Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ: Symbolism and Significance in Tibetan Buddhism
Translator’s Note
Maṇi Padme—“the Jewel in the Lotus,” symbolizing the union of method and wisdom—represents the culmination of all the teachings of Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism, particularly within Tantra and the rtsa rlung thig le stage of completion practice (dzogrim).
In non-tantric Mahāyāna Buddhism, it signifies the union of compassion and emptiness. In the context of Tantra and rtsa rlung thig le practice, it refers to the union of the bodhicitta bindu—symbolized by ཧཾ (haṃ)—and tummo, the inner fire—symbolized by ཨ (a), the sun. This is why the Maṇi Padme mantra—Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ—is revered and widely chanted across Tibet and the Himalayan region, reflecting its profound symbolic meaning.
This text was composed by Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (14th century), a major figure of the Jonang tradition.
Synonymous Expressions of Compassion (Method Aspect)
Norbu (ནོར་བུ་) — Jewel (maṇi)
Rinchen (རིན་ཆེན་) — Precious (ratna)
Thigle (ཐིག་ལེ་) — Bindu (drop/essence)
Dorje (རྡོ་རྗེ་) — Vajra
Vowels — Representing the generative aspect
Syllable ཧཾ (haṃ) — Bodhicitta bindu
Syllable ཝཾ (vaṃ) — Vital essence
Syllable ཧེ (he) — Dynamic energy
Kāla — Time, continuity of compassionate activity
Synonymous Expressions of Emptiness (Wisdom Aspect)
Padma (པདྨ་) — Lotus
Chöjung (ཆོས་འབྱུང་, chos ‘byung) — Dharmodaya (origin of all phenomena)
Gru gsum (གྲུ་གསུམ་) — Triangular form (trikoṇa), symbolic of the yoni or womb of wisdom
Consonants — Representing form, differentiation
Syllable ཨ (a) — Root of all sounds, symbol of emptiness
Syllable ཨེ (e) — Penetrative wisdom
Chakra — Wheel, symbol of perfected awareness
Za-ma-tog (ཟ་མ་ཏོག་) — Karaṇḍa (casket), the container or origin of awakened qualities
Translation
Homage to the Eleven-Faced Āryā Avalokiteśvara,
who embodies the union of nonduality—
the five immutable great voids
and the six immutable void bindu.
I take refuge in you, Āryā Avalokiteśvara—
you who embody the union of the syllables ཝཾ (vaṃ) and ཨེ (e),
ཧཾ (haṃ) and ཨཱ (ā),
the Maṇi and the Padma.
Just as kāla (time) and cakra (wheel) are indivisible,
and ཧེ (he) and བཛྲ (vajra) are inseparable,
I pay homage to Avalokiteśvara,
you who are the indivisibility of Maṇi and Padma.
Just as method and wisdom are indivisible,
and great bliss and great emptiness are inseparable,
I pay homage to the Maṇi in the Padma—
the indivisibility of emptiness and compassion.
Just as the deity and the maṇḍala are inseparable,
the structure and its inhabitants are inseparable,
and the chief male and female deities are inseparable,
I pay homage to the inseparable Maṇi and Padma.
I prostrate to Maṇi Padma,
the indivisibility of wisdom and its object,
the indivisibility of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa,
the indivisibility of the Four Noble Truths and the Two Truths.
I pay homage to Maṇi Padma—
the supreme mind of all sentient beings,
the supreme life force of all living beings,
their primordial Buddha nature, the Dharmakāya.
I pay homage to Maṇi Padma—
the wisdom of the all-ground Dharmakāya,
the indivisibility of the ground for beings in the defiled state
and the fruition for beings in the undefiled state.
I pay homage to Maṇi Padma—
the sole protector of those without protection,
the sole refuge of those without refuge,
and the supreme life force of all living beings.
ཨོཾ (Oṃ) is the fivefold knowledge of skillful means (upāyajñāna),
and ཧུཾ (Hūṃ) is the fivefold knowledge of wisdom (prajñājñāna).
I pay homage to Oṃ and Hūṃ,
the embodiment of the ten pristine knowledges (daśajñāna-viśuddhātmā).