Comment from Aswad Munyir Abdul La’tif Strategic Martial Art Center
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:44 pm

Hotep Pu. Years ago I was in trance and this Archetype appeared to me. I did let it go, but now I know that it was a “coming of age” for me. I am opening Strategic Martial Art Center and I will be teaching meditaition as well as martial arts. If there are any tips, feel free to contact. I have studied meditaion since 1974. I studied with Richard Hickillman on KQED televiton when I was a kid. Hotep Pu.

Comment from TIBET ARTS
Time: September 1, 2008, 2:47 am

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Comment from Joshua
Time: October 15, 2008, 11:21 pm

If not mistaken, by the form of the mantra, is it possible that Tibetans pronounce this mantra more obscurely? Or is this not the same as the Guru Rinpoche Mantra:
“OM A HUM BENZA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUM”

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: October 16, 2008, 8:31 am

Hi Joshua.

Yes, Tibetan and Sanskrit are from different language groups, and so Tibetan has very different sounds in it. That makes it hard for Tibetans to pronounce Sanskrit words, and “Vajra” comes out as “Benza” and “Padma” as “Pema.” It’s the same mantra, but pronounced in a different way. Technically it’s incorrect, but since it’s the standard pronunciation in Tibet it doesn’t make much sense to take Tibetans to task over it, any more than it would make sense to correct English-speakers who say “Paris” rather than “Paree.”

Comment from Joshua
Time: October 16, 2008, 9:44 am

Thank you for your quick reply. I wish I knew of a handbook of some type that taught the general Tibetan pronunciation. I guess it will come with repeated listening, but not knowing what to expect makes it difficult to chant alongside a Tibetan monk, especially one who sings in polyphonic. I have noticed through studying the transliteration of the Tibetan scripts, that there are stark similarities to those of Sanskrit in structure and that some of the letters in the English transliteration are hit-or-miss. There’s probably a dialect thing going on as most of my instruction comes from the Gelukpa tradition. Thanks again for your help!

Comment from MarSon
Time: January 31, 2009, 4:13 am

Hi Is it okay to chant the Padmasambhava mantra mentaly? and or chant it even if I am not Initiated by a Guru?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: January 31, 2009, 8:44 am

Hi MarSon.

Yes, it’s fine to chant a mantra internally, and you can chant a mantra without initiation. To use these mantras as Tantric practices requires initiation (wong, or abhisheka), but they can also be done as straightforward Mahayana practices, which requires no initiation. Although no doubt many Tantric practitioners would disagree with this, I stick with the traditional Buddhist view that it’s the state of mind with which you perform a practice that makes it spiritually effective, and not external factors, so I don’t think that Tantric initiation in any way makes a mantra practice more effective.

Some people, of course, lacking confidence in themselves, may believe that they have to have some kind of external validation for their practice and so may be given a boost in confidence through knowing that they have initiation from a guru. I don’t in any way wish to suggest however that there’s no point in having a teacher; a teacher can give valuable guidance and advice and be a support in many ways and for most people progress requires this kind of wise and kind guidance. But ultimately practice is something that we do for ourselves. As the Buddha said on his death-bed, “Be a lamp unto yourselves.” We all have Buddha nature, and we all have the capacity to realize that Buddha nature, and practicing mantras — with or without a guru to provide initiation — can help us with that task.

Comment from Michele
Time: April 2, 2009, 12:22 pm

Whenever I chant this mantra to myself, I heal. I dont know why. If I feel anxious- I become calm. Once -very wierdly- I had a terrible hangover and a headache- and I chanted this mantra and the hangover with symptoms just disappeared. The headache went ((poof)) and was gone. I actually could jump out of bed and felt fine. How can this be?

