Home » Tibetan Buddhism » What Could Mean More? Om Mani Padme Hum

What Could Mean More? Om Mani Padme Hum

Om mani padme hum is an ancient mantra that is related to the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, and with therefore the Dalai Lama, who is considered to be an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara.

Avalokitesvara: Bodhisattva of Compassion
Avalokitesvara: Bodhisattva of Compassion (From hand-made applique thangkha created by Tibetan artisans at the Norbulingkha Institute near Dharamsala.)

Tibetans, who typically pronounce the mantra as “Om mani peme hung,” believe that Avalokiteshvara, who we call Chenrezig, has a very special connection with Tibetans as our protector.

In Tibetan, we say, “Chenrezig po kang chen pay lha kyel,” which means: “Chenrezig is the Tibetans’ Buddha.” By practicing Chenrezig’s mantra, we believe that we can accumulate merit and purify our delusions.

Let’s look  at how Tibetans pronounce om mani padme hum, in this video:

Om Mani Padme Hum: How Tibetans Say It

Every Tibetan child is taught the mantra by our parents, and we all use it very commonly in daily life, and especially if we make a prayer walk (kora) or go to the temple, or pray using a rosary (mala).

Basically, any mantra is “a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of ‘creating transformation.’” 2 See also our posts on the Green Tara mantra, White Tara and her mantra, and the Buddha Shakyamuni mantra.

This mantra naturally comes to our hearts in any kind of difficult situation. For example, when I was in an earthquake in Dharamsala once, when the earth started shaking, I automatically started praying, “Om mani peme hung.”

Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum

Many people recite the mantra thousands of times in a day as part of their daily prayer practice. (If you’re interested in experiencing the beautiful sight and sound of walking in a crowd of Tibetans humming mantras, check out our How to Visit Tibet post.) We also print it on prayer flags that blow the prayer to the winds, carve it on stones, and insert papers printed with it inside holy statues and in prayer wheels.

Almost all Tibetans recite the prayer, even though many of us don’t know the meaning.

The most common meaning offered for the mantra is usually something like “Behold! The jewel in the lotus!” or “Praise to the jewel in the lotus.” But it is almost impossible to give one exact meaning for “om mani padme hum,” since it has been interpreted in many ways. Below, you can see His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s interpretations.

Also, we might say that its meaning as a spiritual sound goes beyond the literal meaning of its syllables.

The Meaning of Om Mani Padme Hum From Two Buddhist Masters

From His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

The meaning of Om Mani Padme Hung by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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 … symbolizes the practitioner’s impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha…. The path is indicated by the next four syllables. MANI, meaning jewel, symbolizes the … altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassionate and loving…. 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 HUM, which indicates indivisibility…. 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….

— His Holiness the Dalai Lama, www.sacred-texts.com and Wikipedia3

From Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The mantra Om Mani Päme 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,  ISBN 0-87773-493-3

Links:

Books:

Kindness, Clarity and Insight, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, has a chapter on this topic.

Footnotes:

1.The first known reference to the mantra is in the Karandavyuha Sutra, “a Mahayana sutra that was compiled at the end of the 4th century or beginning of the 5th century” A.D. (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karandavyuha_Sutra)

  1. Feuerstein, G. The Deeper Dimension of Yoga. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA. 2003. (Via Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra)
  2. Several web sites contain the same information, and we have not been able to locate the original source of the information, though the transcription is attributed to Ngawang Tashi (Tsawa) of Drepung Loseling, Mundgod, India.

Want to be ready to travel to Tibet?

Tibet Travel Plan

Sign up to get instant access to our FREE Tibet Travel Planning Guide that shows you exactly how to:

  • Get your visa and Tibet permits
  • Avoid altitude sickness
  • Choose a reliable, Tibetan-owned agent
  • And much more…so you can feel peace of mind about your trip, and have a great, safe journey!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Along with instant access to your free, comprehensive online guide for planning your Tibet travel, you will also get our weekly newsletter, with tips, tools and strategies for simple, safe and meaningful Tibet travel.

