Appendix D: The Mystic Phrase, Om Mani Padme Hum
On the Sacred Rock of the Ling-kor at Lhassa, facing south and washed by the river Kyi-chu, is engraved the original or “parent mantra of all the ‘ Om mani padmi hums ’ of Tibet.” The whole face of the cliff is covered with Buddhas, carved and brilliantly painted, from two inches to two feet in height. The central Buddha dominates all else, a figure many times life-size, and below him, deeply cut in the living rock, is the mysterious phrase. Each letter is six feet high and rich in colouring, a supposedly sacred sequence being followed — white, green, yellow, slate, blue, red, and dark indigo.
As to the meaning of the words, which are not Tibetan but Sanscrit, the following note by Colonel Yule, condensed from Koeppen’s Lamasche Heirarche und Kirche, is of interest. It is quoted from The Middle Kingdom, Wells Williams, vol. i. p. 249.
“Properly and literally these four words, a single utterance of which is sufficient of itself to purchase an inestimable salvation, signify nothing more than: ‘ O the jewel in the lotus! Amen! ’ In this interpretation, most probably, the Jewel stands for the Buddhisatva, Avalokitesvara, so often born from the bud of a lotus-flower. Accordingly the whole formula is simply a salutation to the mighty saint who has taken under his special charge the conversion of the north; and with him who first employed it, the mystic formula meant no more than Ave Avalokitesvara!
“But this simple explanation, of course, does not satisfy the lama schoolmen, who revel in glorifications and multitudinous glossifications of this formula. The six syllables are the heart of hearts, the root of all know¬ ledge, the ladder to rebirth in higher forms of being, the conquerors of the five evils, the flame that burns up sin, the hammer that breaks up torment, and so on. Om saves the gods, ma the Asuras, ni the men, pad the animals, mi the spectre world of Pretas, hum the inhabitants of hell! Om is the blessing of self-renunciation, ma of mercy, ni of chastity, etc.
“‘ Truly monstrous, says Koeppen, ‘ is the number of padmis which in the great festivals hum and buzz through the air like flies. In some places each worshipper reports to the highest lama how many/ Om manis he has uttered, and the total number emitted by the congregation is counted by the billion,”
Printed in Great Britain by R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, Edinburgh.
KANSU PROVINCE
NORTH WEST CHINA
REFERENCE
f+Tr Moslem Communities
^^Salar Moslems
j I ill 1 1 Tunci-Siang Moslems
mtl Tibetans 6
o§8 Aborigines
Mongols
Great Lamasaries — The Great Road
IB Capital of Province
Chief City
HsienCity
(§) Mission StationsandOutstations — ..Christian&Missionary
Alliance District
Scandinavian Alliance
District
~u~Ln- The Great Wall
i( Pass
Districts practical]/
unoccupied
Population, 10,000,000
Area 125,483 sq.m
The province is larger than Norway
or than New Mexico. It is neaHy
5,000 sq.m, larger than the British Isle*
It is equal in size to the states of
New York, Vermont, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut and Pennsylvania
combined. It is about45days’journey
from East to West and more than 30
days from North toSouth.
MISSIONS
China Inland Mission
Scandinavian Alliance
Christian and Missionary Alliance
Stanfcrfi Zicg’ Cstabr.l,
’
•
r 1
t / •’
■ <
u.
»k
-»