Comment from Michele
Time: April 5, 2009, 2:24 pm

Sorry- maybe I should explain myself. I am not a buddhist. I do not meditate. I cannot “talk shop” with anyone here. I read about this mantra and I said it. At first- it just felt good. Later I found it to be truely healing- and I think what I am asking is: why? How does it work? How can saying some words in a language that I dont even understand make a headache dissappear? Now I have read the other pages on this site – but it still doesnt make sense to me. And I am a medical doctor so I dont take something like this lightly. Can anyone explain to me why saying these words in a foreign language about a man who lived during the 800s in Asia make my headache go away? And does this work for everybody?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: April 5, 2009, 2:48 pm

Hi Michele,

Sorry, I’d assumed that your previous question was rhetorical. My bad

I’m not big on mystical explanations, so what I’d suggest is that headaches often arise because we’re (largely unconsciously) doing things like worrying, feeling anxious, tensing up, focusing in a narrow way, etc, that cause tension. When you repeat a mantra there’s less mental space available to keep doing the headache-generating activities, and so your mind and body start to relax. In theory I don’t think it would matter much which words you used, although commonly-used words probably take less “bandwidth” to repeat and so you probably would be able to multitask and recite the “mantra” and keep doing the things that cause headaches. Repeating foreign words takes more attention, and so you have to let go of a lot more mental activity in order to do that. Similar things happen when we pay attention to the breath, for example. Because we’re using up our inner bandwidth noticing the sensations of the breath we expend less energy thinking unhelpful thoughts connected with anger, depression, anxiety, etc.

Does this make sense?

Comment from Michele
Time: April 6, 2009, 1:08 am

I don`t know. Like- the hangover I had was chemical. I had the alcohol in my blood and whatever makes a wine give you a hangover (probably bad wine and/or too much of it! lol). I dont see how my symptoms in such a case could just go “poof* and disappear by concentrating on some words. I have to add that my buddhist cousin talked me into seeing Mother Meera, and since then, things have been somehow different. Maybe I have to try paying attention to my breath as well- as you say- and see what happens then.
I live in Zurich. Do you know of any good teachers of meditation over here? Perhaps I should start that journey.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: April 6, 2009, 8:39 am

I think that no one can actually “explain” this in any detailed way. But I’d suggest that everything that happens in your brain is chemical, so it’s perhaps not unexpected that meditation can cure a hangover. If, for example, you happened to get into a concentrated and blissful state of mind (what we call dhyana) then this is going to result in chemical changes in the brain. I don’t know what those would be exactly, because although research is being carried out on the effects of meditation on the brain it’s mostly involved using fMRI, which studies which parts of the brain are active but not what’s going on at a chemical level. But lets assume that there was a strong release of endorphins and other chemicals associated with very positive states of mind — those natural opiates may well have been able to overcome the unpleasant (chemical) effects of the hangover. And part of just about any pain we feel isn’t the “pure” pain itself, but the tension that arises around it (to go back to my earlier suggestion), and if you stop generating that secondary pain then that’s going to help too.

I don’t want to downplay the sheer amazingness that is the mind, and the astonishing things that meditation can accomplish. I heartily celebrate all this, along with the mystery of how exactly this thing we call consciousness manages to exist at all, and how it interacts with the brain. It’s all marvelous and mysterious and miraculous (in a very loose sense of that word). Maybe we’ll never entirely understand it. I’m just very wary about the tendency to reach for mystical/miraculous explanations because I don’t think they really explain much. Just as the answer “God did it” in response to the question of why lightening happens didn’t ultimately lead to any real understanding of the world, I’d rather not search for any “miraculous” component in meditation or mantras.

There seem to be a lot of meditation/Buddhism centers in Zürich, according to Google. In some cases I know a little about the organizations that run the centers, but I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the people who would be doing the face-to-face teaching. Sorry I can’t be of more help. If you want to explore breath-based meditation your best bets would be either some kind of Theravadin/Insight group, or a Zen center.

Comment from Michele
Time: April 7, 2009, 1:25 am

Thanks. I agree with you. I also believe more in scientifically based explanations than the purely mystical, because so much corruption can occur with the latter. And the last thing mankind needs are more “false prophets”.
I`ll google “Theravadin”. I once went to a Buddhist center here and although the people were very kind, I felt there was no guidance.
Wishing you well!

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: April 7, 2009, 4:16 am

Good luck with your searches. A Theravadin (or Theravada — the terms are synonyms) center might be called a “vihara” or a “wat,” so watch out for those terms.

