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Om mani padme hum

mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteśvara

Om mani padme hum is a six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It is in Tibetan Buddhism, the most ubiquitous mantra and the most popular form of religious practice, performed by laypersons and monastics alike.

The mantra Om Mani Pädme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching ~ Dilgo Khyentse
It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast. ~ H.H. The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

Quotes

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  • It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast. The first, 'Om is composed of three letters, A, U, and M. These symbolize the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; they also symbolize the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. Can impure body, speech, and mind be transformed into pure body, speech, and mind, or are they entirely separate? All Buddhas are cases of beings who were like ourselves and then in dependence on the path became enlightened; Buddhism does not assert that there is anyone who from the beginning is free from faults and possesses all good qualities. The development of pure body, speech, and mind comes from gradually leaving the impure states and their being transformed into the pure. How is this done? The path is indicated by the next four syllables.
  • The first, Om... symbolize the practitioner’s impure body, speech, and mind; they also symbolize the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha... Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method—the altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love... padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom. Just as a lotus grows forth from mud but is not sullied by the faults of mud, so wisdom is capable of putting you in a situation of non-contradiction whereas there would be contradiction if you did not have wisdom.... Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility... this indivisibility of method and wisdom refers to wisdom affected by method and method affected by wisdom.... Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha... It is said that you should not seek for Buddhahood outside of yourself; the substances for the achievement of Buddhahood are within.
    • Tenzin Gyatso in Kindness, Clarity, and Insight by The Fourteenth Dalai Lama His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, co-edited by Elizabeth Napper. Snow Lion Publications, (1984)
  • In his message to the Buddhist community from his home in McLeodganj, the Tibetan spiritual leader (Tenzin Gyatso) asked people to recite the “om mani padme hum” mantra at least a thousand times. With this practice, you will create some roots of virtue that you can dedicate to me — Avalakiteshvara’s messenger — to live for 110 or 108 years or so, the Dalai Lama said. The mantra ‘om mani padme hum’, encapsulates Buddhist teachings and indicates that we can all transform ourselves to be more like Buddha.
  • The mantra Om Mani Pädme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. Pä, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.
    So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by all the Buddhas of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"
    • Dilgo Khyentse in Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones, ISBN-13: 978-0877734932 (1992)
 
When you say the first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. Pä, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom. ~ Dilgo Khyentse
  • Chenrezi's six-syllable mantra, Om Mani Pädme Hum is the compassionate wisdom of all the Buddhas manifested as sound. Within it is contained the essential meaning of all eighty-four thousand sections of the Buddha's teachings. Of all the many mantras of various kinds, such as awareness mantras... and secret mantras... not one is superior to the six syllables of Chenrezi. The great benefits of reciting this mantra, commonly known as the mani, are described again and again...
    • Dilgo Khyentse in Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones, ISBN-13: 978-0877734932 (1992)
  • The Mantra is the speech manifestation and the wisdom energy of all buddhas. It purifies our impure perception of sound. It is a means of protecting our mind from delusions. It eliminates ignorance and opens the way to wisdom. It amplifies blessings and by it, tranquility can be obtained. It can save and alleviate beings from hundreds and thousands of miseries. The aspiration of the deity, Avalokiteshvara, whose mantra this is, is likened to a hook with which he can liberate beings. When we have confidence in him, the mantra is said to be a "solid and unbroken ring." so that the hook can catch, and we can be fished from the ocean of suffering that is samsara.
    • Alex Studholme in The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum: A Study of the Karandavyuha Sutra, ISBN-13: 978-0791453902 (2002)
  • Avalokiteshvara is recognized throughout the Mahayana Buddhist world as the bodhisattva of compassion. Having made the vow not to enter nirvana until all beings have attained enlightment, this bodhisattva remains in samsara in order to answer the cries of suffering—hence the name Avalokiteshvara, “Perceiver of the World’s Sounds.”.. In Tibet, Avalokiteshvara’s principal manifestation is Chenrezi, the bodhisattva invoked by reciting the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum... The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara embodies the virture of compassion and the means of exercising that compassion in the world.

See also

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