Over the last couple of days, I have been practicing the proper accentuation of the mantra ‘Om Mani Padme Hum.’
When I was first instructed in transcendental meditation in 1997, my personal mantra was given to me by my instructor. At first I thought it was very cool to know all the ‘internal wisdom’ which guided the instructor to pronounce and give one’s personal mantra. But with time, I learned it was more based upon one’s age versus handed from some guiding spirit. Thus, my age at time sort of determined the mantra.
Over the years, I have principally used that personal mantra. But over the past year or so, I have experienced mediation periods when I used no mantra to experimenting with ‘Ahimsa’ (meaning do no harm) to Om Mani Padme Hum.
The Mani mantra is the most widely used of all Buddhist mantras, and open to anyone who feels inspired to practice it and does not require prior initiation by a lama (meditation master).
Reading from left to right the syllables are:
Sanskrit
| Om (ohm) |
Ma (mah) |
Ni (nee) |
Pad (pahd) |
Me (may) |
Hum (hum) |
Tibet
| Om (ohm) |
Ma (mah) |
Ni (nee) |
Peme (peme) |
Me (may) |
Hum (hum) |
It is said that all the teachings of the Buddha are contained in this mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum. However, Om Mani Padme Hum cannot really be translated into a simple phrase or sentence. Still, the 14th Dalai Lama did state:
‘Om’ symbolizes the practitioner’s impure body and pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha
‘Mani’ symbolizes the method, the intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love
‘Padme’ meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom
‘Hum’ is indivisible unity of method and wisdom
May you always find unity of Buddha’s method and wisdom.