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.
Sabbe satta sukhi hontu
Om shanti shanti shanti
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
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.
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Hi Bodhipakśa,
Some thoughts on this discussion, which probably won't be new to you, but perhaps to others.
It used to matter to Buddhists that pronunciation was correct. K?kai mentions this matter in his writings on several occasions and one of the main reason that Siddhaṃ writing survives in Japan 1200 years after being introduced by K?kai is for the phonetically accurate transcription of mantras. That said almost no one, not even Indians, pronounce Sanskrit as it was pronounced in Medieval times when mantras were composed. Tibetan has very wide variations in pronunciation in Tibet let alone in the West.
Not withstanding any of this, Buddhists never seem to have bothered much with what a mantra means. What a mantra does - the magic it performs - has always been the primary thing. There is no traditional text that I know of which goes into what mantras mean in the semantic sense - though I know of several which explore associations not related to the words, but to individual syllables, or even parts of syllables. Mantras occur in texts to accompany and 'empower' specific actions usually, or to invoke particular deities.
So I agree with you that mantra is effective in devotional and mindfulness practices, and in these contexts pronunciation is less of an issue if the intention is clear. Though I would argue that pronunciation has aesthetic value even here.
BTW I have an accurate version of the 7 line prayer in Unicode Tibetan and Roman if you want (i need to update visiblemantra because it has errors) - checked by a friend who speaks Tibetan.
Best Wishes
Jayarava
To both venerable,
Then i guess i should insert both of the mantras (of tara and auspicious mantra of 8 Bodhisattva) with their accurate meanings. yet i apologies, for it can be done only after a month. since i am to appear for school leaving board exam from an army boarding school, its impossible to contact you till then.
with wishes,
indukumud
(p.s.: i'm to learn tibetan right after this exam in my three months vacation)
Thanks for your contribution, Jayarava. I think a lot of modern practitioners in the west are interested in the literal meanings of mantras, beyond associations with the syllables. It's interesting that that's a new phenomenon.
Hi Bodhipakśa
Yes. I've tried to provide literal meanings on my website where I can find them out.
I suppose there is a fundamentally different world view behind mantras that it is hard for us to experience them as intended by their composers. Foucault talks about the kinds of changes that the European Enlightenment brought in his book 'The Order of Things' - knowledge coming primarily through resemblance and association was replaced by knowledge through difference and distinctiveness.
The associative link ups based on number - 5 syllables, 5 wisdoms, 5 poisons etc; 6 syllables, 6 elements, 6 realms, etc - don't make sense to us in the way they made sense in medieval India.
Also Saussure brought in the idea that syllables have only an arbitrary connection to what we mean when we speak, which pervades modern scientific linguistics. This precludes the syllable making *any* sense on it's own. There is some research which undermines this view, but it is difficult to get published. Margaret Magnus's book Gods of the Word presents her PhD work to a general readership. I think eventually it will tie in with the philosophical work of Mark Johnson and George Lakoff who are exploring the way that physical interactions with the world structure metaphor and other abstract modes of thought.
The parts of the brain which control hand and mouth motor neurons are both near the language centres of the brain. So I think modern science may be drawing us back to an understanding of the symbolic richness of spoken sounds. Not there yet though.
Of course there are lot of Romantics and other EE dissenters around who are happy to just chant. Sometimes I enjoy just chanting too without knowing or needing to know why I enjoy it. Especially in big groups.
I am very intrested in buddism, but my only problem is i live in leeds, west yorkshire, UK. There isnt anywhere that i can borrow books from, i have looked in libuarys but none have any i can not afford to buy them as i am on a very low income ( social security) im also disabled. I was wondering if there is anywhere that i can get or rercieve them from free. I do have my Malla and only mantra i know is Om mani padme hum and would like to know more mantras. I hope that you can help me. thankyou ray
Hi Ray:
Probably you can go to any Buddhist Centre in Leeds and they can help you. Remember, practice and readings must go together:
Jamyang Buddhist Meditation Centre
https://www.jamyangleeds.co.uk/
Leeds Buddhist Centre
https://www.leedsbuddhistcentre.org/
If you prefer Zen Buddhism:
International Zen Association UK - Leeds Zen Group
https://www.izauk.org/dojo.asp?dojo=leeds
If you prefer Tibetan:
Sakya and Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist Centre - Kagyu Buddhist Group Leeds:
https://www.dechen.org/centres/northeast/leeds.html
I hope this can help you!!
Cheers!!!
Thankyou Anibal
for your help i have e-mailed them to see how much it will cost and with me being disabled on crutchs no right kneecap and due to have my left one removed so i cant kneel so im hopeing that they will help i would love to learn buddhism as i have my owm malla prayer beads and only mantra i know like i said is Om mani padme hum and would love to learn more mantras and prayers and be a buddist not monk as i cant but thankyou for your help again Ray
namo tassa bhagawato arahate sammasam buddhasa............
anyone wid its possible meaning???
