In Tibetan Buddhist practice, spinning a prayer wheel is understood to hold the same merit as reciting the mantras inscribed on it, sending blessings outward with each turn.
Here the mantra is Om Mani Padme Hum, the six-syllable invocation of compassion tied to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of the awakened heart. Turning even a wheel this small becomes a small act of prayer.
The Endless Knot that holds the wheel aloft is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. Its unbroken line of interlocking loops represents the interdependence of all things and the union of wisdom and method on the path to awakening.
Together the two reinforce one another: a mantra of compassion set in motion within a symbol of infinite connection.