Om Mani Padme Hoon And The Barefeet Poet of Mumbai, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
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Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ[1] (Sanskrit: ओं मणिपद्मे हूं, IPA: [õːː məɳipəd̪meː ɦũː]) is the six syllabled mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan Jainraisig, Chinese Guanyin), the bodhisattva of compassion. Mani means "the jewel" and Padma means "the lotus".
The mantra is especially revered by devotees of the Dalai Lama, as he is said to be an incarnation of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara.
It is commonly carved onto rocks or written on paper which is inserted into prayer wheels, said to increase the mantra's effects.
In English the mantra is variously transliterated, depending on the schools of Buddhism as well as individual teachers.
Most authorities consider maṇipadme to be one compound word rather than two simple words[citation needed]. Sanskrit writing does not have capital letters leaving capitalisation of transliterated mantras varying irrationally from all caps, to initial caps, to no caps. All caps is typical of older scholarly works, and in Tibetan Sadhana texts.
[edit]Meaning
Mantras may be interpreted by practitioners in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict meaning.
The middle part of the mantra, maṇipadme, is often interpreted as "jewel in the lotus," Sanskrit maṇí "jewel, gem, cintamani" and the locative of padma "lotus", but according to Donald Lopez it is much more likely that maṇipadme is in fact a vocative, not a locative, addressing a bodhisattva called maṇipadma, "Jewel-Lotus"- an alternate epithet of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.[2] It is preceded by the oṃ syllable and followed by the hūṃ syllable, both interjections without linguistic meaning.
Lopez also notes that the majority of Tibetan Buddhist texts have regarded the translation of the mantra as secondary, focusing instead on the correspondence of the six syllables of the mantra to various other groupings of six in the Buddhist tradition.[3] For example, in the Chenrezig Sadhana, Tsangsar Tulku Rinpoche expands upon the mantra's meaning, taking its six syllables to represent the purification of the six realms of existence:[4]
SyllableSix PāramitāsPurifiesSamsaric realmColoursSymbol of the Deity(Wish them) To be born in
OmGenerosityPride / EgoDevasWhiteWisdomPerfect Realm of Potala
MaEthicsJealousy / Lust for entertainmentAsurasGreenCompassionPerfect Realm of Potala
NiPatiencePassion / desireHumansYellowBody, speech, mind
quality and activityDewachen
PadDiligenceIgnorance / prejudiceAnimalsBlueEquanimitythe presence of Protector (Chenrezig)
MeRenunciationPoverty / possessivenessPretas (hungry ghosts)RedBlissPerfect Realm of Potala
HumWisdomAggression / hatredNarakaBlackQuality of Compassionthe presence of the Lotus Throne (of Chenrezig)
[edit]Karandavyuha Sutra
The first known description of the mantra appears in the Karandavyuha Sutra (Chinese: 佛說大乘莊嚴寶王經 (Taisho Tripitaka 1050);[5] English: Buddha speaks Mahayana Sublime Treasure King Sutra), which is part of certain Mahayana canons such as the Tibetan. In this sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha states, "This is the most beneficial mantra. Even I made this aspiration to all the million Buddhas and subsequently received this teaching from Buddha Amitabha."[6]
[edit]14th Dalai Lama
"It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast... The first, Om [...] symbolizes the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"
"The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love.[...]"
"The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom[...]"
"Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility[...]"
"Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"
-- H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, "Om Mani Padme Hum"[7]
[edit]Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
"The mantra Om Mani Päme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. Pä, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.
"So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by all the Buddhas of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"
— Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones[8]
[edit]Karma Thubten Trinley
"These are the six syllables which prevent rebirth into the six realms of cyclic existence. It translates literally as 'OM the jewel in the lotus HUM'. OM prevents rebirth in the god realm, MA prevents rebirth in the Asura (Titan) Realm, NI prevents rebirth in the Human realm, PA prevents rebirth in the Animal realm, ME prevents rebirth in the Hungry ghost realm, and HUM prevents rebirth in the Hell realm."
—Karma Thubten Trinley[citation needed]
[edit]Variation
The mantra: Om Mani Peme Hung Hri
As Bucknell, et al. (1986: p. 15) opine, the complete Avalokiteshvara Mantra includes a final hrīḥ (Sanskrit: ह्रीः, IPA: [ɦriːh]), which is iconographically depicted in the central space of the syllabic mandala as seen in the ceiling decoration of the Potala Palace.[9] The hrīḥ is not always vocalized audibly, and may be resonated "internally" or "secretly" through intentionality.
[edit]Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
The first known citation of the mantra occurs in the Karandavyuha Sutra published in the 11th Century which appears in the Chinese Buddhist canon.[5] However, some Buddhist scholars argue that the mantra as practiced in Tibetan Buddhism was based on the Sadhanamala, a collection of sadhana published in the twelfth century.[10]
[edit]Sufi variation
This mantra is also currently practiced by Sufis, with some variation, in the Naqshbandi tariqa ruled by Arif Shah, Omar Ali Shah's son and heir. They say this mantra originated in Afghanistan.
[edit]Music
DharmaSound: Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ (see Buddhismo Ch'an/Zen and Buddhismo Vajrayāna)
"Om Mani Padme Hum" by Snuffaluffagus
"Strange Phenomena" by Kate Bush
"Om Mani Peme Hung" by Dead Skeletons
Mani by Mantrasphere
[edit]Literature
"Thoughts Sitting Breathing" by Allen Ginsberg
"I Will Fear No Evil" by Robert Heinlein
