Om mani padme hum

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Template:Short description Template:Italic titleTemplate:Chinese Template:Transliteration[1] (Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "IPA".) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūha sūtra, where it is also referred to as the sadaksara (Template:Langx, six syllabled) and the paramahrdaya, or "innermost heart" of Avalokiteshvara.[2] In this text, the mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings.[3]

The precise meaning and significance of the words remain much discussed by Buddhist scholars. The literal meaning in English has been expressed as "praise to the jewel in the lotus",[4] or as a declarative aspiration, possibly meaning "I in the jewel-lotus".[5] Padma is the Sanskrit for the Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and mani for "jewel", as in a type of spiritual "jewel" widely referred to in Buddhism.[6] The first word, aum/om, is a sacred syllable in various Indian religions, and hum represents the spirit of enlightenment.[7]

In Tibetan Buddhism, this is the most ubiquitous mantra and its recitation is a popular form of religious practice, performed by laypersons and monastics alike. It is also an ever-present feature of the landscape, commonly carved onto rocks, known as mani stones, painted into the sides of hills, or else it is written on prayer flags and prayer wheels.[8]

In Chinese Buddhism, the mantra is mainly associated with the bodhisattva Guanyin, who is the East Asian manifestation of Avalokiteshvara. The recitation of the mantra remains widely practiced by both monastics and laypeople, and it plays a key role as part of the standard liturgy utilized in many of the most common Chinese Buddhist rituals performed in monasteries.[9][10][11] It is common for the Chinese hanzi transliteration of the mantra to be painted on walls and entrances in Chinese Buddhist temples, as well as stitched into the fabric of particular ritual adornments used in certain rituals.

The mantra has also been adapted into Chinese Taoism.[12]

Meaning and effects

File:1348 Mogaoku Stele.jpg
Stele of Sulaiman, erected at the Mogao Caves in 1348 to commemorate the donations of Sulaiman, Prince of Xining. It includes the six-syllable mantra written in six different scripts: Lantsa [1st row], Tibetan [2nd row], Uighur [far left], 'Phags-pa [left], Tangut [right], Chinese [far right].

Semantic

Mantras may be interpreted by practitioners in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict semantic meaning.

The middle part of the mantra, Template:Transliteration, is often interpreted as being in the locative case, "wish-fulfilling jewel in the lotus", Sanskrit Template:Transliteration "wish-fulfilling/priceless gem, jewel, cintamani" and the locative of Template:Transliteration "lotus". The lotus is a symbol present throughout Indian religion, signifying purity (due to its ability to emerge unstained from the mud) and spiritual fruition (and thus, awakening).[13] Maṇipadme is preceded by the Template:Transliteration syllable and followed by the Template:Transliteration syllable, both interjections without linguistic meaning, but widely known as divine sounds.

However, according to Donald Lopez (citing Tibetan grammatical sources) it is much more likely that Template:Transliteration is in fact a vocative, addressing a bodhisattva called Template:Transliteration, "Jewel-Lotus" – an alternative epithet of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.[14]

Damien Keown also notes that another theory about the meaning of the mantra is that it actually invokes a female deity named Manipadmi.[15] This is due to evidence from texts such as the Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra which depict the mantra as a female deity. Also, as noted by Studholme, if the word is read as a vocative, it is most likely in the feminine grammatical gender, because if masculine, it would be a highly irregular form.[16] Thus as Lopez notes, the original meaning of the mantra could in fact be an invocation of "she of the lotus jewel", who is the vidya (wisdom) and consort of Avalokiteshvara and is equivalent to Shakti's role vis a vis Shiva.[17]

Regarding the relationship between the jewel and the lotus, Sten Konow argued that it could either refer to "a lotus that is a jewel" or to "a jewel in the lotus". He argues that the second explanation makes more sense, indicating Shaivite influence through the imagery of the lingam and the yoni, both also terms associated with mani and padma respectively.[17] Thus the mantra could in fact mean "O, she with the jewel in her lotus".

According to Alexander Studholme however, the meaning of manipadme "should be parsed as a tatpurusa, or 'determinative', compound in the (masculine or neuter) locative case", meaning "in the jewel-lotus", or "in the lotus made of jewels", which refers to:[18]

the manner in which buddhas and bodhisattvas are said to be seated in these marvelous blooms and, in particular, to the manner in which more mundane beings are believed to appear in the pure land of the buddhas. Given the predominance, in the Kāraṇḍavyūha and in the Mahayana in general, of the religious goal of the pure land of Amitabha, it may be safely assumed that Template:Transliteration would have been quite naturally associated with the mode of the rebirth of human beings there. The recitation of Template:Transliteration, then, the bringing to mind of the name of the Buddhist isvara, includes a declaration of the manner in which a person is reborn in Sukhavati: "in the jewel lotus."

