Recite oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, the mantra of Avalokiteśvara

Recite the six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezig), the bodhisattva of compassion, framed by the wish that all beings be free of suffering.

Warum es wirkt

84000’s introduction to The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha), the sūtra the mantra comes from, calls oṃ maṇipadme hūṃ the most prevalent mantra of Tibetan Buddhism and central to lay practice. The sūtra praises the benefits of having, repeating and wearing it but, the translators note, explains neither the meaning of the whole nor the syllables one by one; those explanations came later in Tibet. The familiar gloss “jewel in the lotus” reads padme as a locative, but the introduction argues it is a vocative: Maṇipadma, “Jewel Lotus,” is a name of Avalokiteśvara, so the mantra calls on him. Study Buddhism’s glossary describes mantras as representing enlightening speech and, when repeated, protecting the mind from destructive states. Prayers that accompany the mantra, such as Nyoshul Lungtok’s, ask that malice be assuaged and that bodhicitta be mastered.

So gehst du vor

1. Begin by recalling the Three Jewels and wishing that all beings, yourself included, be free of suffering.
2. Recite oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ at an even pace, aloud or softly; in Tibetan it is often read “om mani padme hung.”
3. Let Avalokiteśvara’s compassion be what you are calling on, rather than a sound you are using to calm down.
4. If you like, use a short prayer from the tradition around the mantra, such as Nyoshul Lungtok’s prayer to Avalokiteśvara.
5. End by dedicating whatever good has come of it to the welfare of all beings.
6. Chenrezig sādhanas with self-visualisation are taught by a teacher; ask for one rather than piecing it together from fragments.

Evidenz

The source of the mantra, its prevalence in Tibetan lay practice, the absence in the sūtra of any syllable-by-syllable explanation, and the reading of Maṇipadma as a vocative name of Avalokiteśvara are from the summary and introduction to 84000’s translation of The Basket’s Display. The function of mantra is from Study Buddhism’s glossary. Nyoshul Lungtok’s and Gyalsé Tokme Zangpo’s prayers show how the mantra is framed by compassion and the aspiration to carry out Avalokiteśvara’s activity. (anecdotal)

The meaning of the mantra is understood in several ways, as the 84000 translators note, and the syllable-by-syllable explanations taught in Tibet are later traditions. Its benefits are the sūtra’s and the tradition’s claims. The mantra-meditation page covers secular research on word repetition, which is a different practice.

Quellen

• The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha, Toh 116), trans. Peter Alan Roberts, with summary and introduction. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
• Study Buddhism Glossary. “Mantra.”
• Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpé Nyima. Prayer to Avalokiteśvara (with the six-syllable mantra), trans. Adam Pearcey, 2015. Lotsawa House.
• Gyalsé Tokme Zangpo. For the Maṇi Reciter of Kham, trans. Adam Pearcey, 2022. Lotsawa House.

Häufiger Fehler

Treating the mantra as a relaxation word, or insisting that “jewel in the lotus” is its one true meaning. In the tradition it is Avalokiteśvara’s mantra, recited within refuge and compassion, and its meaning is read in more than one way.