Avalokitesvara mantra
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Oṁ Mani Padme Hūṁ / Om Mani Padme Hum
Avalokiteshvara (or Avalokitesvara) is a Bodhisattva who represents compassion, and his mantra also symbolizes that quality. Avalokiteshvara means "The Lord Who Looks Down (in compassion)".
There are various forms of Avalokitesvara (Chenrezig in Tibetan). The four-armed form is shown here. There is also a 1000-armed form — the many arms symbolizing compassion in action. And in the far east, Avalokiteshvara turned into the female Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin.
Om, as I’ve explained before, has only a mystical meaning — suggesting primordial reality. Mani means jewel, while Padme means lotus. Hum, like Om, has no conceptual meaning. Overall, the mantra is suggestive of the bringing together of the qualities of wisdom (the lotus) and compassion (the jewel).
Just as the lotus can exist in muddy water without being soiled, so wisdom can exist in an impure world without becoming contaminated.
And the Dalai Lama points out that just as a jewel can relieve poverty, so the compassionate mind takes away the poverty of unhappiness that exists in the world and replaces it with the wealth of wellbeing.
This is probably the best known Buddhist mantra. I swear I remember hearing it chanted on an episode of the BBC Sci-fi series, Dr Who, when I was a young kid back in the 1960s.
This mantra is very widely chanted in Tibet, and not only chanted but carved onto stones, printed onto flags, and embossed onto prayer wheels. The illustration below shows the mantra’s six syllables, which from left to right are: Om Ma Ni Pa Dme Hum.
Tibetans find Sanskrit hard to pronounce (so do westerners, actually, but in different ways) and so Tibetans pronounce "Padme" as "peh-may".
Click here for the chant in RealAudio.
Or click below to listen to an MP3 version:
Pronunciation notes:
o is pronounced like o in ore
a is pronounced as u in cut
e is pronounced as a in made
ū is like oo in cool
m in hum is pronounced ng
Comments
Comment from chris
Time: June 24, 2007, 10:12 pm
Thank you very much for the useful information. I have been making prayer flags for the meditation area in my yard, and this information has been inspiring. May you reach enlightenment quickly.
Comment from Mbeleck Mandenge
Time: July 12, 2007, 11:16 am
O.K.
Thank you very much.
Can I ask a broader question?
In my life I have never been in contact with confessional Buddhism excepting the Sokka Gakkai variety. By temperament I am not inclined to this variety. All the other varieties as I have some acquaintance in literature it seems to me please my heart. Does it make sense for me to identify myself with Buddhists when I have never been in the company of anyone especially of any initiate from whom I can actually see the practice? And to what extent would the chanting of a mantra in my manner suffice for my yearning to feel the identity of a Buddhist?
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: July 12, 2007, 1:13 pm
That’s a good question, Mbeleck. Many people when they encounter Buddhist teachings find that they have a heart response of feeling that they’ve come home. There’s a sense of the inherent and natural truth of Buddhist teaching. So in the West especially there’s a tendency for people to discover — in isolation — that they have an affinity with Buddhist practice. And I believe that to be an entirely appropriate response.
Traditionally, one is a Buddhist when one has “Gone for Refuge” to the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the spiritual community). This means in essence that one has decided that Enlightenment (the open-ended development of awareness and compassion) is one’s goal in life, that the Dharma is the best way to attain that goal, and that one aspires to attain that goal in the company of others.
Not all these Refuges come into focus in our lives at the same time. It sounds like the first two have for you, and that your task is now to find an appropriate context in which to practice. Exactly which spiritual community one joins is often a matter both of personal preference and of geography!
I wish you good fortune in finding an appropriate sangha for your needs.
Comment from Mbeleck Mandenge
Time: July 23, 2007, 9:04 am
Thank you for the considered response I get to my queries:perhaps in you, for the time I have found a teacher. Would you suggest a Buddha image [or a bodhisattva image] I can post on the wall of my room, and some Buddhist text which may be practical accompaniment?
