A Guide to Buddhist Mantras

Clicking on the link for each mantra below will take you to a page where you can read about that mantra, see the figure associated with the mantra (where applicable), and listen to an audio version of the mantra.

You can chant along to the mantra until you’re confident that you have it fully memorized. There are ten repetitions of each mantra (more or less) to help give you time to learn the mantra and chant along. You can replay the mantra until you think you’ve got it.

Please note that the mantras as written on this site lack some of the diacritic marks that allow for an accurate representation of the pronunciation.

(Diacritics, or accents, are little marks that indicate how a letter should be pronounced. Pali and Sanskrit have many more letters than the Roman alphabet, and these marks allow us to extend the number of characters available to us. Diacritics include the macron — a bar over a vowel that lengthens the vowel sound — overdots, underdots, and tildes. Unfortunately not all fonts possess those diacritic marks, and although some fonts do have the full range of accents not all computers have those fonts installed. There’s therefore no reliable way to represent diacritics on the web. You therefore may sometimes see strange characters or question marks in words.)

It’s best to listen to the audio files in order to get a better appreciation of how they are pronounced (taking into account the fact that I have a Scottish accent). In the heading of each page I’ve represented long vowels with a double vowel (eg. aa) or, where it’s possible to reproduce these in html, with a letter and diacritic mark (e.g. ?).

Note: Tibetans typically pronounce some Sanskrit sounds in a non-Indian way. For example they’ll tend to pronounce “padme” (pa-dmé) as peh-mé, and “svaha” as soha. Those who are familiar with the Tibetan pronunciation will therefore notice differences such as these.

Buddhist Mantras not associated with figures

Sabbe satta sukhi hontu
Om shanti shanti shanti
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha

Buddhist Mantras associated with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

Avalokitesvara: Om Mani Padme Hum
Manjushri/Manjughosa: Om A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhih
Vajrapani: Om Vajrapani Hum
Green Tara: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha
Amitabha: Om Amideva Hrih
White Tara: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayuh Punya Jnana Pushtim Kuru Svaha
Shakyamuni: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha
Padmasambhava: Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum
Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha): Om Bhaishajye Bhaishajye Mahabhaishajye Bhaishajyaraje Samudgate Svaha
Vajrasattva: 100-Syllable Mantra.

By following the links you can find out the meanings, pronunciations, and benefits of the Buddhist mantras listed above.

  • Amitabha mantra
  • Avalokitesvara mantra
  • Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha) Mantra
  • Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā
  • Green Tara mantra: Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
  • Manjushri mantra
  • Om shanti shanti shanti
  • Padmasambhava mantra
  • Sabbe satta sukhi hontu
  • Shakyamuni mantra
  • Vajrapani mantra
  • Vajrasattva mantra of 100 syllables
  • White Tara mantra
  • The three refuges and five precepts
  • Postcript: About Transcendental Meditation

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    • thanks B . also do let me know when it goes on CD or online download if that is not to much trouble.
      take care

    • Hi S.

      I'd suggest that you sign up for our monthly newsletter since I'm likely to forget to let you know. You can sign up using the form on our home page. I hope we won't keep you waiting too long.

      All the best,
      Bodhipaksa

    • Dear Sir
      Which is the most powerful mantra or prayer in Buddhism

      I'm aware of Om namu myo ho renge kyo
      and Om mani padme hum

      Thanks
      rajjeev

    • Hi Rajjeev,

      I don't think in terms of there being mantras that are less or more powerful. In Buddhist practice it's the quality of attention that you bring to a practice that makes it effective. If you do any mantra with as much mindfulness, faith, and concentration as possible, then that mantra will be a powerful one.

      It helps if you pick a mantra you're attracted to -- and in some cases that means picking a mantra that's associated with a Buddha or bodhisattva that you're attracted to. The interest and faith that you have in the deity will help you commit yourself to the mantra.

      All the best,
      Bodhipaksa

    • In the Chinese transliterated version of the Cundi mantra, after

      'Om Cale, Cule, Cunde Svaha', the Chinese version has a closing phrase; "Om Bu lin".

      Do you have any idea what the original Sanskrit may have been and what it means? Thank you!

    • I dug around and found that the 'Bu Lin' is representing Sanskrit 'Bruhm'. I looked around more for 'Bruhm', and it appears to be related to 'Brahm' (maybe?).

      So, Om Bruhm/Om Brahm being used to close a mantra recitation, might be an invocation of the divine spirit in creation? That is my current theory.

    • The original Sanskrit syllable is bhr?ṃ भ्रूं (pronounced boron in Japanese, and bu lin in Chinese). Bruhm is just a spelling mistake I think.

      In Shingon bhr?ṃ is associated with Ekākśara-uśṇī¹£a-cakra (Ichiji kinrin) - Wheel of the Crown of a Single Syllable. Also with the Karaṇḍa-mudrā dhāraṇī. For more on Uśṇiśa in Japanese Buddhism you could try Grotenhuis Japanese Mandalas.
      Other Uśṇiśa deities are found in Buddhism as well.

      A Tibetan version of the syllable can be seen here.
      My Siddhaṃ calligraphy is here.

      Another aspect of this bīja is that the strokes include elements of all the 13 main Shingon Deities and so is said to represent them all in one bīja.

      bhr?ṃ is not obviously related to brahm. It could be bhr? meaning 'brow' (they are actually cognate) - bhr?maṇḍala is the arc of the eyebrow for instance. It may hark back to the verbal root bhá¹› (to bear) which gives us bhr?ṇ (to hope, fear etc) and bhr?ṇa (an embryo). None of these are particularly connected with the ideas above - but that is mantra for you.

      Bhr?ṃ is being used here as a bīja for Cundī. Nothing to do with divine spirits or creation or Brahma.

      See also here where they also suggest bhrum rather than bruhm in relation to Cundī

      Regards
      Jayarava

    • Jayarava,

      Thank you immensely!!! For sharing your scholarship and insight with me! I am grateful to benefit. It would otherwise have taken me much longer to find this information.

      Yes, the syllable was referred to as the Great Wheel One Syllable Mantra, and so I'm fairly certain that your interpretation is correct. Thank you again!

    • Hi there,

      I have a question regarding the importance of pronunciation of mantras. Currently I am chanting the 100 syllable Vajrasattva Mantra and I am aware of the different ways as to how the mantra is pronunced (i.e. Sanskrit, Tibetan, which differs quite a lot). I am thus quite confused as to whether it is really important to get the pronunciation perfect (like the Brahmins who insisted on absolutely correct pronunciation). I've read websites that said the attitude behind the chanting of mantra is more important than mere pronunciation - and this sounds like a very comforting advise.

      What do you guys think?

      Cheers
      Arthur

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