According to the Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra

File:Chenrezig Sand Mandala.jpg
A Tibetan sand mandala of Avalokitesvara, a key element of the tantric initiation ritual required to practice the mantra according to the Kāraṇḍavyūha
File:Writing at Yonghe Temple.JPG
At Yonghe Temple, Beijing
File:OM MANI PADME HUM (Lanydza script).svg
In the Nepalese Lanydza script

The first known description of the mantra appears in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra ("The Basket’s Display", c. 4–5th centuries), which is part of certain Mahayana canons such as Chinese and Tibetan. In this sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha states, "This is the most beneficial mantra. Even I made this aspiration to all the million Buddhas and subsequently received this teaching from Buddha Amitabha."[19]

The sutra promotes the recitation of this mantra as a means to liberation. It states that whoever knows (janati) the mantra will know liberation as a fully enlightened Buddha. It also states that initiation into the mantra by a qualified preceptor (which is said to be a lay dharmabhāṇaka, vidyadhara or mahasiddha) is an important requirement for practicing this mantra. In the sutra, Avalokitesvara says that the mantra should not be given to one who has not seen the mandala.[20] This initiation is said to be open to all Buddhists regardless of class and gender, whether they be of the Mahayana or Hinayana, but not to tirthikas.[21]

The Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra also sees the mantra as the pith or condensed expression of all "eighty four thousand Dharmas". Because of this it is called "the grain of rice of the Mahayana", and reciting it is equivalent to reciting numerous sutras.[22]

Thus, according to Studholme, the significance of the mantra in the Kāraṇḍavyūha is mainly that it is the "innermost heart" of Avalokitesvara, and therefore is "a means both of entering into the presence of Avalokitesvara and of appropriating some of the bodhisattva's power".[23] Its practice is said to lead numerous positive qualities including:[24]

  • The seeing (darsana) the bodhisattva's "thousand-fold" form,
  • Rebirth into the myriad worlds contained in the pores of the bodhisattva's body
  • Innumerable samadhis (meditative absorptions), including the samadhi of "rejoicing in loving kindness and compassion" (maitri-karuna-mudito).
  • The development of "great compassion" (maha karuna)
  • Accumulation of immeasurable merit
  • Accomplishment of the six perfections
  • Awakening (bodhi)

In this sutra, the sadaksari mahavidya (six syllabled great vidya) also appears as a goddess, "autumn yellow" in color, with four arms, with two arms holding a lotus and prayer beads, and the other two in anjali mudra. According to Studholme, these features are similar to the way the mantra Om nama shivaya is depicted in Shaiva texts, since "both are concise vidyas, the hrdayas [heart] of their respective isvaras, sui generis means of attaining liberation, universally available, though of rare value and somewhat secret. Both are also, it has been argued, conceived of as forms of pranava [divine sound]."[25]

In Tibetan Buddhism

File:Om-mani-padme-hum 02.svg
The mantra in Tibetan script with the six syllables colored
File:OM MANI PADME HUM.svg
"Om mani padme hūṃ hrīḥ"
File:Om Mani Padme Hum.jpg
"Om mani padme hūṃ", mani stone carved in Tibetan script outside the Potala Palace in Lhasa
File:Ом мани падме хуң.jpg
The largest mantra inscription in the world is located on Dogee Mountain in Kyzyl, Russia.[26]

The 11th-century Bengali master Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna, who was influential in bringing Buddhism to Tibet, also wrote a short treatise on the mantra called the Arya-sad-aksari-sadhana.[27] Some Buddhist scholars argue that the mantra as practiced in Tibetan Buddhism was based on the Sadhanamala, a collection of sadhana or spiritual practices published in the 12th century.[28] However, according to Peter Alan Roberts, "the primary source for Tibetan Avalokitesvara practices and teachings" is the 11th-century Maṇi Kambum.[29]

Donald Lopez writes that according to a 17th-century work by the prime minister of the fifth Dalai Lama, the meaning of the mantra is said to be "O, you who have the jewel and the lotus." That manipadme is in the vocative case is also supported by a 9th-century Tibetan grammatical treatise.[30]

Lopez also notes that the majority of Tibetan Buddhist texts have regarded the translation of the mantra as secondary, focusing instead on the correspondence of the six syllables of the mantra to various other groupings of six in the Buddhist tradition.[31]

For example, in the Chenrezig Sadhana, Tsangsar Tulku Rinpoche expands upon the mantra's meaning, taking its six syllables to represent the purification of the six realms of existence:[32]

