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 Gina!
I've looked around and I've found a buddhist centre in Galway that belongs to the Zen school, Sôtô lineage, I hope you will find out the guidance and the peace you need.
Galway Zen Dojo
Bridge Mills O'Connell Street, Galway, Ireland
Tel: 35 (0) 91 529484
Tradition: Soto Zen
Cheers!
Hi Bodhipaksa,
Thank you for your reply. For someone starting off like me which mantra should I try? and how do you pronounce it? I have heard of different types of Buddhas and mantras and it is a bit confusing. I would need mantras for health, work, peaceful state of mind.. so not sure where to start. Thanks for all your advice. Gina
Hi Aniboul,
Thank you for the info. Appreciate that. Another question, do you know if there is a book like the'bible' that the original Buddha would have written with all the guidelines and help? Sorry I dont know where to start. There are so many different streams and a bit confusing. Would like to learn the right thing to do. Gina
Hi, Gina.
The Buddha didn't actually write anything. He passed on teachings by word of mouth, and those teachings were passed on down the generations for several hundred years before they were written down. When they were written down, the result was a body of writing something like seven times larger than the bible. Some of it isn't very readable, and it's not organized in a way that makes it very accessible. For example it doesn't start with the easy teachings and then work its way to the more difficult ones. If you want to read the original teachings along with some commentary, I'd suggest Bhikkhu Bodhi's In the Words of the Buddha, which is really excellent. But you might want to start with a good introductory book to Buddhism, like Sangharakshita's Guide to the Buddhist Path, or Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron.
Hi Gina,
I recommend to start with "One Dharma. The Emerging Western Buddhism" by Joseph Goldstein. Its a perfect book for beginners. Goldstein goes straight to clarify the essential points of Buddhist Teaching, using the approach of different Buddhist lineages and schools.
The Buddha himself didn't write anything. Now, Buddhist Scriptures (like the Bible) were written originally in Pali Language by the monks, following the Buddha's passing. It is called "Tipitaka", or "The Three Baskets" and are divided into three main books: The Discourses Basket (Suttanta Pitaka), it means, the discourses given by the Buddha; the Discipline Basket (Vinaya Pitaka), which the Monastic Codes for the monks and nouns; and the Trascendental Teachings Basket (Abhidhamma Pitaka), which is a compendium of the Buddha's Teachings. The length of the Tipitaka is equivalent to 15 Bibles, and takes many years of study and guide. This Tipitaka belongs to the Theravada school. Mahayana school also has a Tipitaka, but was written in sanskrit and then translated to Chinese, Tibetan, Japanese, and other languages, and includes another Discourses given by the Buddha, not recognized by the Theravada Lineage. Apart from that scriptures, there are Commentaries, Treatises, etc, that makes Buddhism to have an enormous literary production. Due to this situation, I specially recommend the book written by Joseph Goldstein. in Amazon you can find it only for EUR 11,56.
Hi Bodhipaksa,
I want to say thank you for all your help. I have so many things to learn and obviously cannot ask you everything. It will take time. I was wodering one thing, if we start now in this life time to learn what we can to achieve enlightenment and we do very well or even better than we were living before, what happens when we start a new life in rebirth? do we have to start all over again to learn Buddhism and hoping that we become enlightened in the next life? in other workds will our subconscious be aware of our previous practice and move us in the right direction? cause it would seem an awful waste to work hard in this life and then to have to do it all over again from scratch?? Is this a stupid question.. I love this site and thank you so much for being here to help and guide every one.. With peace.
Traditionally, it's said that any "merit" (positive qualities) we've developed in this life will be carried into the next, but there's no guarantee we'll hold onto them. But if you have a kind of spiritual curiosity that leads you to reflection and meditation in this life that's likely what will happen in the next. However, it's only when we've attained the first level of enlightenment (Stream Entry) that we're guaranteed not to slip back. That's definitely doable in this lifetime. Lots of people get there, although it can take a couple of decades of practice.
Thanks for that. So what is Stream Entry? how do I do this now in this lifetime in order not to slp back when reborn again? sorry but you are very helpfull and I appreciate your time in responding. Thank you. Gina
Hi, Gina.
I wrote a couple of articles that touch on this:
https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/a-little-bit-pregnant
https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/quote-of-the-month/to-see-what-is-in-front-of-ones-nose-needs-a-constant-struggle-george-orwell
I have another post I've been working on as well. I must get back to that.
But for now, in terms of practice, I'd suggest just working on mindfulness of breathing, lovingkindness practice, and being mindful and kind in daily life. All of this takes us in the direction of Stream Entry.
