Regarding the relationship between the jewel and the lotus, Sten Konow argued that it could either refer to "a lotus that is a jewel" or to "a jewel in the lotus". Thus as Lopez notes, the original meaning of the mantra could in fact be an invocation of "she of the lotus jewel", who is the vidya (wisdom) and consort of Avalokiteshvara and is equivalent to Shakti's role vis a vis Shiva. Also, as noted by Studholme, if the word is read as a vocative, it is most likely in the feminine grammatical gender, because if masculine, it would be a highly irregular form. This is due to evidence from texts such as the Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra which depict the mantra as a female deity. ĭamien Keown also notes that another theory about the meaning of the mantra is that it actually invokes a female deity named Manipadmi. However, according to Donald Lopez (citing Tibetan grammatical sources) it is much more likely that maṇipadme is in fact a vocative, addressing a bodhisattva called maṇipadma, "Jewel-Lotus"- an alternative epithet of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Maṇipadme is preceded by the oṃ syllable and followed by the hūṃ syllable, both interjections without linguistic meaning, but widely known as divine sounds. The lotus is a symbol present throughout Indian religion, signifying purity (due to its ability to emerge unstained from the mud) and spiritual fruition (and thus, awakening). The middle part of the mantra, maṇipadme, is often interpreted as being in the locative case, "jewel in the lotus", Sanskrit maṇí "jewel, gem, cintamani" and the locative of padma " lotus". Mantras may be interpreted by practitioners in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict semantic meaning. It includes the six-syllable mantra written in six different scripts: Lantsa, Tibetan, Uighur, 'Phags-pa, Tangut, Chinese. Stele of Sulaiman, erected at the Mogao Caves in 1348 to commemorate the donations of Sulaiman, Prince of Xining. The mantra has also been adapted into Chinese Taoism. ĭue to the increased interactions between Chinese Buddhists and Tibetans and Mongolians during the 11th century, the mantra also entered Chinese Buddhism. It is also an ever present feature of the landscape, commonly carved onto rocks, known as mani stones, painted into the sides of hills or else it is written on prayer flags and prayer wheels. In Tibetan Buddhism, this is the most ubiquitous mantra and the most popular form of religious practice, performed by laypersons and monastics alike. The first word, aum/om, is a sacred syllable in various Indian religions, and hum represents the spirit of enlightenment. Padma is the Sanskrit for the Indian lotus ( Nelumbo nucifera), and mani for "jewel", as in a type of spiritual "jewel" widely referred to in Buddhism. The literal meaning in English has been expressed as "praise to the jewel in the lotus", or as a declarative aspiration possibly meaning "I in the jewel-lotus". The precise meaning and significance of the words remains much discussed by Buddhist scholars. In this text the mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra where it is also referred to as the sadaksara (six syllabled) and the paramahrdaya, or “innermost heart” of Avalokiteshvara. Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ ( Sanskrit: ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ, IPA: ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
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