A short teaching on the meaning of Chenrezig’s (aka Kuan Yin or Avaloketishvara) mantra, OM MANI PADME HUNG, ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྃ to a teenager in one of His Holiness’ talks. I thought I’d share it here for all ….
It is important to know the meaning of mantras and the purpose of reciting them. Most of us do mantras every day as part of our daily prayers… so it’ll be very useful to understand the video in order to gain the maximum benefit while reciting mantras.
Transcript:
I have always been speaking the prayer OM MANI PADME HUNG, but without actually knowing what it means. I have been asking this question to many of my elders but I fail to get the answer. So what does it mean?
Prayer and also recitation of mantra, just simply repeat the sound? Not much happen.
Particularly OM MANI PADME HUNG, that’s one Buddhist mantra. The sound, the whole Buddhist system is utilize human intelligence the maximum way, through that way, transform our emotion. That’s Buddhist way of thought.
The other tradition, most of these Church tradition many through faith, through prayer, to God, to creator. It is also, immense powerful, wonderful thing. All religious tradition carry same message or same practice. The practice of love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, self discipline… same.
Then, most of the church religions, prayer is most important part. Buddhist, Buddha’s student, you are your own master, your future entirely depend on yourself.
So, in Buddhism, Buddha taught study is very very important, knowledge is very important, in order to utilize human intelligence fully. We have to know, how to use and in order to utilize, you must know the mental function, mental system, these things as I have mentioned before.
So, you pay more attention, study what’s Buddhist system, then with understanding about the whole system, transformation of our mind, with that clear, full knowledge, that ultimate end and sincere motivation, then recitation of this mantra is very useful. Clear?
OM MANI PADME HUNG, of course I don’t know if it’s relevant to explain here or not, I don’t know. But you see the six syllabus OM MA NI PAD ME HUNG.
So OM that some mantra is common in Buddhism and also many different religion, Hinduism… ‘OM’. But here, Buddhist explain OM there are three letters A, U, M, that represents our body, mind and speech. So there are two levels, body, speech, mind impure level, that creates, that’s the basis of self. So therefore the experiencer’s pains and pleasure, the body, mind, mainly the body, mind… transform into pure, pleasant, ever pleasant body and mind. See, the body, mind and then automatically speech also. So that represent A, U, M. OM represent impure level, impure part and pure part.
Now how to transform impure part into pure? Three impure transform into pure three, then MANI and PADME. MANI means jewel, here jewel meaning altruism, infinite altruism. Then PADME, PADME means wisdom. Altruism and wisdom combine that’s represent HUNG. HUNG carry meaning of combination, altruism and wisdom combine. Through that way, that’s the proper way, method to purify three impure, in order to become pure three body, speech and mind. Clear?
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