Syllable Six Pāramitās Purifies Samsaric realm Colors Symbol of the Deity (Wish them) To be born in
Om Generosity Pride / Ego Devas White Wisdom Perfect Realm of Potala
Ma Ethics Jealousy / Lust for entertainment Asuras Green Compassion Perfect Realm of Potala
Ni Patience Passion / desire Humans Yellow Body, speech, mind
quality and activity		 Dewachen
Pad Diligence Ignorance / prejudice Animals Blue Equanimity the presence of Protector (Chenrezig)
Me Renunciation Greed / possessiveness Pretas (hungry ghosts) Red Bliss Perfect Realm of Potala
Hum Wisdom Aggression / hatred Naraka Black Quality of Compassion the presence of the Lotus Throne (of Chenrezig)


According to Trijang Rinpoche

The tutor to the present Dalai Lama, Trijang Rinpoche (1901–1981) wrote a commentary on the mantra which states:

Regarding mani padme, "Jewel Lotus" or "Lotus Jewel" is one of the names of the noble Avalokitesvara. The reason that he is called by that is that, just as a lotus is not soiled by mud, so the noble Avalokitesvara himself has, through his great wisdom, abandoned the root of samsara, all the stains of the conception of true existence together with its latencies. Therefore, to symbolize that he does not abide in the extreme of mundane existence, he holds a white lotus in his hand...He joins the palms of his two upper hands, making the gesture of holding a jewel to symbolize that, like a wish-granting jewel, he eliminates all the oppression of suffering for all sentient beings and bestows upon them all temporary and ultimate benefit and bliss.[33]

According to the 14th Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso states:

"It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hung, 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 [...] symbolizes the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"
"The path of the middle way is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love.[...]"
"The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom[...]"
"Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hung, which indicates indivisibility[...]"
"Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hung, 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[...]"
—Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, "On the meaning of: OM MANI PADME HUNG"[34]

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

File:Mune wall col.jpg
Carved mani stones, each with "Om Mani Padme Hum" on a pathway in Zangskar
"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 Rinpoche, Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones[35]

In Chinese Buddhism

File:六字真言.jpg
Hanzi transliteration of the mantra (read from left to right), painted on a Chinese Buddhist temple on Mount Putuo, which is regarded in Chinese Buddhist tradition as the bodhimaṇḍa of Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara)

The mantra was first introduced into Chinese Buddhism during the Song dynasty (960 - 1279) in 983 CE when the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra was first translated into Chinese by the monk Tianxizai[zh] (Chinese: 天息災, pinyin: Tiānxīzāi, Sanskrit: Devasantika).[36] The mantra's popularity further heightened during subsequent Chinese dynasties due to increased interactions between Chinese Buddhists and Tibetan and Mongolians Buddhists.

The mantra remains ubiquitous and widely employed in contemporary Chinese Buddhist liturgies and practices, such as the esoteric Yujia Yankou rite, where it is recited up to 108 times during a subsection where the ritual space is visualized, as well as being incorporated into the Āryavalokiteśvarā Bodhisattva Vikurvana Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 觀音靈感真言, Pinyin: Guānyīn Línggǎn Zhēnyán), which is one of the Ten Small Mantras that are recited every morning and evening as part of the standard daily liturgy at all Chinese Buddhist temples.[37][38][39][40][10][9][11]

In Taoism

File:性命圭旨 觀音密呪圖.png
Instructions on utilizing the mantra from the Xingming guizhi, a Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644) Taoist manual.

Usage of the mantra has spread into Taoism, where various figures from the Buddhist pantheon such as Śākyamuni Buddha and Avalokiteshvara have been incorporated as part of the Taoist pantheon.[12] Like in Buddhism, usage of the mantra is widespread in mainstream Taoist practice.

A key example of the mantra's employment is the practice of a chanting exercise which maps the syllables to specific areas of the body. During the exercise, the practitioner recites the mantra using certain intonations while performing specific visualizations in order to attain a transcendental state of experience.[41] The mantra is also widely used by Taoist practitioners when creating fulus (Taoist charms that are usually written in a talismanic script).

Transliterations

In English, the mantra is variously transliterated, depending on the schools of Buddhism as well as individual teachers.

File:平安符｜澎湖觀音亭.jpg
A fulu written using the Chinese hanzi transliteration of "Om mani padme hum"
File:Om Mani Padme Hum in Pearl in the Palm.svg
Illustration with both Chinese and Tangut transliterations of the mantra from the Pearl in the Palm, a 12th-century bilingual glossary between both languages

Most authorities consider maṇipadme to be one compound word rather than two simple words.[42] Sanskrit writing does not have capital letters and this means that capitalisation of transliterated mantras varies from all caps, to initial caps, to no caps. The all-caps rendering is typical of older scholarly works, and Tibetan Sadhana texts.

Variations

File:OM MANI PADME HUM HRI.svg
The mantra: Om Mani Peme Hum Hri

As Bucknell et al. (1986, p. 15) say, the complete Avalokiteshvara Mantra includes a final hrīḥ (Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "IPA".), which is iconographically depicted in the central space of the syllabic mandala as seen in the ceiling decoration of the Potala Palace.[43] The full mantra in Tibetan is thus: Template:Bo-textonly The hrīḥ is not always vocalized audibly and may be resonated "internally" or "secretly" through intentionality.

According to Sam Van Schaik, Tibetan works from Dunhuang which was a major cult center of Avalokitesvara, contain numerous mantras associated with this figure, the six syllable mantra only being one of many. Some of these are lesser known variations on the six syllable mantra such as: Om vajra yaksa mani padme hum.[44]

Another variation, noted by Peter Alan Roberts, is Om manipadme hum mitra svaha.[29]

See also

Notes

Template:Reflist

References

  • Teachings from the Mani retreat, Chenrezig Institute, December 2000 (2001) by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Template:ISBN, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive downloadable
  • Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. Template:ISBN
  • Lopez, Donald (1998). Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. Template:ISBN.

Further reading

  • Alexander Studholme: The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum. Albany NY: State University of New York Press, 2002 Template:ISBN (incl. Table of Contents)
  • Mark Unno: Shingon Refractions: Myōe and the Mantra of Light. Somerville MA, USA: Wisdom Publications, 2004 Template:ISBN
  • Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. Template:ISBN
  • Buswell, Robert E. Jr. & Lopez, Donald S. Jr.. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ., 2014 (p. 603).
  • A.H. Francke: The Meaning of Om Mani Padme-Hum, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1915
  • Orzech, Charles; Sørensen, Henrik; Payne, Richard; Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia, BRILL, 2011.
  • Lama Anagarika Govinda: Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, 1969. Samuel Weiser, Inc: NYC, NY. Template:ISBN.
  • Lopez, D. S. (jr.) Prisoners of Shangri-la: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Chicago University Press, 1988. (p. 114ff.)
  • Rodger Kamenetz: The Jew in the Lotus (PLUS) with an afterword by the author. (HarperOne, 2007) non-fiction. Table of Contents
  • Schaik, Sam Van. The Tibetan Avalokitesvara cult in the tenth century: Evidence from the Dunhuang manuscripts. in "Tibetan Buddhist Literature and Praxis: Studies in Its Formative Period, 900-1400 : PIATS 2003 : Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003"
  • Sogyal Rinpoche: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Appendix 4 pg. 396–398, Rider, 10th Anniversary Edition, 2002 Template:ISBN

External links

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project Template:NIE Poster

Template:Buddhism topics Template:Karmapas Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ Pronunciation of the mantra as chanted by a Tibetan: Wave Format and Real Audio Format. Template:Dead link
  2. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 67.
  3. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 72.
  4. ↑ Grossman, Carrie
  5. ↑ Alexander Studholme, The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum: A Study of the Karandavyuha Sutra, SUNY, 2002, p. 117
  6. ↑ Essential Buddhism, A Complete Guide to Beliefs and Practices, p. 126, Jack Maguire, 2013
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 2.
  9. ↑ a b 佛門必備. https://amituofo.com.au/uploads/short-url/sLim3w1qiC7tPBoUR8BHpgBwmU5.pdf
  10. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ a b Jackowicz, Steve, Om Mani Padme Hum in Daoist Revision, Journal of Daoist Studies, University of Hawai'i Press, Volume 6, 2013 pp. 203-210 10.1353/dao.2013.0009
  13. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 112.
  14. ↑ Lopez, 331; the vocative would have to be feminine
  15. ↑ Keown, Damien (2004), A Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 204.
  16. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 111.
  17. ↑ a b Lopez (1988), p. 132.
  18. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 116.
  19. ↑ Khandro.net: Mantras
  20. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 143.
  21. ↑ Studholme (2002), pp. 69-71.
  22. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 73.
  23. ↑ Studholme (2002), p. 106.
  24. ↑ Studholme (2002), pp. 106-108.
  25. ↑ Studholme (2002), pp. 74-75.
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Skilling, Peter, An Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ. Inscription from South-East Asia, Aséanie, Sciences humaines en Asie du Sud-Est, Année 2003 11  pp. 13-20.
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ a b Roberts, Peter Alan, Translating Translation: An Encounter with the Ninth-Century Tibetan Version of the Karandavyuha-sutra. JOCBS. 2012 (2): 224-242
  30. ↑ Lopez (1988), p. 131.
  31. ↑ Lopez, 130
  32. ↑ Tsangsar Tulku Rinpoche, Chenrezig sadhana
  33. ↑ Lopez (1988), p. 133.
  34. ↑ Gyatso, Tenzin. Om Mani Padme Hung
  35. ↑ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones. Template:ISBN
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Orzech et al. (2011), p. 527.
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Buddhist Text Translation Society (2013), Daily Recitation Handbook: Sagely City of 10,000 Buddhas
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Lopez, 131.
  43. ↑ Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. Template:ISBN, p. 15.
  44. ↑ Schaik (2003).
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