Our Privacy Policy


Comments

66 responses to “What Could Mean More? Om Mani Padme Hum”

  1. Happy soul Avatar

    I am never able to understand the meaning of this mantra or religion.. why do they glorify so much of pain and suffering… pain and suffering are the part of package called life … they always lay emphasis on thinking about ourself and not getting attached to anything … how is this possible .. even animals and tree are attached to their species … how can I get detach to my parent who stay awake entire night because I was sick… how can I get detach to my kids who gives me unconditional love..trust me for everything … for my life even if sometime I have to suffer and sacrifice my choices , that’s okay … what is the meaning of my life living happily alone .

    1. Rangdrol Avatar

      Dear Happy Soul:
      Well, I noted that no one had responded to your question, so I thought I would.
      Buddhism examines the causes of suffering and helps explain a way to end that suffering—all kinds of suffering. Buddhists are not “attached” to suffering, or attachment itself. But we do examine attachment, as it is one of the 3 Poisons which prevent us from awakening. And let’s be clear, yes Buddhism talks about suffering but Buddhism did not invent suffering.
      In Catholicism, the belief is that God created mankind, then set Adam and Eve up in a beautiful penthouse in a gated community called then Garden of Eden. Eve blew it when she disobeyed GOD, and ate an apple (the forbidden fruit) which He had specifically ordered her not to eat. Now the reason we are all suffering, in that book, is because of Eve’s sin. God had given them and mankind a good deal and damn! Eve went and messed it up for the rest of us!! So Buddhism simply recognizes that we suffer buts gives us—
      Humans have many addictions and attachments: food, power, gambling, money, sex, etc. The Noble One recognized that there were many many causes for our suffering—but certainly there is no “glorification” of attachment or of suffering itself, quite the contrary. Buddhism seeks to lead people out of suffering by explaining attachment, aversion, and ignorance, known as the three poisons.
      Likewise, Tibetan Buddhism does not deny that pain and suffering exist, and we do not run from it: if one enters the Buddhist path, we examine it because the Noble One did, in his quest for enlightenment.
      Attachment to a parent, as you mentioned is a healthy emotion, but there are unhealthy forms of attachment. Take for example the mother who loves her daughter who is suffering from an alcohol addiction. The daughter has lost her last 4 jobs, she has been arrested three times for drinking under the influence and has lost her driver’s license. About her mother, who cares for her and loved her, has spent her time paying off her daughters’ fines, and keeps giving her daughter rent money. Is it healthy and loving for the mother to do this for her only child? No. We would call that enabling, and the mother is involved in a dysfunctional relationship with her daughter. We have to examine our motives…for example I don’t give homeless people cash, if I think they have an alcohol or drug problem.I do not want to enable them to continue to buy alcohol or drugs.
      Attachment is simply not recognizing that we have become fixated on something, and that we cannot do without it. It can be a relationship that is bad for you; it can be to food: we now realize that more than 40% of American’s have unhealthy relationships with food. Now the food and media industries are lying by telling people that they can be ANY size—even obese—and that this is a ”healthy” alternative. It might be an attachment to Facebook, where one woman spends 14 hours a day posting images of cats. And most times, we are unaware that we are actually attached to things—until something happens (death) or something is broken, or someone or something threatens to deny us of something. When that happens, suddenly we are defending our use of something, our need, for it, and if we are really attached, as in addictions, then we not only lie to others but we start lying to ourselves.
      If you were suddenly all alone, would you be able to find meaning in the world? I hope so. And while it is nice to love and be loved, there are people who—when faced with the thought of losing someone—take their own life, or worse—as we see in many domestic cases—they take the lives of their partners. THAT is attachment.
      I watched a tv series called ALONE, where individuals live alone in the outdoors. The goal is into outlast the other competitors and win LOTS of money. On several episodes, I have witnessed cases of attachment, where both men and women suddenly start talking about their children at home, or their spouses, or their family, back in their respectives communities.
      When I see that, I instantly know what will follow: they will leave the show. Usually there is a large money-bonus—say $500,000 or $1 million for the person who outlasts all the other contestants. Usually, the participants speak of themselves and their family members and share with us how the money will help them change their live—or the lives of others, but then within a day or two of these behaviours they start making excuses: “I don’t know why I’m doing this, money doesn’t mean anything…” And within a day or two they go berserk and call the cast members, asking they be retrieved. It is painful to watch that because even though they have great skills and can live on the land, they don’t have the tools or skills to crush attachment.
      If you have seen these shows you will have seen exactly what attachment is. THIS is what attachment is. In the last season, one very gifted outdoorsmen lasted only eight days! If he had been able to control the situation by having understood what was happening to him, and having used the Buddhist yogi’s tools, he would have been able to finish—maybe even win!
      And finally, living alone is fine, if you want to do that. However, the Noble One also spoke of aversion, pushing things or people away. I have a friend who cannot be alone; he needs to always be surrounded by many people, and yet, even when he is surrounded by many, he is still not happy. We could look at that from a psychological viewpoint, but this is a another poison. His desire to constantly be surrounded by others has manifested the presence of psychological factors in his life. Another friend doesn’t like to be with other people, so he spends much of his time avoiding people. But aversion doesn’t just mean avoiding people…it can be avoiding lots of things.
      I would suggest that you try and find a Tibetan a Buddhist group in your community. There are a couple that you should avoid so do some research. I’ve been a Buddhist since 1984 and though a few of those years were spent in a Buddhist cult, (Nichiren Shoshu of America) I eventually left that group and found my way to several *real Buddhist traditions (Zen, Insight Meditation,Tibetan) and in the late 1990’s I became a member of a Tibetan center in Boston. I also traveled to India, Malaysia, the US and Canada receiving teachings. I also took vows in a India in 1999. Vajrayana, Tibetan Buddhism, is such a beautiful and powerful practice. The teachings of so many great yogis are constantly being offered and there are many centers around the world. The way to understand Vajrayana is to be open with your heart: find a center that has regular teachings, and meditation.

