MANTRA
by the late Keisho Leary
OM MANI PADME HUM. Mantras are sometimes called “meaningless gibberish,” but in fact they DO have meaning. This most well-known one can be translated:
Om. The Jewel in the Lotus. Hum.
with a meaning that one’s body-speech-and-mind is like a lotus flower, that is, we all arise out of muddy conditions, we have histories, and we have suffered and caused suffering. Who among us doesn’t have instances of regret about the past? Among adult humans, many are the great, the beautiful, the eloquent, and the talented, but can any one person be called PURE? Yet though we all share to various degrees a muddy past, within each and every person exists a fully developed Buddha. The Jewel is the symbol of this Buddha within, visualized as a clear and pure raindrop-shaped gem. This is the meaning of the Jewel in the Lotus, bracketed by the sounds OM and HUM.
Or rather, this is one meaning of Om Mani Padme Hum. One among many. I’ve recently seen a yet-to-be-published 500-page manuscript of this one mantra alone. (It will probably boil down to 200 pages of edited English, still an impressive example of the extensive meaning contained in a single mantra, even one with only four short words.)
But 200 pages of meaning is not a mantra. This article is not a mantra. They are the STUDY of mantras, the exposition of their meaning, how mantras work, what they are used for, and the insights generated. It is the RECITING of mantra that is the true essence. The translated meaning into English is of relative insignificance.
A few mantras (OM MANI PADME HUM, NAMU AMIDA BUTSU, OM TARE TUTARE TURE SOHA, for example) are public mantras that can be used for recitation after being read in print. On the other hand, many other mantras require direct oral transmission from a person who acquired it properly and who practices it regularly. In this way, the lineage of Dharma is transmitted forward in time from bodhisattva to bodhisattva going back in time to the enlightened mind of the originator. The mantra carries the karma, the cumulative spiritual power, of that whole string of people. This then is the major function of mantra: to transmit the Dharma.
And the recitation of mantras has many other uses and benefits as well. If one with faith in the teacher takes up repetition practice (JAPA), the meaning may not become clear until after 100,0000 repetitions, even a million repetitions. However, other benefits will be quickly discovered, things like calming, awareness, becoming concentrated, turning inward and seeing your thoughts as in a mirror, seeing how quickly thoughts change, and how the two sides of the brain exchange places on center stage. By diligent effort, you will experience how to slow down and stop the replay of the day’s conversations, allowing deeper layers of the mind to become visible, and allowing the Buddhadharma to manifest its power to overcome suffering.
Though the recitation of mantra has no value in itself, has no intrinsic virtue, as a METHOD, as a tool, it is unsurpassed. Used in this way, to transmit the Dharma to support and energize the altruism of the bodhisattva, to fully realize the instructions of the Mahayana, and to keep in mind the Holy teachers, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, for these purposes the Mantrayana is unsurpassed. That is why the Dalai Lama has stated “To become fully enlightened as a Buddha, it is necessary to practice Mantra…” and again after further explication by him, “Therefore, without depending in general on Mantra,…Buddhahood cannot be attained.” (his commentary on the Kalachakra Tantra, translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, taken from Kalachakra Tantra/Rite of Initiation, Wisdom Publications, 1985, p. 163 and 165)
For practitioners of Mantrayana, mantra consists of one-third of a triad, the three mysteries of body, speech, and mind. All three need to be active and in harmony with one another during any meditation session. Entering meditation, you replace your ordinary body-speech-and-mind with the body-speech-and-mind of the Buddhas. The “speech” element is, of course, mantra. The “body” element can be, really, almost any posture or activity, though sitting still with the backbone straight is generally recommended. Keep in mind that even the finest posture of sitting in full-lotus is in itself not the Dharma, but rather is best thought of as a good technique for facilitating one’s entry into understanding of the Dharma. The “mind” element can be one of a number of widely diverse samadhis (concentrations).
Taking OM MANI PADME HUM as our example, some of the possible concentrations are
· the meaning of the mantra in English
· the mandala figure called to mind by the mantra, that is, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, visualized either as a whole or in its separate aspects
· visualization of the Sanskrit seed-syllable for Avalokiteshvara
· visualization of the Sanskrit seed-syllable for Avalokiteshvara
· contemplation of the essential characteristics of Avalokiteshvara, such as Great Compassion
· recollection of the function of Avalokiteshvara as expounded in Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra
· contemplation on human manifestations of this Bodhisattva, such as the Dalai Lama, or Jesus Christ, considered by many to be the greatest manifestation
· concentration on hearing the syllables as you recite
· concentration on following the breathing, in and out
· concentration on investigating the present mind state, seeing where it came from and where it went
· concentration on the emptiness of the five skandhas (form, reception, conception, mental conduct, and consciousness)
· recollecting the master from whom you received the mantra
· focusing on a specific number of recitations, say 108, or in an expanded form such as taking a vow to complete a million recitations in 30 days
· temporarily becoming Avalokiteshvara yourself, that is, hearing and responding to the suffering cries of the World
The Mantrayana is found in all sects of Tibetan Buddhism, is carried by a number of Chinese masters, and is in the Tendai and Shingon sects of Japan. If you are interested in the great altruism of the Mahayana, in following the Way of the Bodhisattva, in mastering the Dharma, and becoming enlightened, then search for Mantrayana masters now.