{"id":185,"date":"2019-11-26T20:26:16","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T01:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/encyclopediabuddhicaf19.andrewquintman.wescreates.wesleyan.edu\/blog\/?p=185"},"modified":"2019-11-30T10:20:44","modified_gmt":"2019-11-30T15:20:44","slug":"mantra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encyclopediabuddhicaf19.andrewquintman.wescreates.wesleyan.edu\/blog\/uncategorized\/mantra\/","title":{"rendered":"Mantra"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overview <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mantra (typically translated from Sanskrit as \u201cspell,\u201d \u201ccharm,\u201d or \u201cmagic formula\u201d) is a sacred utterance or syllable that is contemplated or recited which is believed to be highly charged and powerful (Coop 1). While mantras are typically uttered, chanted, or contemplated in Sanskrit, they do not necessarily have a semantic meaning and their length varies from a single syllable to a hundred or more syllables (Buswell 988). Mantras are thought to embody spiritual or psychological powers and are particularly important in visualization meditation. A mantra serves to \u201cprotect\u201d the mind from mental obstructions and is used as a form of incantation in many traditions (Buswell 988). Mantras are particularly important in Tantric Buddhism but they also appear in Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and other traditional Indic religions such as Hinduism (Coop 1). Mantras are also seen in pop culture; however, the definition of a mantra has been transformed into a meaning completely disconnected from its historical and religious context.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tantric Buddhism <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tantrism is a tradition that developed across the fringes of Indian civilization that was a critic on ordinary society. It assimilated from different pieces of esoteric religious practices from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism and other philosophical schools (Coward 44). The rise of Tantric Buddhism was an attempt to keep up with the trends of contemporary religious practice at the time. One of the defining features of Tantric Buddhism is the use of mantras and it is sometimes referred to as Mantrayana (the mantra vehicle) due to the central role mantras play in tantric practice (Buswell 988). While mantras in other traditions served \u201cto link the worshiper with the divine and to define the complex order of the universe, the Tantric mantra aims at the annihilation of all distinctions and the affirmation of the worshipper\u2019s identity with the divine\u201d (Coward 45). In other words, Tantric mantras function to collapse the boundaries between the practitioner, the ritual, and the divine into \u201cone all-encompassing relationship\u201d (Coward 45).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An image of the Tantric Buddhists performing Puja Fire Ritual (3) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another essential feature of Tantric Buddhism is that it is a secret tradition that can only be understood through a teacher. As a consequence, Tantric mantras are seen as sacred, \u201csecret\u201d sounds that can only be communicated orally from a teacher to a practitioner. In the tradition, mantras are perceived as palpable entrances into visualization meditations which lead to powerfully transformations within the practitioners body and mind. In Tantric Buddhism, recitation of a particular mantra is traditionally repeated a specific number of times and can be performed simultaneously with the visualization of a mandala. Sthaneshwar Timalsina states that \u201cmost tantras address some esoteric states of experience and provide a pathway to acquire these experiences\u2026 by activating both the domains of sound and vision through the practice of mantra and mandala simultaneously” (Timalsina 1). Additionally, the tradition views that contemplating mantras can result in the embodiment of a particular deity in a practice of worship called Puja. Deity mantras that are used in Puja generally have five parts and each of those five parts can be assigned to different parts of the body, making the entire body of the Tantric practitioner divine (Timalsina 4).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tantric Mantras include Bija Mantras (mantras that are only a single syllable). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples include:  o\u1e43<\/em>, ai\u1e43<\/em>, hr\u012b\u1e43<\/em>, kl\u012b\u1e43<\/em>, \u015br\u012b\u1e43<\/em>, hsau\u1e43<\/em>, shau\u1e43 <\/em>(Timalsina 7)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tantric Mantras are can also be very long, which can be made from multiple seed syllables as well as the name of a particular deity (Timalsina 7). An example of a famous Tantric mantra is the Vajrasattva hundred syllable mantra that is used to purify the mind and body before undertaking Tantric practices (Timalsina 7). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vajrasattva 100 Syllable Mantra (taken from http:\/\/www.visiblemantra.org\/vajrasattva.html<\/a>) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Om Mani Padme Hum<\/em> – Tibetan Buddhism  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddhism, whether from Japan, Ceylon, India, China, Japan, or Tibet, all contain mantras that play a prominent role in the tradition, yet they have different practices and theories associated with them (Alper 295). One of the most prevalent mantras in Tibetan Buddhism is the six syllable mantra Om Mani Padme Hum <\/em>affiliated with the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokite\u015bvara (Buswell 988). This mantra is seen carved in stone (known as mani stones) and is also seen on prayer flags or prayer wheels across the Tibetan Buddhist world (Lopez 116). It is believed that the very recitation of the syllables of this mantra holds a transformative power and can manifest a primordial state of mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mandala of Avalokite\u015bvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, surrounded by Buddhas of the Six Realms of Existence (10) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum<\/em> has held controversy over its true translation, it lacks a full semantic meaning. Taken apart, Om <\/em>is a sacred syllable in the traditional Indian religions and because it is thought of as \u201cthe nature of the five wisdomes\u201d it is the first syllable used (Verhagen 134). Mani <\/em>is conventionally translated as jewel and padme <\/em>is typically translated as \u201clotus,\u201d which represents the lotus flower as well as wisdom (Verhagen 134). Lastly, hum <\/em>is translated as \u201ctake to mind\u201d. Taken altogether, Donald Lopez maintains that the translation of the mantra is \u201cO, you who have the jewel and the lotus\u201d but the true translation is still debated (Lopez 123). Regardless of its translation, most Tibetan Buddhist schools consider the semantics of the mantra as holding less importance than the correlation the six syllables have to other organizations of six in the Buddhist tradition (Lopez 130). Such examples of six include the six realms of transmigration as well as the six negative emotions that need to be resolved in order to reach enlightenment (Gursam 1). 
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