  2. BiffBarff Avatar
    BiffBarff

    To:
    Louis Silva says

    January 15, 2018 at 3:34 am

    Why is it so rare to find the final word of Om Mani Padme Hum: Hri (Dignity)? Why is this not included in the explanations of the meaning of
    this mantra since Hri is the real jewel in the lotus?
    Thank you.
    The word Hri (Hrih) is the secret empowerment word for the whole mantra.
    It is only used by a “initiated” person mostly through a Hindu (not Buddhist) ritual.
    That is how i have understand it in the 1970′ ees. We can recognise eachother and know who is a insider so to speak. At that time i saw it sort of openly on the backside of the LP from Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” and knew: i am not alone…
    Well, you never really are, are you?…
    Love to you, hope it helps a bit.

  3. […] por estas ruas de Boudha tem quase sempre como banda sonora o mantra da compaixão “Om Mani Padme Hum”, que os budistas recitam, de mala na mão, quando circulam à volta da stupa (no sentido do […]

  4. […] am also now enjoying chanting mediation called Om mani padme hum.  I took this from the Tibetan Culture website:  “Om mani padme hum, which is an ancient mantra that is related to the bodhisattva of […]

  5. Hello

    i want to tattoo OM Mani Padme Hum

    Is there any problem in tattooing!

    1. JgBEWA Avatar

      Tattoos were very popular in the time of Buddha as they are today. Many Asthetics today have spiritual tattoos, and I am sure it is tattoos on many of them. I have it about 10″ long on my lower left arm.

    2. Cambo Matt Avatar
      Cambo Matt

      I have a”Om mani padme hum.” Tattoo. My suggestion would be to think long and hard about it. Do not be impulse. Place the tattoo where you can read it and still cover it up. Examine your motive for this particular tattoo. If it is to aid you in chanting / prayer then great. If it’s a fashion statement, please don’t get it.

