page_title: Om mani padme hum
section_title: In Tibetan Buddhism
hierarchical_section_title: Om mani padme hum / Meaning and effects / In Tibetan Buddhism
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Von links nach rechts bis zum letzten dunkelblauen Schriftzeichen: Om mani padme hum - eines der zentralen Mantras im tibetischen Buddhismus. In rot ein weiteres Mantra, wiederum beginnend mit der Silbe "Om", ebenfalls in tibetischer Schrift. Auf tibetisch wird das Mantra als Om mani peme hung ausgesprochen. English: "Om Mani Padme Hum" (on the left in different colors) and "Om Vajrasattva Hum" (on the right all in red), written in Tibetan on a rock at the Potala Palace.
context_page_description: Auṃ maṇi padme hūṃ is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra where it is also referred to as the sadaksara and the paramahrdaya, or “innermost heart” of Avalokiteshvara. In this text the mantra is seen as condensed form of all the Buddhist teachings.
  The first word Aum/Om is a sacred syllable in various Indian religions. The word Mani means "jewel" or "bead", Padme is the "lotus flower", and Hum represents the spirit of enlightenment.
  In Tibetan Buddhism, this is the most ubiquitous mantra and the most popular form of religious practice, performed by laypersons and monastics alike. It is also an ever present feature of the landscape, commonly carved onto rocks, known as mani stones, painted into the sides of hills or else it is written on prayer flags and prayer wheels.
  Due to the increased interactions between Chinese Buddhists and Tibetans and Mongolians during the 11th century, the mantra also entered Chinese Buddhism. The mantra has also been adapted into Chinese Taoism.
context_section_description: The 11th century Bengali master Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna who was influential in bringing Buddhism to Tibet, also wrote a short treatise on the mantra, called the Arya-sad-aksari-sadhana. Some Buddhist scholars argue that the mantra as practiced in Tibetan Buddhism was based on the Sadhanamala, a collection of sadhana or spiritual practices, published in the 12th century. However, according to Peter Alan Roberts, "the primary source for Tibetan Avalokitesvara practices and teachings" is the 11th century Mani Kabum. 
  Donald Lopez writes that according to a 17th century work by the prime minister of the fifth Dalai Lama, the meaning of the mantra is said to be "O, you who have the jewel and the lotus." That manipadme is in the vocative case is also supported by a 9th century Tibetan grammatical treatise.
  Lopez also notes that the majority of Tibetan Buddhist texts have regarded the translation of the mantra as secondary, focusing instead on the correspondence of the six syllables of the mantra to various other groupings of six in the Buddhist tradition.
  For example, in the Chenrezig Sadhana, Tsangsar Tulku Rinpoche expands upon the mantra's meaning, taking its six syllables to represent the purification of the six realms of existence:
caption: "om mani padme hūṃ", mani stone carved in Tibetan script outside the Potala Palace in Lhasa
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