AVALOKITESHVARA - COMPASSION

“OPENS ONE’S HEART TO COMPASSIONATE”

MANTRA:  OM MANI PADME HUNG

Avalokiteshvara is renowned as the embodiment of the compassion of ALL the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Avalokiteshvara is the earthly manifestation of the self born, eternal Buddha, Amitabha. He guards this world in the interval between the historical Sakyamuni Buddha, and the next Buddha of the Future Maitreya.  According to legend, Avalokiteshvara made a vow that he would not rest until he had liberated ALL the beings in ALL the realms of suffering. After working diligently at this task for a very long time, he looked out and realized the immense number of miserable beings yet to be saved. Seeing this, he became despondent and his head split into thousands of pieces. Amitabha Buddha put the pieces back together as a body with very many arms and many heads, so that Avalokiteshvara could work with myriad beings ALL at the same time. Therefore, sometime Avalokiteshvara is visualized with eleven heads, and a thousand arms fanned out around him.  The “mani” in the Avalokiteshvara mantra (Om Mani Padme Hung) means “jewel,” while “padme” means “lotus”. The mantra is sometimes taken to mean “Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus” although the grammar is rather obscure.  So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by ALL the Buddhas of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"

OM MANI PADME HUNG

  1. OM:  it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity.
  2. MA:  helps perfect the practice of pure ethics.
  3. NI:  helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience.
  4. PäD:  the fourth syllable helps to achieve perfection of perseverance.
  5. ME:  helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable.
  6. HUNG: helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.