Hi Bodhipaksa,
Just wondering if we create our own problems with our mind and how we think, hoe does it work for animals.. do they creat their own suffering (cancers, depression?) as I am involved with animals I was curious to know if they are able to create with thought too.
I am feeling very unsettled and my mind is not stable and calm, I have a lot of stresses and tension, and I get very irritated easily do you have any mantra or suggestion for an easy calming balm that I can use to give peace and not to go down the road of anger and our of control language etc... Thanks once again. Gina
Hi, Gina.
We certainly create some of our problems with our own minds, which is why one situation might be a pleasure for one person and yet intensely stressful for another. And to some extent that's true for animals as well. You'll know very well that different animals have their own personalities, and some are more fearful or confident than others. As far as I'm aware, though, animals don't have much (or any) capacity for managing their emotions. You or I can experience fear and make a decision to overcome that fear, for example by reassuring ourselves. I'm not sure an animal can do that.
For a mantra, I'd suggest some words from Saint Julian of Norwich: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." I find it very reassuring... I bet you didn't think you'd be given a Catholic mantra by a Buddhist teacher :)
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Hi Bodhipaksa, How do I stop being angry? I live with an ex-boyfirend which is soon to change but until then I have to share my home. He makes me so angry and I do lose control and I hate it. I feel so bad that I do this. Any advice? also I just bought a lovely lady Buddha statue and wanted to know a good name for her? any lady Buddha's that were inspiring that I could use their name?? Many thanks Gina
Hi, Gina.
"Stopping being angry" is a rather lofty goal, and it might be better to think in terms of being more patient, or being less angry. Lovingkindness practice helps a lot. So does mindfulness practice, which helps you to become more aware of the mind's tendency to drift off into angry thinking, so that we can let go of our angry thoughts. When you do let go of an angry thought, you'll probably notice that you're experiencing an uncomfortable sensation somewhere in the body -- usually around the solar plexus. Notice the pain, and send it your love...
Oh, the female Buddha will already have a name :) It may be Tara (a good Irish name for you!) or Prajnaparamita, or Guan Yin. If you can point me to a photo of her I can probably tell you who she is.
Hi Bodhipaksa,
Thanks again for your words. My statue is the Buddha of friendship. She is holding her hands in a prayer with a smile and it says this is called Namaste. It says the namastle Buddha symbolises warmth and goodwill to all you enter the home. A dot shows the third eye and the earlobes are elongated to symbolise the Buddha is all hearing to your needs. Do you know her? and a name I could put to her?
Finding things very hard at the moment, I feel that I have lost everything, from my sister's death to relationship failure and now I have to move house to downsize.. I am trying so hard to get peace but my mind is agitated.. I feel at rock bottom and want to move forward. Thanks again for your help. Gina
Hi, Gina.
I'd really have to see a picture to be able to say.
I'm sorry, as well, to hear about the pain you're experiencing. One thing that can be very helpful is to put our situation in perspective, because of course we never lose "everything," and to value and feel gratitude for all the things that we do have. So I have some gratitude reflections that might help you feel more even-minded in the face of the painful changes you're experiencing, and in fact here's a whole bunch of articles on the topic...
Hi Bodhipaksa,
I have been learning a lot about Buddhism since I last was in contact with you. Things have improved a bit since last time we connected. But my problem is how to stay calm and react when someone outs you down, taunts you, and I did get upset when I asked for 20 euro help for food as my first payday is next week and I was a little short. I helped this man before many many times, she I found out the money I gave him went to his ex wife. So when he didn't help me with that 20 euro I found out he gave 100 to his ex wife for his kids. That does hurt, now I will struggle to eat next week trying to do my job and he is jobless and living n my house. He was my ex, and I can't seem to get any peace, he interferes in everything. Please help me find a way NOT to react hen he puts me down etc. As you know my sister took her own life and this man has not given me the chance to grieve as I am dealing with him all the time. I want to be on my own. I want peace.
I am going to Nepal next year on a pilgrimage and can't wait. Please reply to me. Thank you. Gina
Hi, Gina.
I'm sorry to hear that you've been having a hard time.
It's not easy to comment on the kind of situation you describe, especially since I don't quite understand the situation you describe. But in general I'd suggest that it's best to accept that it's painful to be in the situation where you expect help from someone but don't get it. Let go of the story and just notice your pain -- with mindfulness. Take an interest in the pain. Let go of any thinking that arises around it. Give the pain loving attention, like you would give loving attention to a child who was in pain. Responding this way can help you deal with what's going on inside you.
But then there's how you deal with what's going on outside you. There's the issue of communicating how you feel. And then if you want to be on your own then that's something you can follow through on, if that seems appropriate. But all of this is in the realms either of advice from friends or from a therapist, and so it's not something I can provide.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa