Collection
Collection
"om manipadme h", written in Tibetan script on a rock outside the Potala Palace in Tibet
Transliterations
In English the mantra is variously transliterated, depending on the schools of Buddhism as well as individual teachers. Most authorities consider maipadme to be one compound word rather than two simple words . Sanskrit writing does not have capital letters leaving capitalisation of transliterated mantras varying irrationally from all caps, to initial caps, to no caps. All caps is typical of older scholarly works, and in Tibetan Sadhana texts. Possible spellings and their transliterations include:
Transliteration
English Om Mani Peme Hung or Om Mani Beh Meh Hung or Om mani padme hum (Ladakh) IAST: o maipadme h
Chinese Chinese
Om M N B Me Hng pinyin n mn bm hng (due to changes over time in pronunciation, this transcription has been adopted in favor of the transliteration found in the Karandavyuha Sutra, n mn bnmng hng) Om mani padeume hum
Korean Hangul Korean Hangul Japanese Katakana Japanese Katakana Russian Mongolian Vietnamese Vietnamese Thai
n mani padom hn
Meaning
Mantras may be interpreted by practitioners in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict meaning. The middle part of the mantra, maipadme, is often interpreted as "jewel in the lotus," Sanskrit ma "jewel, gem, cintamani" and the locative of padma "lotus", but according to Donald Lopez it is much more likely that maipadme is in fact a vocative, not a locative, The mantra with the six syllables coloured addressing a bodhisattva called maipadma, "Jewel-Lotus"- an alternate epithet of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.[2] It is preceded by the o syllable and followed by the h syllable, both interjections without linguistic meaning. 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.[3] 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:[4]
Syllable
Purifies
Samsaric realm
Colours
Om Ma
Devas Asuras
White Green
Ni
Patience
Humans
Yellow
Body, speech, mind Dewachen quality and activity Equanimity Bliss the presence of Protector (Chenrezig) Perfect Realm of Potala
Pad Me
Wisdom Renunciation
Blue Red
Hum
Diligence
Aggression / hatred
Black
Quality of Compassion
Om mani padme hum then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?" Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones[8]
Variation
As Bucknell, et al. (1986: p.15) opine, the complete Avalokiteshvara Mantra includes a final hr (Sanskrit: , IPA:[rih]), which is iconographically depicted in the central space of the syllabic mandala as seen in the ceiling decoration of the Potala Palace.[9] The hr is not always vocalized audibly, and may be resonated "internally" or "secretly" through intentionality.
Sufi variation
This mantra is also currently practiced by Sufis, with some variation, in the Naqshbandi tariqa ruled by Arif Shah, Omar Ali Shah's son and heir. They say this mantra originated in Afghanistan.
Music
DharmaSound: O Mai Padme H (see Buddhismo Ch'an/Zen and Buddhismo Vajrayna) [11] "Om Mani Padme Hum" by Snuffaluffagus "Strange Phenomena" by Kate Bush "Om Mani Peme Hung" by Dead Skeletons "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI" by Utada Hikaru Mani [12] by Mantrasphere
Literature
"Thoughts Sitting Breathing" by Allen Ginsberg "I Will Fear No Evil" by Robert Heinlein
Bibliography
Teachings from the Mani retreat, Chenrezig Institute, December 2000 (2001) by Shramana Lama Zopa Rinpoche, ISBN 978-1891868108, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive downloadable [13] Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. ISBN 0-312-82540-4 Lopez, Donald (1998). Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. ISBN 0-226-49311-3.
Footnotes
[1] Pronunciation of the mantra as chanted by a Tibetan refugee: Wave Format (http:/ / www. dharma-haven. org/ tibetan/ om-mani-padme-hung. wav) and Real Audio Format (http:/ / www. dharma-haven. org/ tibetan/ om-mani-padme-hung. ra). [2] Lopez, 331; the vocative would have to be feminine [3] Lopez, 130 [4] Tsangsar Tulku Rinpoche, Chenrezig sadhana [5] Studholme, Alexander (2002). The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum: A Study of the Karandavyuha Sutra. State University of New York Press. pp.256. ISBN0791453901. [6] Khandro.net: Mantras (http:/ / www. khandro. net/ practice_mantra. htm) [7] Gyatso, Tenzin. Om Mani Padme Hum (http:/ / www. tibet. com/ Buddhism/ om-mantra. html) [8] Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones. ISBN 0-87773-493-3 [9] Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. ISBN 0-312-82540-4, p.15 [10] Li, Yu. "Analysis of the Six Syllable practice - the relationship between The Six Syllable and [[Amitabha (http:/ / www. cqvip. com/ QK/ 80443X/ 2003002/ 8922419. html)]"]. . Retrieved September 1, 2008. [11] http:/ / www. dharmanet. com. br/ multimidia/ mp3. php [12] http:/ / mantrasphere. co. uk/ index. php?page=mani [13] http:/ / www. lamayeshe. com/ acatalog/ tmr. html
Further reading
Alexander Studholme: The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum. Albany NY: State University of New York Press, 2002 ISBN 0-7914-5389-8 ( incl. Table of Contents (http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=60576)) Mark Unno: Shingon Refractions: Mye and the Mantra of Light. Somerville MA, USA: Wisdom Publications, 2004 ISBN 0-86171-390-7 Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. ISBN 0-312-82540-4 A.H. Francke: The Meaning of Om Mani Padme-Hum, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1915 Lama Anagarika Govinda: Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, 1969. Samuel Weiser, Inc: NYC, NY. ISBN 0-87728-064-9. 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) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061367397) with an afterword by the author. (HarperOne, 2007) non-fiction. Table of Contents (http://www.amazon.com/dp/ 0061367397#reader_0061367397)
External links
Tibetan calligraphy styles of the Mani Mantra (http://inkessential.blogspot.com/2009/07/mani-mantra.html) Dharma Haven: Om Mani Padme Hum (http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/ meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm) Khandro.net: Mantra (http://www.khandro.net/practice_mantra.htm) Andrew West, An article on Om Mani Padme Hum in different scripts (http://babelstone.blogspot.com/2006/ 11/mani-stones-in-many-scripts.html) Buddha speaks Mahayana Sublime Treasure King Sutra (http://www.fodian.net/world/1050.html) English translation of Karandavyuha Sutra "Om Mani Padme Hum" Songs (http://www.woim.net/search/song/1/om-mani-padme-hum.html) collection 13 version of "Om Mani Padme Hum" songs (on 4 albums Mantra)
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/