Om Mani Padme Hum
OM MANI PADME HUM
pronounced: ohm mah nee pahd may hum
Most commonly revered and used most often by practitioners of Buddhism, OM MANI PADME HUM invokes the wisdom and power of the Buddha of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara or Quanyin and is the mantra typically found in prayer wheels.
It is commonly carved onto rocks, known as mani stones, or else it is written on paper which is inserted into the prayer wheels. When an individual spins the wheel, it is said that the effect is the same as reciting the mantra as many times as it is duplicated within the wheel.
“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 symbolises the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolises the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha"
"The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolises the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love"
"The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolise wisdom"
"Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolised 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"
—H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, "On the meaning of: OM MANI PADME HUM”
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