  6. Hello. Can I chant Tibetan mantras even if I am from another religious? I also ordered a necklace with the mantra
    Om Mani padme hum and I look forward to wearing it.
    Best wishes

  7. Hi I am very interested in buddhism and have found your website very useful. I sometimes find it difficult to control my thoughts when I meditate so usually follow a guided meditate. I am going chant Om Mani Padme Hum.

    1. Cambo Matt Avatar
      Cambo Matt

      The average adults attention span is about 20 minutes. The average college students attention span is 40 minutes. The more you chant the better you will become and your attention span will grow. Be emotionally & spiritually kind to yourself. Things take time.

  8. […] The meaning of this mantra is difficult to explain because it has many meanings. Here is one explanation from Dalai Lama: “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 … symbolizes the practitioner’s impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha…. The path is indicated by the next four syllables. MANI, meaning jewel, symbolizes the … altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassionate and loving…. 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 HUM, which indicates indivisibility”. Read more about it here. […]

  9. Hello,

    I wish to assist you. “Bad habits” are a mind tuned in to the selfish side of humanity because they are not considerate of the sanctity of self or helping others. All they do is fulfill the desires of the imagination of self and that is a distraction from real self. So if you recite the mantra a million times it will be honed on getting rid of the imagined self and only after it has done that will it help real self.

    The easiest way is to get rid of imagined self and live as real self. When real self thinks, speaks, and walks, the world and all those in it, including real self, feel blessed because they are blessed. Recognizing bad habit is a step, but it is also a hinderance as the recognition is not what makes imagined self go away, action and action of inaction does. As they say, “… the sound of one hand clapping”.

    Peace on you 🙂

  10. Sakhal Avatar

    Hello, I am a 17 year old boy. I am glad.. just like that haha 🙂

    I wonder if one with bad habits can recite ”Om Mani Padme Hum” and it still has effects?

    Also what if I don’t have compassion but I believe in ”Om Mani Padme Hum” would it still work and help me?

    Also I realized I am more compassionate than before. I have started chanting this mantra at least 300 times a day. Yesterday I chanted it 1080 times 🙂

    I would be very glad if we could talk together more easily. Peace and love to you and everyone, but mostly you! haha

  11. […] 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. (read more) […]

  12. Louis Silva Avatar
    Louis Silva

    Why is it so rare to find the final word of Om Mani Padme Hum: Hri (Dignity)? Why is this not included in the explanations of the meaning of
    this mantra since Hri is the real jewel in the lotus?
    Thank you.

    1. Hi Louis, Normally Tibetans don’t include the hri — we don’t know why really. We’re sharing the common usage among Tibetans. If you learn more about it, please share.

  13. Is it necessary to be initiated, to receive empowerment (Wang); in order to receive/bring benefit by reciting OM Mani Peme Hung? That is do I need Chenrezig empowerment?

    1. Hi Sudipta. It’s good to have the wang or the transmission (lung), but it is totally not required to get benefit from reciting Om Mani Padme Hung.
      Cheers!

      1. Sudipta Mukherjee Avatar
        Sudipta Mukherjee

        Thank you for your swift reply; however I have not yet (due to lack of opportunity / karma) formally taken the refuge vow in the Three Jewels……. . Can I still recite it for benefit of others & myself ?

        appreciated.

        Sudipta

        1. It’s fine to recite Om mani Padme hum without having taken refuge. 🙂

          1. Sudipta Mukherjee Avatar
            Sudipta Mukherjee

            Thanks yet again. I was in Bodhgaya recently; as an ignorant being, looking for a Lama to bless my Rosary. In Karma Monastery I found H.E Beru Khyentse Rinpoche who was conducting a puja.

            After waiting for 2 hours as I approached Rinpoche (through a translator monk); with my request – I was briefly disappointed when he just tapped my Rosary and (what seemed like) waved me away.
            Later it somehow dawned on me, that THAT tap of the hand from H.E was ALL the blessing that was required ! That is although H.E is not my Guru, he is yet a living embodiment of Buddha nature; and that his gesture (whatever it is) is sufficient for me !