Comment from urgyen tsering
Time: July 3, 2009, 12:57 am

good explaination on VAJRA GURU MANTRA.keep on gathering more information.

Comment from mark james packer
Time: August 16, 2009, 12:31 pm

I bow down before the wrath and compassion of the whole. OM MANI VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUM.

Comment from Claire Payne
Time: September 10, 2009, 4:18 am

Hello all

I’ve been searching the internet for a image of how the tibetans write Oṃ Āh Hūṃ Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hūṃ. My partner told me about this mantra and we’ve even named our pup Padmasambhava. :)

I would like to have the mantra as a tattoo, but I want it as it’s supposed to be written.

Please can anyone help?

Thank you very much x

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: September 10, 2009, 7:41 am

You can find the mantra written on Visible Mantra.

Comment from Claire Payne
Time: September 10, 2009, 2:27 pm

Thank you ever so much for your help. I’m extremely grateful. The link was very interesting.

Have a lovely day x

Comment from mondo
Time: September 19, 2009, 1:17 am

Are you aware that most if not all Tibetan Masters have requested their disciples to recite this mantra millions of times? At first it is a daunting idea to repeat the mantra 100 times perhaps, yet in time and quickening the pace, getting in 1000 in an ‘hour’ becomes do-able. So in 10 hours of recitations one can get to the 100,000 mark. Taking in the ‘post-meditation’ view and reciting while going through the motions of ‘daily life’ allows for extended recitations. After all, Guru Rinpoche is ‘here’ all the time no matter what you are doing.

Comment from mondo
Time: September 19, 2009, 1:23 am

On ‘Siddhi’: Syllabically, could you say SID D’Hii? In Tibetan as spoken by the Xin Hai area, it is said SE DA. There are 3 major dialects in the Tibetan region, so I imagine variations on Siddhi could be different depending on where your Master is.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: September 21, 2009, 8:58 am

Hi Mondo,

While I’m not entirely sure what pronunciation you’re trying to convey it doesn’t look much like the Sanskrit is actually pronounced. You seem to be emphasizing the “H” while in Sanskrit this is no more than a slight puff of air that accompanies the final “di”. When I’ve heard Tibetans chanting the word “siddhi” they’ve downplayed the “H” even further, so that it sounds more like siddi. BUt I’m sure the mantra is pronounced or mispronounced in different ways by Tibetans of different dialect groups.

Comment from mondo
Time: September 21, 2009, 12:49 pm

Thanks Bodhipaksa, I take it the ‘h’ in sanscrit is kind of like the ‘h’ in French. Se Da sounds like Suh Duh…not Se Dah. I’m also wondering about the pronounciation of Amoghasiddhi? Being American and seeing ‘Ha’ as in the laugh, or gotcha, I guess I’ve been Americanizing Sanscrit….gandharvi. yet another learning curve. Thanks again.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: September 21, 2009, 9:38 pm

Hi again.

The “h” isn’t the same as in French, where it’s silent. In Sanskrit it “aspirates” a consonant, so that there’s a small audible puff of air comes out as you say it. You get the sound sometimes in English when you say word combinations like “roundhouse.”

There’s not really a “ha” sound in Amoghasiddhi — “gha” is all one syllable and the “g” runs into the “h”. It’s a bit like the g-h combination in English “big-ham”.

Comment from mondo
Time: September 21, 2009, 9:56 pm

Great info!!! Say, in Conze’s Large Perfection of Wisdom text, The Lord does say a lot about the syllables/letters, and as you mention, the associated meditations on each…but where does Manjusri go into them?
I’m into Manjusri and really love Conze’s 700 Lines version wherein he explores the Unthinkability Concentration. Yet I’m looking for Manjusri’s focus on the syllables. I sure hope it is free on the web somewhere.
Please show it to me. I feel a great need here.

Comment from Observer
Time: November 15, 2009, 7:04 pm

To Michele:
The mantras have powerful vibration/energy, which can transform/change even our phisical body and our mind. It can be felt – even if you pronounce just AUM. If you say it 500 times, it can purify and calm!

Comment from mondo
Time: November 16, 2009, 3:58 am

Just ran across yet another definition/synonym for VAJRA. We all know it is mostly seen as DIAMOND and sometimes as LIGHTNING [BOLT], but now it is also able to been understood as EMPTINESS!!! Reading Conze’s translations of the PrajnaParamita Sutras where Emptiness is such a foundational word, I find several times Akshobhya is brought into the sutras. He being the ‘father’ of the Vajra Family, I identify with that particular ‘Family’ of Buddhas. With the view that Samantabhadra is the ultimate of Emptiness/the Dharmakaya Buddha, emanating from Him is a group of Buddhas: VajraPani, VajraSattva, and VajraDhara which all have this VAJRA initially in their ‘Names’…. From them emanates the 5 Families of Buddhas: Vairocana, Amoghasiddi, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava and Amitabha. Yet as Manjusri would say, even these Buddhas are non-existent. So looking at the word ‘exist’ I seem to recall ‘ist’ is a german word meaning something like ‘being’ and ‘ex’ would entail a process concerning ‘being’…like thinking. Hence, as I’d again suggest Manjusri is focusing ‘nonexistence’ on what Conze translates as ‘unthinkable’ to mean ‘pre-thought’, ‘post-thought’ or even ‘non-thought’…what seems to me like the silent stillness of Akshobhya wherein ‘the small voice’ is heard. In the 700 lines, Conze does mention Buddha’s explanation about the One Single Array concentration. Seems to be a synonym for the Unthinkability Concentration. Having lots of fun wandering in ‘The Range’.

Comment from John
Time: March 9, 2010, 1:31 pm

Hey Bodhipaksa

I was just wondering, why did you leave out the visarga in āḥ in the mantra and replace it with an “h”?

Thanks, your website is great!

John

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: March 9, 2010, 1:49 pm

Hi John,

The short answer is “sheer carelessness.” Thanks for being so sharp-eyed. It’s fixed now.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from John
Time: March 9, 2010, 2:30 pm

Hey Bodhipaksa,

Your welcome. I don’t mean to nit-pick you but I hope that you put how to pronounce it in the pronunciation notes. :-) I’d be interested to hear how you pronounce it. From the audio file (if that’s you) it sounds as if you could be slightly breathing out after the “ā”. I’ve heard so many different ways of pronouncing it, such as an faint echo of the preceding vowel (I’ve heard others say that you don’t say the faint echo if it’s midverse) and then I’ve heard it said that it’s a slight aspiration or exhale after the vowel. It’s all terribly confusing.

Thanks,
John

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: March 9, 2010, 2:51 pm

I’m afraid I can’t be of any definitive help. The way I’ve been taught to chant āḥ, it sounds like what the doctor asks you to say when he wants to look at your throat. But that may be incorrect.

Comment from John
Time: March 9, 2010, 3:54 pm

Hey Bodhipaksa,

Is that because of Sandhi rules? I’ve wondered whether that applied to mantras. Does it? Because if I does you might be right, but I don’t know. I bought the book Samskrta-Subodhini: A Sanskrit Primer thinking that it would help me learn Sanskrit so I could better pronounce mantras and it says that a visarga when preceded by an “ā” and followed by a voiced consonant or vowel, is dropped. The “h” in hūṃ is a voiced consonant so in this case you could be correct but I don’t know. I’ve never taken a class on Sanskrit or Pali or anything Indian related. I’m really an amateur or even less than one.

Thanks,
John

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: March 9, 2010, 4:05 pm

I studied Pali for a couple of years at university, but we didn’t go much into sandhi rules. The person to ask about this would be jayarava, over at http://www.visiblemantra.org. He’s studying Sanskrit and is a specialist in mantras and Indic scripts.

Comment from John
Time: March 9, 2010, 4:23 pm

Hello Bodhipaksa,

I already asked him and he was very helpful. Jayarava answered all my questions how to pronounce this particular mantra. Sanskrit can be so tricky. I was taught to pronounce the Vajra Guru mantra pretty much like you, with the āḥ sounding like what you described with going to the doctor, though I was taught Padma was Pema instead. Jayarava recommended your website for another perspective.

Thanks,
John