What does "Om mani padme hum" mean?

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Donald S. Lopez (U. Michigan); Wiki edit

The mantra in Tibetan script on rock outside the Potala Pueblo/Palace (onwardtibet.org)

Tibetan script of Om mani padme hum ["Hail, Jewel-Lotus Bodhisattva [Avalokiteshvara, who is Kwan Yin]" or "Jewel in the lotus"] mantra (Tashi Mannox/tibetanlife.com)

Yes, but what does it mean?

Buddha on cash (Omoo/gansv1846/flickr)

Mantras (sacred incantations) may be interpreted by practitioners in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict linguistic meaning.

 

In this, the second most famous Buddhist mantra behind the selfless climax of the Heart Sutra literature (Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi swaha), we must question our common sense literal interpretation. Dr. Donald S. Lopez, professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, points out a more sensible explanation.

Om is the cosmic sound in Sanskrit

The middle part of the mantra, maṇipadme, is commonly interpreted as "jewel in the lotus," Sanskrit maṇí ("jewel, gem, cintamani") and the locative of padma "lotus"). But according to the distinguished professor, it is much more likely that maṇipadme is in fact a vocative, not a locative, addressing a bodhisattva called Maṇipadma, "Jewel-Lotus," which is an alternate epithet of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. 

It is preceded by the syllable oṃ (aum, shown at right) and followed by the syllable hūṃ. These are both interjections without direct linguistic meaning. This lack of direct meaning is easy to understand when one considers corresponding Judeo-Christian exclamations used in and around prayer, praise, and worship such as "amen" (a Western corruption of the East's aum), "Hallelujah," "So be it!" "So may it be!" It's not that they have no meaning or serve no function; it is that that meaning and function is indirect and open.

 

In this case, one opens and places oneself in a proper frame of mind/heart with the cosmic sound oṃ then seals the utterance with another syllable (hum, the sacred sound corresponding to the throat chakra). Many mantras, such as the epitome of the Heart Sutra, end in svaha ("all hail").

Om mani padme hum: mantra of Avalokiteshvara Tibetan script (Christopher J. Fynn)

 

31 Planes (sayalaysusila.net)

Another suggested translation runs: Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); ma purifies jealousy and the need for entertainment (characteristic of the asura loka, the realm of the jealous angels/godlings); ni purifies passion and desire (characteristic of the human realm); pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (characteristic of the animal realm); me purifies greed and possessiveness (characteristic of the realm of the hungry ghosts); hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).

 

Prof. 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 [such as the Six Realms, which are the first six planes of existence, categorized as the Sensual Realm in the three realms within the Buddhist cosmology of 31 Planes of Existence] in Buddhist tradition (Lopez, p.130). 

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... More

In other words, ᠣᠧᠮ ᠮᠠ ᠨᠢ ᠪᠠᠳ ᠮᠡᠢ ᠬᠤᠩ

The world, the world! (sutra)

Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; F.L. Woodward (trans.), Kindred Sayings, The Chapter on Channa and Others (Samyutta Nikaya, IV, Pali Text Society)

Saving the world, protesting economic and social injustices, Occupy L.A. (Wisdom Quarterly)

  

(84) Ven. Ananda came to see the Exalted One [Buddha]...and asked:

"'The world! The world!' it is said. venerable sir, please explain, how far does this saying go?"

"Ananda, what is transitory (paloka-dhamma = bhijjanaka, worldly phenomena, impermanent) by nature is called 'the world' in this noble doctrine and discipline [Arya-Dhamma-Vinaya].

 

"And what, Ananda, is transitory by nature? The eye, Ananda, is transitory by nature...visible objects... [The same is said for all six senses including the] mind is transitory by nature, mind-states, mind-consciousness, mind-contact [contact = the coming together of sense base, sense object, AND consciousness], whatever pleasure or pain (weal or woe) or neutral state experienced arises owing to mind-contact -- that, too, is transitory by nature. 

"Ananda, what is transitory by nature is called 'the world' in this noble doctrine and discipline."

Empty (void)

(85) Then Ven. Ananda...said to the Exalted One: "'The world IS empty! The world is empty!' it is said. Venerable sir, how far does this saying go?"

