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:
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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
The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Avalokiteshvara)
Avalokiteshvara’s name means "The Lord Who Looks Down (in compassion)."
Avalokiteshvara forms a protective trinity along with Manjushri and Vajrapani. He is the protector of the Lotus family of deities, which also includes Amitabha and Tara.
In Tibet, Avalokitesvara is known as Chenrezig, and the Dalai Lama is said to be an emanation of this Bodhisattva. In the far east, Avalokiteshvara turned into the female Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin (Chinese) or Kannon (Japanese).
Avalokitesvara is also popularly known as Padmapani, or "Holder of the Lotus."
To western eyes, the depiction of Avalokiteshvara as having four arms can seem bizarre or alien. The first time that I saw a picture of this Bodhisattva I was mildly repelled, and couldn’t help wondering about how all those arms joined to the body!
Later I came to realize that this is simply an iconographic convention, and one that we also have in an important Western art form, the comic strip. How does a comic strip artist show that a character is running? Often this is done by having motion lines behind a figure to show movement, or by showing multiple versions of the same image, like a stroboscopic photograph.
Similarly, Eastern artists, trying to depict the multifarious compassionate activities of Avalokiteshvara, chose to depict him as having four arms. Avalokiteshvara’s compassion and wisdom have too many dimensions to be represented by a conventional human figure, and so each arm represents a different aspect of his compassionate nature.
The central pair of hands clasps the mani, or jewel, to Avalokiteshvara’s heart in a prayer-like attitude. The jewel represents compassion, which is his principle attribute. The jewel is held to his heart because compassion is central to Avalokiteshvara’s being. Compassion is Avalokiteshvara’s essence.
The outer arms hold a mala (rosary) and a lotus flower, as if as gifts. These are Avalokiteshvara’s offerings to the world — his compassionate activity extending into the world. The lotus symbolizes wisdom, while the mala represents the gift of meditation, and also comments on the necessity for the constant repetition of skillful activities in order to attain enlightenment.
This multi-limbed approach was taken to another level in the thousand-armed and eleven-headed form of Avalokiteshvara. According to legend, Avalokiteshvara made a vow, in the presence of the Buddha Amitabha, to manifest in all the realms of existence in order to save all sentient beings. He also vowed that if he were to lose his compassion for even a moment, that he would shatter into a thousand pieces.
At one time, having worked tirelessly for the welfare of beings, Avalokiteshvara, at Amitabha’s prompting, looked back and saw that there were still uncountable beings suffering in samsara. At that point he became discourage, fainted, and shattered into a thousand pieces. Amitabha gathered up the pieces and reassembled them into a form with thousand arms and eleven heads.
The eleven heads symbolize the eleven directions of space, suggesting that Avalokiteshvara’s compassionate gaze is infinite in scope. Each of the thousand hands, which are arrayed like an aura around the standing figure of Avalokiteshvara, has an eye in the center of the palm, suggesting that his beneficial activities are informed by transcendental wisdom. Many of the hands bear implements, suggesting the skilful means that Avalokiteshvara employs in saving sentient beings from the sufferings of samsara.
Although he is associated with compassion, Avalokiteshvara is, like all Bodhisattvas, symbolic of wisdom as well. He is connected with the Heart Sutra in particular, and that text is in fact a teaching he gave on the topic of emptiness (shunyata) to Shariputra. He is also associated with the Lotus Sutra.
Avalokiteshvara is the spiritual father of Tara, who is said to have been born from a lotus that grew in a lake formed by the tears he shed as he gazed in compassion at the infinite sufferings of the world.
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?
Comment from Pradeep
Time: June 6, 2008, 8:27 am
Is it helpfull if we keep a photo of lotus & jewel while chanting om mane padme hum.
will it help to concentrate better.
please tell me what should i keep in mind while chanting a mantra
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: June 6, 2008, 8:51 am
Hi Pradeep,
This is the kind of thing you might want to experiment with, although in my experience it’s enough simply to pay attention to the sound of the mantra and so see what, if any mental images come to mind.
Although a familiarity with what jewels and lotuses look like can certainly help prime the mind for this kind of spontaneous visualization, it might be best to look at these kinds of photographs outside of meditation. And I wouldn’t suggest that in your meditation you try to reproduce in your mind the images you’ve seen on a photo, but instead (as I suggested above) allow any images to emerge naturally.
