Om Mani Padme Hum Prayer
Om Mani Padme Hum Prayer is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhists believe that chanting the 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.
Meaning of Om Mani Padme Hum
It is very good to recite the mantra ‘Om Ma Ni Padme Hum’, but while you are doing it, you should learn the meaning. The word meaning of Mani, Padme in the mantra is gem and lotus respectively. The mantra described as follows.
Om: Om symbolizes the impure body and mind. Om eliminate the pride and ego in mind.
Ma: Removes the attachment to jealous and lust for entertainment.
Ni: Removes the attachment to desire and establishes patience.
Pad: Removes the attachment to prejudice and establishes
Me: Symbolize wisdom. Removes the attachment to possessiveness and establishes
Hum: Symbolize knowledge. Removes the attachment to hatred and establishes
Five elements and colors related to Om Mani Padme Hum Flag
Om Mani Padme Hum Prayer Flag
A prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Currently, different styles of prayer flags can be seen all across the Tibetan region.
Prayer Flag Colors
Traditionally, prayer flags come in sets of five colors. The five colors are arranged from left to right in a specific order, blue, white, red, green, and yellow. The five colors represent the five elements and the five pure lights.
Five Elements Associated with Prayer Flag
Different elements are associated with different colors in the prayer Flag. They are,
Blue: Sky
White: Air
Red: Fire
Green: Water
Yellow: Earth
Om Mani Padme Hum Flag on Rider Bike
Belief
Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all-pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.
As wind passes over the surface of the flags, which are sensitive to the slightest movement of the wind, the air is purified and sanctified by the mantras. Old prayer flags are replaced with new ones annually on the Tibetan New Year.
Prayer Wheel
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.
