Chanting Om Mani Padme Hum: Meaning & Benefits

Om Mani Padme Hum is a six-syllable mantra associated with the Avalokiteshvara or the protector. A mantra is a sound, word, or syllable used in meditation and capable of creating transformation when chanted. It is also pronounced as “Om Mane Peme Hung” in some regions. 

By practicing and chanting this mantra, one can accumulate merit and purify their delusions. One can chant this mantra in their daily life, during a prayer walk (kora) or while spinning the prayer wheels. Tibetans interpret the mantra as the “Praise to the jewel in the lotus”. 

Many Buddhist pilgrims recite the mantra hundreds or even thousands times a day. The mantra is also printed on prayer flags, carved on stones, and inserted or written in the Buddhist prayer wheels and the statues. However, there is no exact meaning for Om Mani Padme Hum. Besides that, the spiritual meaning goes beyond the literal meaning of its syllables.

Moreover, the first word in the mantra is Om, is a sacred syllable across religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Mani means “bead” or “jewel,” Padme is the sacred Buddhist flower of “lotus,” and Hum denotes the spirit of enlightenment. The mantra is generally used in religious practice in Tibetan Buddhism. 

Furthermore, monks use this mantra regularly on the monasteries, and the mantra is also present in various forms, including rocks carvings (mani stones), paintings, flags, prayer wheels, tattoos, bracelets, and others. The mantra is well adapted into Mongolian, Chinese Buddhism, and even Chinese Taoism. 

Read further to know more about the sacred mantra of Om Mani Padme Hum chant and other relevant information in detail. 

Om Mani Padme Hum Meaning 

Om   

Om is a spiritual sound that is significant across religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. It represents generosity and also purifies the pride and ego of the human body. The color white gets used to denote Om and has the symbol of Deity-Wisdom. 

Moreover, Om purifies the body, speech, and mind and turns it into the exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. Buddha himself became enlightened after purifying his soul through intense meditation. 

Buddhism also states that no being is free from faults or has high values from birth. One has to work diligently for the development of speech, body, and mind. The process of the change from impure states into the pure states is gradual.

Mani

Mani means “beads” and “jewel” and symbolizes the method or the selfless intention to become enlightened through love and compassion. Ma represents ethics and purifies jealousy or lust for entertainment. 

Moreover, the color green denotes Ma and has a symbol of Deity-Compassion. It is capable of removing poverty, or difficulties of cyclic existence and solitary peace. It also fulfills the wishes of sentient beings.

Furthermore, the second syllable of Ni represents patience and purifies passion and desire on the human body. The color yellow denotes Ni, and it has the symbol of Deity-Body, speech, mind quality, and activity.

Padme

Padme is a two-syllable that represents the “lotus flower.” It symbolizes wisdom from the mud that is free from the faults of mud. The syllable represents the wisdom of being self-sufficient. It also describes the emptiness of duality, which means the difference of entity between subject and object.

Moreover, Pad represents diligence, and it purifies ignorance and prejudice. The color blue denotes the symbol Pad and has the symbol of Deity-Equanimity. Me symbolizes renunciation, and it purifies poverty and possessiveness. The color red denotes the symbol Me and has the symbol of Deity-Bliss.

Hum

The final syllable Hum represents purity and unity of method and wisdom through indivisibility. Hum symbolizes wisdom and purifies aggression. It gets denoted by the color black and has the symbol of Deity-Quality of Compassion.

Benefits of Chanting Om Mani Padme Hum

There are indefinite benefits of chanting Om Mani Padme Hum. However, the 15 benefits of the holy mantra according to Buddhism, are as follows:

• You will get born in a Dharmic place where the practice of Dharma is widespread and accessible. You will have gurus and monks that help you attain enlightenment.
• You will meet virtuous friends and companions.
• You will get a mind that gets driven towards the path of virtue.
• You will have stable financial conditions and wealth so that you can live your life well.
• You will get to see Buddha and hear the Dharma.
• You will get blessed with an ideal body to carry you towards enlightenment.
• You will meet spiritual leaders and virtuous kings, which will allow you to practice Dharma.
• You will get blessed with harmonious people around you.
• You will have proper conditions and good fortune so that you can practice the Buddhist teachings.
• You will not get bothered by thieves and robbers.
• You will get protected by devas and nagas.
• You will get served and protected by others.
• You will have a strong and undiminishable sense of personal morality.
• You will succeed on your chosen path.
• You will understand and practice the divine meaning of emptiness.

The Final Say

The mantra of Om Mani Padme Hum is quite powerful and used extensively while praying. According to popular beliefs, anyone who recites the six syllables while spinning the prayer wheel gains the fortune of Thousand Buddhas. You will accumulate merit and purify the obstacles in your life.

Moreover, the Buddhist people chant these sacred mantras for hours and on long pilgrimages and Koras. You will hear these mantras get chanted in a loud voice by monks and the Lama gurus at monasteries and temples. You can find this mantra in various forms, including paintings, flags, rocks carvings (mani stones), prayer wheels, tattoos, bracelets, and others. 

Overall, the six-syllable Om Mani Padme Hum shows us the path to enlightenment through the indivisible union of method and wisdom. One can transform one’s impure body, speech, and mind into the pure form of body, speech, and mind of a Buddha by chanting this mantra.

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