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Tibetan Prayer Wheel:
The Mantra Om Mani Padme Hum:
The mantra Om Mani Padme Hum invokes the spiritual power and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion. In the words of one source "[Chenrezig] is the awakened nature of each being's own mind, the love and compassion primordially present in the dharmakaya [pure transcending awareness] ... Chenrezig is within us because love and compassion are not qualities added to the mind," but are inherent in our true nature.
Meaning:
Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying the mantra (prayer), Om Mani Padme Hum, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion. Viewing the written form of the mantra is said to have the same effect -- it is often carved into stones, like the one pictured above, and placed where people can see them.
Spinning the written form of the mantra around in a Mani wheel (or prayer wheel) is also believed to give the same benefit as saying the mantra, and Mani wheels, small hand wheels and large wheels with millions of copies of the mantra inside, are found everywhere in the lands influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.
Reading from left to right the syllables are:
Om
(ohm) |
Ma
(mah) |
Ni
(nee) |
Pad
(pahd) |
Me
(may) |
Hum
(hum) |
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Sanskrit
form
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Om Mani Padma Hum
mantra of Avalokiteshvara
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Tibetan
form
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Om Mani Peme Hung
mantra of Chenrezig
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