            Any comments, that you can add ?

          2. Hi Sudipta, It seems to us that your attitude is correct — viewing the positive and having a good intention are both wonderful ways to be!

  14. […] Kora refers to the circumambulation that Buddhist pilgrims do, sometimes daily, around sacred places, be it a landmark, a mountain, a monastery, a temple or a mere stupa. You cannot visit Tibet without realising that there are groups of locals walking and spinning handheld prayer wheels while reciting mantras everywhere. A common mantra is the om mani padme hum. […]

  15. I think om is pronounced more like ow like you hurt yourself then ng?

    Haven’t spoken to a native speaker about this yet – however

    https://weebleseru.wordpress.com/2017/07/09/the-sacred-om-aum/

    1. Hi Ethan, and thank you so much for writing in. Lobsang is a native speaker 🙂

  16. […] What Could Mean More? Om Mani Padme Hum – Om mani padme hum is an ancient mantra that is related to the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, and with therefore the Dalai Lama, who is considered to … […]

  17. […] What Could Mean More? Om Mani Padme Hum – 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 … […]

  18. […] you want to learn more about the mantra, there’s a great article here that explains it […]

  19. Hello, I’m curious if you can refer me to a site where I can learn more about Buddhism. Also, I noticed there is a Buddhist (temple?) by my house. Would they welcome me and my questions?

    1. Hi Danni,

      You might try this post https://www.yowangdu.com/tibetan-buddhism/learn-buddhism-online.html and this post https://www.yowangdu.com/tibetan-buddhism/introduction-to-tibetan-buddhism.html for more information. Usually temples welcome visitors. Best just to inquire and check. all the best to you!

  20. Hi in the evening was searching how to get rid of negative karma and stumbled on this Mantra. Though I have heard this mantra before its the first time I read about it , heard it on YouTube and downloaded it ! I was in great great distress since evening I’m feeling calm and peaceful ! I’m going to chant it as much as possible , Thanks Om Mani Padme Hum ! Also read about praying to 35 bodhisattvas !

  21. James Rapai Avatar
    James Rapai

    The mantra is actually ‘Om-manipadme-aham.’ Om is of course a well-known and often-used invocation which is considered the sound representation of the Supreme. Aham means ‘I am.’ It’s not hum. Mani means ‘jewel-like’ or ‘precious’ or ‘divine,’ and padme means ‘lotus’ or ‘unsullied like lotus’

    So, the mantra says: ‘Om… I am divine and unsullied like a lotus.’ In others words, the mantra is similar to ‘Aham brahma-asmi’ and proclaims the classic self-realization mantra: ‘I am spirit!’ Indirect meaning being, ‘I am not this body.’ While the Sanskrit mantra leaves it at that, the Buddhist mantra wanting perhaps to go a step further, also emphasizes the unsullied nature of spirit soul. I am unsullied spirit! Meaning, I am not the (contaminated) body. (Kindly delete my earlier comments!)

    1. Thanks for this interesting perspective.

    2. wow I have never seen or heard the aham version you claim. what source do you use? I do not have a single source for my semi-personal interpretation but I would like to share it with you and here it is: Om of course according to the upanishads is (a) waking state of mind (u) dream state of mind and (m) deep sleep state of mind and finally Turiya which is the anusvara which is the underlying ever-present current of awareness i.e. the substratum of the three previously mentioned states of mind: Christ consciousness, Buddha nature, Nirguna Brahman etc. Turiya is that jewel to be treasured and sought after. the Lotus is the symbol of Vairagya/disspassion/free of attachment as the lotus is unstained by the muddy water from which it grew i.e. the muck does not stick to what does not cling. hum is the krodha bija that lord shiva uses to project the fire from his third eye to burn up evil and all desires. thus from the end to the start of the mantra: hum brings one the state of the lotus of detachment, in that state and only in that state can one receive the jewel i.e. realize Turiya/emptiness i.e. enlightenment. Ahamkara free so to speak. anyways let me know where you found the version of the mantra you claim.

