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.
View Comments
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
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.
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
Hello,
I hope you can clarify for me a bit about the grammar and syntax. "SHUDDHO" is an adjective i.e. singular e.g. masculine? And "HAM" is "am," first-person of "be"?
Someone said "Sanskrit is a revelation," yes. Thanks
I'm not a Sanskrit scholar (I only studied Pali, and not to expert level) so take this with a pinch of salt. But I understand śuddha to be an adjective, which can be masculine, feminine, or neuter depending on the noun it's modifying. If the noun is masculine, then it becomes śuddho.
Ahaṃ would be "I am." Sometimes it's abbreviated to 'haṃ. In mantras, hāṃ is sometimes found as a seed syllable. To the best of my knowledge it doesn't have any literal meaning.
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
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
Are there any mantras to ward away evil and mantras for protection?
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.
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?
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.
Thank you very much for answering my questions and sharing your knowledge.
I am most grateful