Om Mani Padme Hum — Benefits & How to Chant
ॐ मणि पद्मे हूं
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting Om Mani Padme Hum
Cultivates universal compassion for all sentient beings
Purifies negative karma accumulated over lifetimes
Calms the mind and reduces anxiety, anger and attachment
Each of the 6 syllables purifies one of the 6 realms of cyclic existence
Connects the practitioner to Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion
One of the most widely chanted mantras in the world
billions of recitations daily
How to Chant Om Mani Padme Hum
Instructions
This mantra can be chanted by anyone, anywhere, at any time. Use a mala (prayer beads) of 108 beads. Chant slowly and clearly, focusing on compassion for all beings. Tibetan Buddhists often spin prayer wheels containing millions of printed mantras while chanting. The Dalai Lama says: 'It is very good to recite this mantra. While you are doing it, you should think of its meaning, for the meaning is vast and profound.'
Spiritual Significance
The Karandavyuha Sutra records that even the insects and animals who hear this mantra are freed from the lower realms. In Tibet, it is carved into stones (mani stones) throughout the landscape — millions of them — so that even the wind that passes over them carries the mantra's blessing to all beings. The Dalai Lama has stated that the cumulative compassion generated by this mantra over centuries has shaped the peaceful character of Tibetan civilization.
Origin & History
Source: Karandavyuha Sutra
Author: Revealed by Buddha Shakyamuni
According to the Karandavyuha Sutra, the Buddha taught this mantra as the essence of all compassion. It is the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva who vowed not to rest until every sentient being is freed from suffering. When his head split from the pain of witnessing endless suffering, Buddha Amitabha gave him eleven heads to see all beings, and a thousand arms to help them all. The mantra became the most chanted in Tibet after Buddhism arrived in the 7th century.