"Ananda, because the world is devoid of a self or anything belonging to a self (atta-niya, a self's property or possessions), therefore it is said, 'The world is empty.' And what, Ananda, is devoid of a self or what belongs to a self?

"Eye, visible objects, eye-consciousness... mind, mind-objects, mind consciousness are devoid of a self. Ananda, that is why it is said, 'The world is empty!'"

In Brief

Massive, sitting, golden Shakyamuni Buddha statue, Thailand (WQ)

 

(86) ...Then Ven. Ananda said to the Exalted One: "Well, for me, venerable sir, if the Exalted One would teach me a teaching in brief, a teaching which on hearing from the Exalted One I might dwell solitary, remote, earnest, ardent, and aspiring."

 

"Now what do you think, Ananda? Is the eye permanent or impermanent?" -- "Impermanent, venerable sir."

"What is impermanent, is that pleasant or painful (weal or woe)?" "Painful, venerable sir."

"Now what is impermanent, painful (woeful, disappointing), changeable by nature, is it fitting to regard that as, 'This is mine. This I am. This is my self'?" -- "Surely not, venerable sir."

 

"Eye, visible objects, eye-consciousness, eye-contact -- is that permanent or impermanent?" [This same is said of all six senses, types of sense objects, consciousness, and contact between the three].

"Then of what is impermanent, disappointing, and changeable by nature, is it fitting to regard that as, 'This is mine. This I am. This is my self'?" -- "Surely not, venerable sir."

"So seeing, Ananda, the well-taught noble disciple... [is] freed of conceits; one grasps at nothing in the world [does not cling to anything in the world or anything regarding an illusory ego]. Being free from grasping, one is not troubled. Being untroubled, one is by oneself set free. Thus one realizes, 'Rebirth is destroyed, lived is the highest life, done is the task. There is no more of this [suffering] to come.'

 

"This, Ananda, is the proper approach to the uprooting of all conceits [delusions]."

 

The Heart of Wisdom Sutra

(COMMENTARY)

The later Mahayana tradition says all of this much more cryptically in the "Perfection of Wisdom" literature (Prajna Paramita), epitomized in the Heart Sutra.

 

There the Five Aggregates of Clinging are laid bare: form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are empty. 

 

That is, they are devoid of a "self" through and through. Illusion exists. These constituents of being/becoming are generally regarded as a "self" by untaught, ordinary worldlings.

 

But because they are impermanent and unsatisfactory (disappointing), it is incorrect to regard them as personal. They are impersonal (not-self), beyond our control, brought into transient or momentary existence by causes and conditions. They do not arise by themselves but are brought into being by causes and conditions, which is to say they are dependently originated or arisen. 

 

All of this happens again and again based on ignorance. When liberating-insight arises, enlightenment dawns, and all suffering is brought to an end.

PART 2: The Platform Sutra (Red Pine)

Red Pine (translator); Sixth and Last Patriarch Dajian Huineng; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly, Roshi Jeff Albrizze (PasaDharma.org)  MAHAYANA/HINDUISM

Tian Tan Buddha, a massive statue of Buddha Amoghasiddhi, completed in 1993, located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, Hong Kong (Robert Montgomery/flickr.com)

 

Kwan Yin Bodhisattva (Avalokitateshvara/Wiki)

[PART 1] The Platform Sutra occupies a central place in Zen (Ch'an) Buddhist instruction. It is often linked with The Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra to form a trio of texts that have been revered and studied for centuries.

 

Delivered at Tafan Temple in Shaochou by the Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng, compiled and recorded by Fa-hai, recipient of the Formless Precepts and advocate of the Dharma.

 

The Platform Sutra

...This nature of ours in which the ten thousand dharmas [literally, "things," "phenomena," or Dharmas, "teachings"] are present is what we mean by the pure dharma body. Those of you who take refuge [sarana actually means to "seek guidance"] in yourselves, if you get rid of bad thoughts and bad practices, this is called taking refuge.

