About: Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum - The Jewel in the Lotus - The Mantra of Compassion

is considered to be the highest Mantra for mankind gifted to us by the thousand Buddhas out of their compassion for all sentient beings.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying the mantra (prayer), Om Mani Padme Hum, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion. Viewing the written form of the mantra is said to have the same effect -- it is often carved into stones and placed where people can see them.

Spinning the written form of the mantra around in a Mani wheel (or prayer wheel) is also believed to give the same benefit as saying the mantra, and Mani wheels, small hand wheels and large wheels with millions of copies of the mantra inside, are found everywhere in the lands influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.

Mani wheel

• OM, composed of three sound A, U, and M, stands for the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; they also symbolize the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of an enlightened person, a Buddha

• MANI ( jewel) symbolizes the altruistic intention to become enlightened
• PADME (lotus) a symbol of wisdom
• HUM indicates indivisibility

 "There is not a single aspect of the eighty-four thousand sections of the Buddha's teachings which is not contained in Avalokiteshvara's six syllable mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum", and as such the qualities of the "mani" are praised again and again in the Sutras and Tantras.... Whether happy or sad, if we take the "mani" as our refuge, Chenrezig will never forsake us, spontaneous devotion will arise in our minds and the Great Vehicle will effortlessly be realized."

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche -- Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones

"Thus the six syllables, OM MANI PADME HUM, mean that by 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."

HH the Dalai Lama

~May all beings enjoy the spirit of enlightenment~

More information about Om Mani Padme Hum