In mantra practice the object of our meditation is paying attention to the sound of the mantra, and perhaps also to a mental or physical image of the Buddha or bodhisattva.
I hope this helps.
With metta,
Bodhipaksa
Comment from Earthshine
Time: June 28, 2008, 4:54 pm
Namaste
Radiant beings of Buddha-nature.
As an invocation of Avalokitesvara, the general pronunciation of the mantra is: Om Mani Padme Hum.
As an invocation of Cherenzig, the Tibetan pronunciation of the mantra is: Om Mani Peme Hung.
May all sentient beings be endowed with happiness.
May they abide in equanimity, free from attachment or aversion.
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: June 28, 2008, 8:05 pm
Hi Earthshine,
Chenrezig is just the Tibetan name for Avalokiteshvara (it’s a rough translation) and so the two are the same figure. The Tibetan form of the mantra is just a Tibetan (mis)pronunciation, so they’re not two different mantras for different figures.
I hope that’s helpful.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Comment from Earthshine
Time: June 28, 2008, 10:34 pm
Hello Bodhipaksa,
I concur. They are only avatars, manifestations or embodiments of the same essential nature of love and compassion. Kind of like you and I. My previous comment was in response to doubtful’s inquiry, to which you had pretty much already elucidated. It would be most enjoyable to converse further about Vajrasattva, Zen koans, Kundalini or anything else present in the collective unconcious. Bodhi means “enlightened, luminous”; what does paksa mean?
It is always helpful.
Peace,
Earthshine
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: June 29, 2008, 12:11 pm
Paksha means “wings” — so my name is “Wings of Enightenment.”
Comment from Earthshine
Time: June 30, 2008, 3:13 am
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
-T. S. Eliot Four Quartets
This web site is beyond the Beyond. It is crazy good. Overflowing with true compassionate support and good ol’ bhakti yoga. Bodhipaksa, I would just like to say: You the man! The Wingman! You are a beacon of the Light of humanity and your speech is of the unfolding of the Dharma. So… the first, primordial buddha is Samantabhadra, Siddhartha is the fourth buddha Sakyamuni and then there’s the fifth, future buddha, Maitreya. Could you possibly further clarify concerning the nature or energy of the five historical buddhas?
Until then,
Wu-wei
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: July 1, 2008, 9:22 am
Hi Earthshine,
Thanks very much for your kind comments. It’s encouraging to receive expressions of appreciation.
I’m afraid I don’t know much about these other Buddhas. There seem to be various lists in different traditions, with differing numbers of supposedly historical Buddhas. Dipankara, Shakyamuni and Maitreya make up the set of Buddhas of the past, present, and future. There’s also a list of five Buddhas of the present kalpa, but I know next to nothing about them. I’m not even sure that there is much information out there on the topic! It may be that there are sutras waiting to be translated that give more information on these other Buddhas, or they may be, in effect, no more than placeholder names that outline a supposed lineage. Or it may be that there’s information out there that I just haven’t come across yet — and that’s quite probable since I haven’t ever thought to do any research on this. My own background is rooted in a study of the Pali scriptures (plus practice of largely Theravadin meditation) as well as study of the more common Mahayana scriptures. There’s a lot of more exotic stuff out there that I’m simply unfamiliar with. If you find any good sources please let me know!
Getting back to these other Buddhas, though: one problem is that the tradition became very stereotypical. It was assumed that the legends surrounding Shakyamuni provided a basic framework that described the life of all historical Buddhas, and so if you come across a “biography” of another Buddha (and I do remember reading an account of either Dipankara or Kashapa — I can’t recall which) you’ll notice that it runs through the same patterns: born to a rich family, renounces the world, becomes enlightened, has two chief disciples and an attendant, etc.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Comment from debbie
Time: July 20, 2008, 5:46 pm
how are these names pronounced avalokiteshvara and chenrezig
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: July 20, 2008, 6:33 pm
Hi Debbie,
I’ve added a rough pronunciation guide — just hover over the first instances of these two names on this page to see it. These are very approximate, I’m afraid.
Take care,
Bodhipaksa
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