What do we mean by the myriad-fold transformation-body? If we didn't think, our nature would be utterly empty. When we think, we transform ourselves. If we think evil [i.e., unskillful, unprofitable, motivated by greed, hate/fear, or delusion] thoughts, we turn into the denizens of hell(s). If we think good [skillful, profitable, wholesome, motivated by nongreed, nonhatred/nonfear, or nondelusion] thoughts, we turn into the deities of heaven(s).

Malice turns us into beasts. Compassion turns us into bodhisattvas [beings-bent-on-enlightenment]. Wisdom transports us to the higher realms, and ignorance sends us into the lower depths. Our nature is constantly transforming itself, but deluded people are unaware of this.

Once we think of goodness, wisdom arises. One lamp can dispel a thousand years of darkness, and one thought of wisdom can end ten thousand years of ignorance. Stay in the present (rather than wasting this precious moment, which is all that ever exists, by casting the mind back to past events). Keep thinking about what's next. 

 

When your next thought is always good, this is what we call the realization body. One bad thought results in the destruction of a thousand good ones. But one good thought results in the annihilation of a thousand years of bad ones. In the face of impermanence (अनित्य), if your next thought is good, this is what we call the realization body. CONCLUDES IN PART 3

Full Moon Observances, Los Angeles (photos)

Angela Lee (UWest), Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

Hsi Lai Temple ("Going West" Monastery), Hacienda Heights, suburban Los Angeles, CA

Chrysanthemum tea and red bean and lotus seed paste mooncakes (npr.org)

Mahayana nun, Theravada monk, devotees in courtyard imbibing tea and Dharma (WQ)

Lining up candles in hand following Hsi Lai Temple tea ceremony and meditation (WQ)

Tea and mooncakes by moonlight, Hsi Lai Temple, Sept. 20, 2013 (Wisdom Quarterly)

  

Lining up to offer candles (WQ)

We gathered under the Harvest Moon, Saturday night, a mix of Americans and Taiwanese in the hills above the San Gabriel Valley in suburban Los Angeles.

 

The courtyard of the largest Mahayana Buddhist monastery in the Western hemisphere -- excluding perhaps the immense Chaung Yen Monastery (BAUS.org) in Upstate New York where the world's greatest living Theravada Buddhist scholar (Bhikkhu Bodhi) alongside a massive indoor Buddha statue with a specially built enclosing it -- was lit up. Mist clouded the sky, obscuring the Moon.

Gathering around the tea table (WQ)

Bhikshunis (fully ordained nuns) sat at low tables mixing chrysanthemum tea distributing mooncakes (not vegetarian but full of white sugar and egg coating). Various pods arranged themselves.

Wisdom Quarterly discussed topics of interest, then one of the editors told an amazing story at the nun's invitation.
   

Sun and Moon

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Full moon (Tim McCord (space.com)

One day a boy lost his mother the moon and lived on with his father the sun, who was feeble and in need of his son's help. Together in the father's great home, the son showed filial devotion alone.

Eventually, with his father's help, he found a wife. They brought her home, and set her up in charge of the household. She was dutiful, but she soon grew tired of the old man who, she felt, was stealing all of her husband's attention. "Throw him out," she said to her new husband, "if you love me." 

Approaching the Buddha light altar (WQ)

"He's my father! All we have is because of him!" "All he does is eat; he will eat us out of house and home! Now it is time for you to grow up, take your inheritance, and let's get on with our lives." "What are you saying?" the husband asked. "I'm saying, man up and get rid of him! At least put him out in the barn!" 

Bhikshuni dispenses tea and stories (WQ)

The son carried his father to the barn and cared for him there. As the father was unable to walk, he depended on his son to wheel him around in a wheelbarrow. But the son came out less and less." The wife was still not satisfied. The husband asked, "Now what's the problem? He's out of your hair."

 

Travis waiting for tea, cake, and stories

"I still have to cook for him and feed him. He's going to eat us out of house and home!" "What do you want me to do?" the husband asked. The wife insisted, "I want you to take that old man, wheel up the hill, and toss him over the cliff! If you don't, I'm leaving you. I thought I married a man. It's either him or me! And it would be for his own good -- he's old, he doesn't want to be a burden. It's euthanasia, that's all. I'm packing right now." 