Hi. Yes, it's namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa, and it means veneration (namo) to him (tassa) the blessed one (bhagavato) the worthy one (arahato) the fully and perfectly awakened one (sammasambuddhassa). It's not a mantra, but a common salutation to the Buddha.
Greetings Bodhipaksa,
I though to put this here as for the good of it's readers.
Mild description-praise to twenty-one Tara:
(Om tare Tuttare ture swaha)
:OM, obeisance to Tara, revered and exalted
Homage to Tara, swift and courageous
Who dispels all fear with mantra 'Tuttare'
Who liberates by giving all benefits by 'Ture'
With the syllable Swaha I bow to you.
Twenty-one salutations:
1* Homage to the saviouress, swift and courageous,
Whose gaze is quick as a flash of lightening,
Who on a tear from the face of Chinrezig
Sprang forth from a billion-fold lotus pistil
2* Homage to her whose face is like
The accumulation of a hundred full moons of autumn,
Who like a cluster of thousand stars
Radiates light that clarifies everything.
3* Homage to her who is golden blue-green,
Whose hand is adorned with the water born lotus
Charity, endeavor, austerity and peace,
Patience and Samadhi are the field of her action
4* Homage to her, the crown jewel of Tathagatas,
She who enjoys the most infinite victory,
Whoever obtains all the transcendent virtues,
Those heirs of the Conqueror take her support.
5* Homage to her who by 'hung' and 'Tuttare' mantra
Fills all space, directions and realms of desire,
Pressing the seven worlds under her feet
She brings all and everything into her power
6* Homage to her whom Indra, Agni and Brahma
Vayu, Ishvara and all the gods worship,
Elements, Gandarvas and zombie-like demons,
All malevolent spirits give praise before her.
7* Homage to her who by 'trat' and 'fet'
Destroys evil forces conjured by magic,
Right leg folded, left extended pressing down,
She consumes them completely with her raising blaze of
Fire.
8* Homage to her, the swift fearsome one,
She who obliterates the most tenacious of devils,
With her lotus face wrinkled in wrath,
She annihilates all enemies without exception.
9* Homage to her who displays the mudra of three precious
Ones,
With their fingers perfectly ornamenting her her heart,
Who quakes all directions without exception
By the effulgence of light from the wheel in her hand.
10* Homage to her who spreads sublime joy
From the glittering garland of lights on her crown,
From great peals of laughter from 'tuttare' mantra
She brings demons and universe under her power.
11* Homage to her, the assembly of protectors of earth
She has the power to summon them forth,
By 'hung' and the movement of her furious grimace
She completely delivers all destitute beings.
12* Homage to her whose crescent moon diadem,
All bejeweled, glows dazzlingly,
Who from Amitabha atop her vast flow of hair
Streams forth continuous rays of white light
13* Homage to her amidst a fire like kalpa's end
She sits at the center of garland of flame
With her right leg extended and left indrawn, those
who are joyful when the Dharma wheel turns
She completely subdues their numerous foes.
14* Homage to her who slaps the earth with her palms
And tramples it under her feet,
Who by 'Hung' and her wrathful expression
Dominates the beings of seven netherworlds.
15* Homage to her, mother of bliss, mother of virtue,
mother of peace,
She who herself is the peace beyond suffering,
By her root mantra with 'swaha' and 'om'
She overcomes even the heaviest of defilements.
16* Homage to her, those who feel great joy at the turn of
the wheel,
She annihilates the very bodies of their enemies,
By the arrangement of ten syllable awareness mantra
Surrounding 'hung', she is the mother who liberates.
17* Homage to her, swiftly stamping her feet
She is the manifest form of syllable 'hung'.
Meru, Mandara and Vindya mountauns
And even the three worlds she causes to tremble.
18* Homage to her, rounded like a heavenly lake
Is the hare-marked moon she holds in her hand,
By repeating 'phet' with the second Tara mantra
She clears away every last trace of poison.
19* Homage to her served by the king of assembled deities,
By the gods and other muse-like divinities,
With the sheer brilliance of her armour of joy
She dispels all in auspicious dreams and quarrels.
20* Homage to her, opened like suns or full moons
Her two eyes shine forth bright light,
By reciting 'hara' with the second 'tutara'
She eradicates the most violent epidemics.
21* Homage to her whose array of three syllables of
suchness
Has the power to perfectly pacify everything,
The hosts of demonic, malignant and zombie-like
Spirits are vanquished by 'Ture', the unsurpassable
Mother.
{This fulfils the twenty-one salutation to the exalted Tara}
thank you!
hi ray,
In my opinion, I would be of great benefits if u learn more upon the exalted Tara and her mandala. And her mantra, benfits, bodhisattva dharani and worship. This would bestow great bliss to you.
thank you!