monks from Thame Monastery blessed the new prayer wheel. Lay people also came to offer song and Dharma dances during this auspicious inauguration. We are so happy to share a short video of this blessed event:

During Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s August 13 teaching from Singapore, he shared news of the progress on this prayer wheel and also led participants in an a dedication prayer for this project. We invite you all to join in this extensive dedication composed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

Dedications for the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by numberless sentient beings, and the three-time merits collected by numberless buddhas, and, in particular, due to all the merits of having built and sponsored at much expense, and of having met, this most precious, wish-fulfilling mani wheel:

• May His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Chenrezig in human form, who is the sole object of refuge of us six-realm sentient beings, the originator of all sentient beings’ happiness, and the embodiment of all the past, present and future buddhas of the ten directions, have a long and stable life and remain until our samsara ends, and may all his holy wishes be fulfilled.
• May all the other holy beings and all the sangha in the different countries of the world have long and healthy lives, and may they be successful in preserving and spreading the Dharma for the benefit of sentient beings.
• May the precious, wish-fulfilling teachings of the Buddha, from where every sentient being receives happiness, last a long time and spread in the ten directions.

Dedications for the Benefactors and Generous People

In particular, due to the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel:

• May all the benefactors who make offerings to and serve the sangha and the Buddha’s teachings enjoy good health and have long lives, and may all their wishes be fulfilled.
• May all the people from different countries who help others, such as MacKenzie Scott, Sonu Sood, Richard Gere, and Lady Gaga, and especially those who helped others during the time of COVID-19 by providing food, organizing transport for migrant workers in India, and so forth, have good health, a long life, and may all their wishes to benefit others be fulfilled.

Dedication for Evil Beings

Due to the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel, may all evil-doers meet the Buddhadharma and come to understand karma—the consequences of the actions they did with a negative mind—and be able to abandon creating negative karma, the cause of suffering, and only practice the cause of happiness, virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind. May they generate bodhicitta in their hearts, stop harming others, and only benefit them up to enlightenment.

Dedications for the Sentient Beings of the Six Realms and Intermediate State

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless hell beings. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless hell beings never be reborn in the lower realms again. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless hungry ghosts. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless hungry ghosts never be reborn in the lower realms again. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless animals. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless animals—those in the ocean that are so small they can only be seen with a microscope and those that are as large as mountains, as well as every single ant, tiny fly, mosquito, louse, and so on—never be reborn in the lower realms again. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless human beings. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless human beings in the numberless universes—especially those lacking a home, food, medicine, or a livelihood, as well as the billionaires, trillionaires, and zillionaires who experience the greatest dissatisfaction and so much happiness and are the real poor people—never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless asuras. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits.  Due to these merits, may the numberless asuras never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless suras. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless suras never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless intermediate state beings. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless intermediate state beings never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

By dedicating in this way, every single samsaric sentient being has been able to collect extensive merits. This is what they need in order to become free from the suffering of pain, to experience temporary happiness within samsara, and to achieve the peerless happiness of full enlightenment. All sentient beings, including myself, have been able to collect such unbelievable merits entirely due to the kindness of Ani-la Ngawang Samten, by whose inspiration this project was initiated.

Dedications to Stop the Dangers Causes by the Four Elements

Due to the inconceivable merits of all the people who built and sponsored this prayer wheel, and the skies of merits of those who built and sponsored it with bodhicitta, may the world immediately be free from:

• war, famine, and disease, including all the different present diseases, such as COVID-19, and all the diseases that will come in the future;
• disharmony, fighting, and killing;
• the dangers caused by earth, including earthquakes, landslides, and other disasters that cause great harm and fear to living beings, who have no control over them;
• the dangers caused by water, including tsunamis, floods, droughts, famines, and so forth that are happening in many countries, including large, rich countries like China and America;
• the dangers caused by fire, such as the wildfires that cause great harm to animals and human beings and take governments months and sometimes even years to put out;
• the dangers caused by wind, such as cyclones, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

May all these dangers be pacified immediately and may the world be filled with perfect peace and happiness. May bodhicitta be generated in everyone’s heart, and may they achieve enlightenment, the fully awakened mind, as quickly as possible.

Dedications for Specific People and All Sentient Beings

I dedicate all the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel:

• to my father to repay his kindness, even though I didn’t have a chance to see him in this life;
• to my mother, due to whose unbelievable kindness I have received a human body, met the holy Dharma, and been able to benefit others in the world a little bit;
• to the original benefactor, my sister Ani-la Ngawang Samten, my brother Sangye, and my other sister Chokyi who died when she was very young, and all my aunts and uncles;
• to Ven. Tenzin Drachom and all the people from Singapore who sponsored the microfilm with the mantras, due to which sentient beings can receive all these merits;
• to Tendar, who was a key person in helping make the prayer wheel, Tobgye, Sherab, Roger, Tenpa Choden, Holly, Ani Janne, Tenzin, Tharchin, Anet, Angie, Katie, the late Nyima, and all those who work for the FPMT;
• to Ven. Thubten Pemba Sherpa, who is always very helpful for Kopan and its branches and many other projects;
• to every single person who built or has offered service at Lawudo Gompa, including Sangmu Sherpa, Tsultrim Norbu, Pemba Tsering, and so forth;
• to everyone who has helped support Lawudo, including Mingma Yangji Sherpa and her husband Pemba Nuru Sherpa, Sangye’s wife Nyima, and Nyima Tashi;
• and to all the animals at Lawudo, including the dzomos who gave milk, the cows, and the dogs.

I dedicate all the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel to everyone who comes here to see it and to everyone who turns it. (Now you can see that every sentient being is the benefactor of this prayer wheel, including you.)

I dedicate all the merits of building and sponsoring the prayer wheel to all the sentient beings who rely on me, all those for whom I have promised to pray, and all those whose names have been given to me, both the living and the dead.

May they all achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment as quickly as possible.

I dedicate all the merits of having built this prayer wheel for everyone in this world to achieve temporal and ultimate happiness.

Numberless Thanks

I would like to thank Yangji and her husband Pemba, who guided and completed this work of building the prayer wheel, and all the workers who built it. May they all quickly become free from the oceans of samsara and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment as quickly as possible.

From the depths of my heart, numberless thanks to everyone.

Lama Zopa, Lawudo Lama

To help ensure our support to the creation of holy objects around the world, we invite you to offer a donation of any amount to the Holy Objects Fund.