 

Lining up in front of main hall (WQ)

The husband, not wanting to lose his wife and realizing that his father was old and feeble and would never want to be a burden to anyone, much less his only son, went out and placed the old man in the barrow without saying a word. The father was overjoyed to see him: "You've finally come to visit me, son! Where are we going, to town, to the market? Hooray!" The boy slowly began to wheel his father up the hill. "But, son, the town is thataway. Are we taking in the view first? There's nothing up here but the...cliff." 

The father suddenly fell silent. The son had still not said a word. As they slowly approached the cliff, the father finally spoke: "Son, may I make one last request?" The son broke down crying, full of resolve to complete this heinous deed, "Anything, father, just name it!" 

In line with candle offerings following guided meditation, Hsi Lai Temple (WQ)

 

"Son, when you throw me over, make sure you don't drop the barrow over with me."

"But why, father?"

 

"Well, your son is going to need it."

 

Just then the son turned on his heel, wheeled around, and raced down the hill. He threatened to put his new wife out in the barn unless she respected his father as she respected him. And together they live happily and dutifully for a long time. Having lost the moon, the son at least kept his sun alive. Ancient Chinese wisdom.

More stories, more tea and cake (WQ)

The nun was delighted with this story as was the crowd. "That is a very good story!" Newcomers to the weekly PasaDharma Zen meditation group welcomed Wisdom Quarterly's participation. Then Travis began to preach the Dharma but was interrupted as a Hsi Lai monk took the microphone and led the crowd of 100 on a guided meditation under gaslamps and floodlights, calling for the Moon to make an appearance.

Socializing under gaslamps (WQ)

After meditating, participants lined up to make a candle offering to the Buddha before the main hall. A procession formed and participants went up one by one to offer light to not only the Awakened One but, moreover, to the potential in themselves of awakening.

For as Kwan Yin Bodhisattva is reputed to have said by the climax of the Sanskrit Heart Sutra: Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi swaha:

 

"Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, oh what an awakening, so it is!"

Island Buddhist Observance

Sri Lanka cave temple (hellotravel.com)

The Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in Pasadena (100 E. Mountain at the corner of Summit, near Fair Oaks) continues its weekly Vas ("Lent") Sunday 5:00 pm "Rains Retreat" schedule: Eight Precept observance (dress in white), Dharma sermon, and FREE Buddhist island vegetarian cuisine feast. The monastics are on a rotating basis with other Theravada temples giving lectures on various Dharma topics. There areopen discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and protective (paritta) chant as well as devotional (puja) chanting sessions to impart blessings on all in attendance. Everyone is warmly welcomed. This Sunday will feature Ven. Dharmapala from Nepal.

Los Angeles Chinatown Moon Festival
Rena Kosnett (laweekly.com, chinatownla.com)

(FREE) Now 75 years old, Los Angeles' Chinatown is celebrating her landmark anniversary by hosting an epic bash. The annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (also known as the Zhongqiu or "Mooncake" Festival) is a tradition that dates back more than 3,000 years.
 
Farmers marking the end of the harvest season in China would gather to gaze at the moon and eat mooncakes, yummy round pastries filled with sweet red bean or lotus seed paste. Although the farmers may not be present on Saturday, the moon cakes definitely will, offered up by local bakeries.
 
Other festival treats look just as indulgent: Bamboo Lane's Night Market will provide traditional and contemporary edibles, while the outdoor baccarat lounge, which even a decadent craft beer garden to test one's autumnal karma. Telescopes provided by the local Griffith Observatory will give everyone a chance to view the harvest moon from an unnaturally close vantage point.
 
Chinatown festivals are always a good excuse to leave the house, but this looks to be one of the most decadent in recent memory. Art gallery openings, live cooking demonstrations, craft workshops, and the band lineup, curated by Kevin Bronson of Buzzbands.la, are even more reason to fill the streets on this beautiful seasonal equinox.

• Central and West Plaza, 943-951 N. Broadway, Chinatown
• Saturday, Sept. 21st, 5:00 p.m.-12:00 am; (323) 206-6491