    3. Ulaila Ukita Avatar
      Ulaila Ukita

      His Hollines The Dalai Lama is teaching it well, I think we all can learn from Him.

      1. We couldn’t agree more!

    4. James,

      I loved your interpretation and agree with it completely. Many of the Sanskrit mantras have layers of meaning and nuances that talk uniquely to us. So it is OK, according to me, to interpret mantras and make them personal to us.

      This is a beautiful mantra and reflecting on its meaning is so refreshing, invigorating and empowering.

      Best wishes
      Vijay

  22. Sanskrit, I believe, is a series of sounds that trigger the brain toward the goals of the words. That is, to speak Sanskrit is to massage your mind to simulate in your mind the feelings associated with the Sanskrit sounds. If everyone returned to speaking and thinking in Sanskrit, we would have the possibility of attaining AND LIVING IN enlightenment all the time.

  23. […] related to enlightenment to compassion, and so it fits well for me. A good choices of translations here. Plus a more complete text of the Dalai Lama’s translation […]

  24. Heidi Avatar

    Hi! I am planning on tattooing om mani padme hum on my body, but when i search the sentence in Sanskrit it seems like there are several ways of writing it? The picture you have here on this post, the one by Christopher J. Fynn, can i tattoo that one? Is that the correct way of writing the sentence in Sanskrit? I’m gonna link a page with a picture of different ways of writing it, it was that page that made me confused..

    http://nyima108.blogspot.no/2006/07/om-mani-padme-hum.html

    1. Hi there,
      Thanks for asking. This made us notice we had a slightly wrong spelling. We changed the spelling on our post so now it is the correct one. Note that this one on our site is transliterated Sanskrit in Tibetan writing. You can compare the one on our page now with the 4th one on the nyima108 blog. That one on that page has a slight error — an extra dot. Hope this helps.

  25. Radha Raghoebir mrs Avatar
    Radha Raghoebir mrs

    Dear sirs,

    I would like to print the english meaning of the mantra’s Ohm mani padme ohm and Ohm tare tutare ture svaha, but from your website there is no print option.

    Kindly I request you to sent me the abovementioned english meanings. I really love those mantras and I am very glad that I have found the meaning of it.

    Appreciated a lot.

    Regards,
    mrs. Radha

  26. Thank you for being a part of the great illusion, without you my heart would be empty. Even though I don’t practice, I can’t help myself from loving you all so very much, and at times I miss you terribly! I have chanted in the past om mani pedme hum, even though I didn’t know what it meant, the mantra felt gud inside my being. Thanks from the heart eternally. Love & Peace

    1. Thank you Thomas. All the best to you.

  27. Jonathan MacMillan Avatar
    Jonathan MacMillan

    Hi Yolanda

    Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.

    I have another question however. Is there a specific rhythm or pace or speed with which to recite the OM MANI PADME HUM mantra while using my mala?.

    I’m just a bit concerned about my breathing when I recite the mantra with my mala.

    The only other reference I have is with the SOHAM mantra which has the simple SO on the inhalation and HAM on the exhalation.

    Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you again.

    Sincerely,
    Jonathan

    1. Hi Jonathan,
      There is no special rhythm or pace or speed for reciting om mani padme hum. You may find that your speed or rhythm changes from time to time and that is fine. We hope this helps. It is great that you are working on saying your mantras the best way that you can, but remember that the most important thing is that your motivation is good — and after that everything is very small in importance, meaning if you say your mantras with a good heart and spirit, with the intention of growing compassion, any way that you do it “technically” honestly doesn’t matter at all.

  28. Jonathan MacMillan Avatar
    Jonathan MacMillan

    Can anyone chant/recite/use the OM MANI PADME HUM mantra?. Even without proper/formal initiation?.

