Om Mani Padme Hum Prayer Flag

Om Mani Padme Hum

The six syllables of the mantra, as it is often pronounced by Tibetans — Om Mani Padme Hum — are here written in the Tibetan alphabet on this unique cymbal: Reading from left to right the syllables are:

Om (ohm) Ma(mah) Ni (nee) Pad (pahd) Me (may) Hum (hum) The entire Dharma, the entire truth about the nature of suffering and the many ways of removing it’s causes, is said to be contained in these six syllables. The most common interpretation is “The jewel is in the lotus of my heart”. While the true meaning is beyond words, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama has said: “The first, OM … symbolizes the practitioner’s impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha…. The path is indicated by the next four syllables. MANI, meaning jewel, symbolizes the … altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassionate and loving…. The two syllables, PADME, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom…. Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable HUM, which indicates indivisibility….”