Comment from alex flamm
Time: November 19, 2007, 6:01 pm

my wife is a nurse and she wanted to know if ther were and healing mantras or a mantra related to her feild of work.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: November 19, 2007, 7:07 pm

The White Tara mantra is said to promote long life, so that’s one candidate. The other, though, is a mantra that we don’t yet have on this site, and it’s the Medicine Buddha (Bhaishajyaguru) mantra. If you Google it you’re bound to turn something up.

Comment from Kashka
Time: December 3, 2007, 10:19 pm

I attend the Five Buddha Shrine in LAs Vegas, I know that they would be more than happy to help you out with healing mantras such as one for diabetes and for the kidneys. They’re amazing people & have helped me tremendously. Here is their info. Dari Rulai Lohan Temple - Five Buddha Shrine Vajrayana Buddhism 3043 Garnet Court Las Vegas, NV 89121 (702) 641-0522 Ask for Paul, JEN T, or David or find them on the web. Hope that helps.
By the way - This is my favorite informative/spiritual site - currently on the web- Thank you.

Comment from Laura Landy
Time: May 22, 2008, 11:30 am

Is there a way to download the fonts needed to see the diacritic marks?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: May 22, 2008, 12:52 pm

Hi Laura,

Good to hear from you. To see the diacritics you’d need (1) to have a Unicode font installed on your computer. And (2) your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc) will need to be set up to actually use that font. Unicode is not itself a font — it’s a type of font that, to the best of my understanding, includes a wide range of characters that are non-standard in English, as well as the usual characters you’re used to. “Arial Unicode MS”, for example, is a commonly used Unicode font.

There are some instructions here that explain how to get a Unicode font onto your computer and (lower down the page) how to get your browser to use that font.

I hope that’s helpful. This is all a bit technical and out of my area of expertise.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from James
Time: May 28, 2008, 8:55 pm

I would say the best mantra to be used in the health field is that of the blue buddha know simply as Medicine Buddha. His Mantra is…
Teyata, Om Bekanze Bekanze, Maha Bekanze, Randza Samudgate Soha

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: May 29, 2008, 8:46 am

Hi Paul,

We still don’t have a page on the Medicine Buddha mantra, but we do plan to add one.

You might be interested to know that the correct Sanskrit form of the short mantra is (tadyathā) oṃ bhaiṣajye bhaiṣajye mahābhaiṣajye bhaiṣajye rāja samudgate svāhā (although your version has one bhaiṣajye fewer and may be an alternative short version).

This mantra seems more than most to be mangled in Tibetan pronunciation. This doesn’t mean the Tibetan mantra is wrong. Tibetans have been doing it that way for a long time, of course, so they way you’ve rendered the mantra is therefore the proper way to pronounce the mantra in the Tibetan tradition, and if you’re part of that Tradition then you really have to chant it that way or you won’t be able to join in with their rituals, but I think it’s also good to know what the original Sanskrit is.

This is perhaps especially important since the English rendering is itself an approximation of the Tibetan approximation of how the Sanskrit would be pronounced. Thus you also find the Tibetan rendered in roman characters as:

Tadyatha Om Bhekhaze Bhekhaze Maha Bhekhaze Raza Samungate Svaha

and

Tadyatha Om bekaja bekaja Maha bekaja bekaja raja samudgate ya Svaha.

You can’t really make sense of all this variation without looking at the Sanskrit.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from Angela
Time: June 16, 2008, 2:17 pm

Please will someone record the 100-syllable Vajrasattva mantra (and then the 500-syllable mantra). The only recording I can find is by Tibetan monks; it sounds indescribably beautiful but Sanskrit with a Tibetan accent is SO difficult to follow.

Thank you.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: June 17, 2008, 10:23 am

Hi Angela,

It’s on my famously long list of things to do — but I do promise I’ll get that done.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from pema delma
Time: June 20, 2008, 7:47 am

Actually i really am hurt and sad for i losed my love. We are depart forever but still i love him and i want to get him back. We have a daughter to but coz of his family he hate me now. We are at the moment of last justice in court so please let me know the mantras to get him back and give me the remedies too. I will be really greatful to you and will never forget it at all. But please send me the reply as soon as possible. With many love and thanx (Pema.)

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: June 20, 2008, 10:26 am

Hi Pema,

I’m sorry to hear about the painful situation you’re in. I don’t think that there are any mantras that can “make” things happen, but a mantra of peace like the Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig) mantra will help you develop compassion for yourself and for the other people involved. Even if you don’t get the outcome you would like you’d feel more at peace.

But although it’s hard to do it’s very important that you let go of any craving for a particular outcome (like getting your lover back) — that kind of craving just causes suffering for everyone concerned. If you let go you’re more likely to be at peace and also more likely to get what you want.

With metta,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from Kristen
Time: June 26, 2008, 9:50 pm

Hi. I’ve read that ‘infinite potential’ is an important theme in Buddhism, and I was wondering if there were any Buddhist mantras or phrases that address this theme?
Thanks.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: June 29, 2008, 2:15 pm

Hi Kristen,

In a way all of the mantras address the theme of our infinite potential, since they’re ways of connecting with our own Buddha nature. But as far as an explicit recognition of our infinite potential goes, the mantra that springs to mind is OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHA SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM. This says something to the effect of “OM: All things are inherently pure by nature; I too am inherently pure by nature.”

This mantra points directly towards our own Buddha Nature, which is our unlimited potential for compassion and wisdom. I hope this is helpful.

All the best,
Bodhipaksa

Comment from Kelvin Ooi
Time: July 19, 2008, 10:30 pm

Dear Respectable Bodhipaksa,

You are doing a great job for every bodhi heart finding their way to buddhism.
May the Blessing of the Triple Gems be with you and all living beings.

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu.

Kelvin Ooi

Comment from Kelvin Ooi
Time: July 19, 2008, 11:33 pm

Dear Respectable Bodhipaksa,

Just to share.

These Buddhists mantras are great, and could be practised anytime of the day and place.
It is great to put aside 30mins each evening to recite a few of the mantras, for example ;

1. Om Ah Hum, Jetsun Guru Padma Siddhi Hum x21times ( Purifying the mind )
2. Om Mani Padme Hum or x10 ( Universal Mantra for Alleviating any emergency, danger )
3. Om Arapacana Dhih ” ( Manjusri Mantra for development of wisdom )
4. Om Vajrapani Hum ” ( Vajrapani Mantra for development of courage )
5. Om Tare, Tuttare, Ture Svaha ( Green Tara Mantra for arousing compassion )
6. Om Tare, Tuttare, Ture Mama Ayuh ” ( White Tara Mantra for Longevity, and Good Health )
Punya Jhana Pustim Kuru Svaha overcome life’s obstacles
7. Om Amideva Hrih ” ( Amitabha Mantra for development of happiness )
8. Om Muni Muni, Maha Muni, Sakyamuni Svaha ” ( Sakyamuni Mantra for development of faith )
9. Gate Gate, Paragate, Parasangate, Bodhi Svaha ” ( Prajnaparamita Mantra fo development of )
Englightenment
10. Om Santih, Santih, Santih ( Mantra for Peace )

May the Blessing of the Triple Gems be with all.

Kelvin Ooi

Comment from Peace
Time: August 20, 2008, 5:15 am

Are there any mantras to ward away evil and mantras for protection?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 20, 2008, 8:22 am

In essence all mantras are protective and help ward off evil. Vajrapani, however, is noted as a protector and appears in an early Buddhist text as a protector of the Buddha.

Tara also protects from dangers.

There are also many Pali chants called paritta (I’d suggest Googling the term) that have a protective function. Here’s a particularly nice translation of a paritta that I found on Wikipedia:

“O Buddha, the Hero, thou art wholly free from all evil. My adoration to thee. I have fallen into distress. Be thou my refuge.”

Lastly, can I suggest one of my guided meditations, which encourages the visualization of a protective aura. This is something I used to do when I was feeling stressed. The aura I visualized gave me a strong sense of being calmly protected within a bubble.

Comment from Peace
Time: August 21, 2008, 2:36 am

Ah, thank you very much for answering my question.
I would like to ask another question, if it’s not a bother to you.
Is it alright to read suttas and mantras in English? Or would it be better to read them in Pali?

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 21, 2008, 8:06 am

Chanting mantras in the original language is pretty much standard practice. They generally don’t have a lot of conceptual context and since they’re generally short it’s not too hard to get a sense of what, if anything, the words mean.

But studying Buddhist suttas or sutras in the original is a massive undertaking. I studied Pali at university for two years and I still have to pick my way through a text with a dictionary and a grammar manual on hand. For all but scholars (amateur or professional) it’s much better to read those in translation.

Comment from Peace
Time: August 22, 2008, 9:27 pm

Thank you very much for answering my questions and sharing your knowledge.
I am most grateful

Comment from Jayarava
Time: August 23, 2008, 5:18 am

I get a lot out of picking over a text with dictionary and grammar in hand. I usually learn more, sometimes I memorise the text, and I get a more detailed understanding. Of course one covers less ground, but it’s more satisfying in the long run to know one text in detail, than a dozen superficially.

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 23, 2008, 6:17 am

Me too, Jayarava. Especially when I’m teaching from a text (we were studying the Dhammapada in my prison class a while back, for example) I like to look at the original. And Ratnaguna’s going to be doing a weekend on parts of the Sutta Nipata and I wouldn’t dream of going without checking out the Pali.

But I’d classify us more as amateur scholars. For the vast majority of people who are just starting out it’s likely going to be a better use of their time and energy just to understand the teachings in their native tongue.

Comment from Diane
Time: October 5, 2008, 9:28 pm

I have only just started investigating Mantras and chanting .. have been listening to ‘Karma-avoiding Mantra’ and it seems to ’speak’ to me .. what is the chanting about and what they are actually chanting (phonetically)? Not knowing what the actual words/sounds are I get too caught up trying to figure that out rather than just concentrating on the sounds themselves.

Thanks!

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: October 5, 2008, 10:10 pm

Hi Diane: I’m afraid I’ve never heard of that mantra.

Comment from Diane
Time: October 5, 2008, 10:37 pm

Thanks for such a quick reply ..

This is a link to it if you would like to listen ..
http://diydharma.org/karmaavoiding-mantra-unknown

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: October 6, 2008, 12:34 pm

Well it begins with an Om and ends with a soha/svaha, but because it’s a far-eastern version of a mantra I can’t even guess what the middle part is. If you really like this mantra it’s from a CD called “Buddhist Chants - Music For Contemplation And Reflection” and it’s possible that the liner notes would tell you what the “lyrics” are.

Comment from Diane
Time: October 6, 2008, 7:12 pm

.. you have worked out exactly the same bits I had :) .. The Om and the soha .. I will try the liner notes as you suggest ..

Thanks again