    I have recently purchased my first mala and am a little hesitant to simply go ahead and “assume” a mantra.

    For that reason, I have settled with the SOHAM mantra based on its natural/God given nature.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Sincerely,
    Jonathan

    1. Hi Jonathan,
      It’s no problem to recite om mani padme hung without a formal initiation or transmission. It’s nice if you get the blessing from your teacher, but not at all required. This is true for all of the mantras on our website.

      Our best to you!

      1. Jonathan MacMillan Avatar
        Jonathan MacMillan

        Hi Yolanda

        Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.

        I have another question however. Is there a specific rhythm or pace or speed with which to recite the OM MANI PADME HUM mantra while using my mala?.

        I’m just a bit concerned about my breathing when I recite the mantra with my mala.

        The only other reference I have is with the SOHAM mantra which has the simple SO on the inhalation and HAM on the exhalation.

        Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

        Thank you again.

        Sincerely,
        Jonathan

  29. maleka star Avatar
    maleka star

    I. Am grateful for these insights. Reciting of om mani padme hum has been the most comforting & affirming reality to date in this grand illusion – for me takes me out of myself & the selfish thoughts of suicide or the discomfort of the human existence allowing my trickster mind peace -that all is. As it is!
    I Am OM…………………………………….

    1. Thank you for the feedback, Maleka!

  30. […] and collapse on the sidewalk in agony. My whole body is on fire and I all I can do is chant Om Mani Padme Hum. Buddha comes faster than the […]

  31. In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The spiritual Classic and international bestseller, Appendix 4: Two Mantras, Sogyal Rinpoche, Rinpoche offers beautiful meanings of the two most famous mantras in Tibet along with the story of Avalokiteshvara.

    “The two most famous mantras in Tibet are the mantra of Padmasambhava, called the Vajra Guru Mantra, OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM, and the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion, OM MANI PADME HUM. Like most mantras they are in Sanskrit, the ancient sacred language of India.”

    Also, a place to find great inspiration is http://living-and-dying.org/ which has many personal stories of how this book based on the teachings of the Buddha and the great masters of Tibet have benefited their lives.

    1. Thank you for this great info, Pat!

  32. Francisco Jose Avatar
    Francisco Jose

    Esta es mi respuesta a tal bendición

    See user: pancho031062 at YouTube

  33. […] and a prayer flag in each pyramid. On each stone “tablet” is the inscription, “Om Mani Padme Hum” which loosely translated means “from the muddy water comes the lotus flower”. A […]

  34. […] I spun prayer wheels, and smiled at the offerings of cookies and fruit juice to the images of Buddha, the Dalai Lama, and other prominent Buddhist lamas.  I heard peaceful messages on the breeze when they passed over the countless strings of tattered prayer flags that traversed streets, mountaintops, and balconies.  At the tops of steep hills and staircases, in various monasteries, I chatted with smiling monks who welcomed us to explore their age-old temples.  I heard the mantra in my head over and over again and sometimes hummed it to myself – om-mani-padme-hum. […]

    1. James Lewis Avatar
      James Lewis

      OM is the great syllable, the sound and vibration of the changing universe, mani ped me is the diamond that cuts through illusion and reveals prajnaparamita, Hum is the unification of the knowledge

      1. Jim Lowitz Avatar
        Jim Lowitz

        You left out padme

  35. Hi, I would like to get so help to write some Tibetan script. I need hi res editable SVG file of the major mantras, eg:

    Om Mani Padme Hum

    OM Tara Tuttare Tare Soha

    Om Ami Dewa Hrih

    I sincerely appreciate if you could point me in the right dirrection

    Thanks

    1. Hi Naresh,

      We don’t know anyone personally who does this as a service, but you might try this website and contact the folks there to see if they know anyone who can help. You might also try the visible mantra site person and see if they do this kind of thing. the site is: http://www.visiblemantra.org/green-tara.html

      Good luck!

  36. I prepared a special OM Mantra Fractal Animation – http://youtu.be/xvVa64ltsYQ

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *