Om Mantra Mandala
Om Mani Padme Hum is in the center of the mandala.
The mantra and the elements surrounding the center of the mandala represent the movements of the planets and the whole cosmos around Mount Meru, the holy mountain considered the center of the axis of both physical and spiritual universe.
This Mandala features in the corners the auspicious Buddhist symbols representing the different metaphysical state of the mind according to traditional Tibetan Buddhism.
Om Mani Padme Hum is a mantra particularly associated with the four-armed form of Avalokiteshvara / Chenrezig. Mani means “the jewel” and Padma means “the lotus”.
It is the six-syllable mantra of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan Chenrezig). The mantra is especially revered by the devotees of the Dalai Lama, as he is said to be an incarnation of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara.
The six syllables of the mantra are broken down into Om-Ma-Ni-Pad-Me-Hum. The mantra is also sometimes pronounced Om Mani Peme Hung by Tibetans. Tibetan Buddhists believe that reciting the mantra invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion.
The mantra is to be found carved into rocks and stone throughout the lands where Tibetan Buddhism prevails often referred to as Mani stones. The mantra is also used in scrolls in Tibetan prayer wheels both handheld and the large standing wheels that are found at temples and monasteries. texts on prayer wheels are used to accumulate wisdom and merit (good karma) and to purify negativities (bad karma).
The practitioner can repeat the mantra as many times as possible during the turning of the wheel, stabilizing a calm meditative mind. At the end of a practice session, there’s a Tibetan Buddhist tradition of dedicating any accumulated merits that you may have gathered during practice to the benefit of all sentient beings.
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 symbolizes the practitioner’s impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. The path is indicated by the next four syllables.
Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love.
The two syllables, Padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom. Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized 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. – HH 14th Dalai Lama
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