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: July 24, 2007, 8:07 am
Hello again, Mbeleck.
The choice of a Buddha image is really a very personal thing, and I’d suggest that you find an image that you’re simply attracted to.
My first Buddha image was a Nepalese woodcut of Akshobhya. I just found that I liked the image when I saw it in a local shop, and I’d no idea who Akshobhya was (or even that the figure was Akshobhya) but when later I did some investigation I discovered that he was associated with qualities that particularly fascinated me (for example the element Water and the Mirror-Like Wisdom).
So I’d suggest that you follow your heart (or your eye) on this matter and find what interests you — then explore the iconography and mythology of that figure to deepen your sense of fascination. Vessantara’s book, “Meeting the Buddhas” is an excellent resource for getting background information, by the way.
Comment from Mbeleck Mandenge
Time: July 27, 2007, 11:57 am
I will be delighed to be specifically instructed on how to practice the chanting of the Avalokitesvara mantra and be hinted on events in my mental and spiritial life I would be watchful for which would nean progress of some sort. I do not know whether this request of mine is a sensible one. I earnestly would engage on the life of discipline as The Buddha would prescribe and I wish there anyone I would go for inspiration in a practical way. Can you give me this?
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 10, 2007, 3:04 pm
Hello Mbeleck,
It’s always worth asking! Unfortunately because of lack and time and resources we’re not really able to take on the role of being your spiritual teacher. I’d encourage you to look for a local Buddhist group, if that’s at all possible. Unfortunately I don’t know where you live or whether there are such groups in your locality. If you write to us through our contact form we might be able to make some recommendations. But I wish you well with your practice.
With best wishes,
Bodhipaksa
Comment from Wahab Abayomi Omiwole
Time: January 7, 2008, 11:42 am
I have listened to the audio of chant “Om Mani Padme Hum”. Could you, please, teach me how to chant and how many times per day, etc
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: January 7, 2008, 10:42 pm
Hi Wahab,
I’d hope there’s enough guidance here for you to learn to chant the mantra. There’s no set number of times that a mantra should be chanted per day. You can simply call the mantra to mind as often as possible — for example when waiting in a queue, or when walking, or when waking up or going to sleep.
Comment from PRASAD B
Time: April 19, 2008, 4:29 am
In 1996 when i was seriously ill doctors diagnoised it as thrombosis and heart is damaged. They suggested some medicines and called for a review after on month. Within this one month duration i used to go for net browsing and suddenly like a boon i got this “mani” mantra. Daily i used to spend 7 hours in net surfing and studied in detail about this mantra. The benefits are numerous but as far as i am concerned my health is rapidly improved. Now this mantra is always in my breath viz., in every inhale and exhale. Particularly when going for a long walk in the early hours it will really show its benefits. Now i am a regular practitioner of this mantra and gaining all merits. When i am asleep this chanting is always there in my mind i used to see glittering stars, a blue coloued light in the sky and sometimes feel sitting with famous buddhist monks who were chanting this mantra rythemic.
When the review meet with my doctors they got wondered and could not trace out any heart trouble symptoms.
So it is my appeal to every one who see this reponse in site to practise this mantra and reap the benefits.
I trusted this mantra
Practised it vigorously and benefitted out of it………
Buddham saranam gachhami
Sangham saranam gachhami
Dharmam saranam gachhami
Comment from doubtful
Time: May 7, 2008, 4:04 am
may i ask what is the correct pronunciation of this mantra?is it om mani pa mi hung or om mani pe me hum?which pronunciation is correct or both are correct?between what do we have to do after chanting the mantra?thanks
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: May 7, 2008, 1:08 pm
Hi Doubtful,
There’s a pronunciation guide above :)
It’s Hung and not hum.
I’m not sure what you meant by your last question, I’m afraid. Can you rephrase that?
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