A mantra ( ;

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

: ''mantra'') or mantram (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a

numinous Numinous () means "arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring";Collins English Dictionary - 7th ed. - 2005 also "supernatural" or "appealing to the aesthetic sensibility." The term was given its present sense by the Ger ...

sound, a syllable, word or

phonemes A phoneme () is any set of similar speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word from another. All languages con ...

, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

) believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a

syntactic structure In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...

and a literal meaning, while others do not. ꣽ, ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as an important mantra in various

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

. Specifically, it is an example of a seed syllable mantra ( bijamantra). It is believed to be the first sound in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and as the sonic essence of the absolute divine reality. Longer mantras are phrases with several syllables, names and words. These phrases may have spiritual interpretations such as a name of a deity, a longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Examples of longer mantras include the

Gayatri Mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra (), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (), is a sacred mantra from the ''Ṛig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. The mantra is attributed to the rajarshi Vishvamitra. The term Gāyatr ...

, the Hare Krishna mantra, Om Namah Shivaya, the Mani mantra, the

Mantra of Light file:World's Largest Gold & Jade Buddha, