Om mani padme hum
Om mani padme hum ( Sanskrit मणिपद्मे हूँ Om mani-padme hum , IPA : [O mɐɳɪpɐdmeː ɦũː], Tibetan ཨོ ཾ་ མ་ ཎི་ པ་ དྨེ་ ཧཱ ུ ྃ ) is a Buddhist Mantra in Sanskrit that the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteshvara assigned becomes. It is said to have reached Tibet as early as the 5th century through the Karandavyuha Sutra, when King Lha Thothori Nyantsen ruled there. It is the oldest and still most popular mantra in Tibetan Buddhism .
pronunciation
The Tibetan pronunciation is different from the Sanskrit pronunciation mentioned above:
Wave and Real Audio .
Original meaning
Om is a syllable that is significant not because of a specific word meaning assigned to it, but because of its sound; in Hinduism it is also very popular as a stand-alone mantra. The final syllable hūṃ is used for affirmation and is sometimes translated as “Heil!”; however, like that of oṃ, its meaning does not lie in a certain sense of the word, but in the sound.
The original meaning of manipadme is unknown; In research, a number of hypotheses have been put forward that are associated with various linguistic or content-related difficulties. The most common assumption is that the meaning is “jewel in the lotus”, with padme ( lotus ) being understood as a locative . Then maṇi (jewel) would have to be in the nominative , which is not the case. Rather, the form maṇi- shows that maṇi-padme is a compound noun. If one starts from this premise, there are various possible interpretations. One of them is "Jewel and Lotus", another "Jeweled lotus" (meaning "lotus made of jewels"). Proponents of the latter interpretation tend to see here the name of a person who is called to whom the qualities of jewel (precious) and lotus (purity) are ascribed. In this case maṇi-padme is to be understood as a vocative . However, this proposed solution encounters the difficulty that a masculine vocative would be different, i.e. the person addressed must be female. The second word component is then not the masculine padma (lotus), but a feminine form derived from it, padmā as part of a female name. The addressed person cannot be the Bodhisattva himself, but only a female deity accompanying him. An alternative is to view the entire compound noun as a masculine locative. Then the meaning is not "Om, jewel in the lotus", but "Om in the jewel lotus".
Interpretations
For Tibetan Buddhism, the six syllables om mani peme hung express the basic attitude of compassion. Her recitation expresses the desire to liberate all living beings from the cycle of rebirths . By reciting the six syllables, the six desired perfections are to be realized and a future rebirth in the six areas of existence shown in the wheel of life are prevented. Comes as the sechssilbiges mantra known om mani Peme hung traditional primacy to:
"None of the many different types of mantras, such as awareness mantras, Dhāranīs and secret mantras, surpasses MANI, the six-syllable mantra of Chenrezi ."
In common explanations, the individual components of the mantra are given hidden meanings. Om or Aum is understood as the original sound through which our current universe was created. Understood in this sense, it has traditionally been an important part of meditation practices in cultural areas influenced by India. Hum is the counterpart to this, i.e. the sound by which the visible universe will collapse. Mani is understood in the tantric Buddhism of Tibet as a symbol for the male principle, Padme , the lotus flower, as a symbol for purity and for the female principle. Interpreted in this way, Om Mani Padme Hum encompasses the world, namely its creation, its existence with its two interpenetrating polarities and its extinction. Darshan Singh , Indian poet and mystic (1921–1989), interprets the mantra in the following way: "From the lotus-like light of the Aum, claps of thunder sound". Mani comes from Hindu mythology and is a pearl-like seed that has the property of glowing in the dark. Sounding light or glowing melodies stand in mysticism for the light and sound principle, which are also the first revelations of God. This resounding light, which has the shape of a lotus, is seen at the third eye, the single eye, tenth gate or 6th Shakra between and behind the eyebrows in meditation.
literature
- Alexander Studholme: The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum . State University of New York Press, Albany (NY) 2002, ISBN 0-7914-5389-8
- Lama Anagarika Govinda : Basics of Tibetan Mysticism . Aquamarine, Grafing 2008, ISBN 978-3-89427-469-6
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander Studholme: The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum , Albany (NY) 2002, pp. 110-116.
- ↑ Dilgo Khyentse: The heart jewel of the enlightened . 4th edition, Berlin 2002, p. 77.
- ↑ Darshan Singh : The secret of secrets , SK publications, Stuttgart 1981 (now Hof / Saale), p. 147f.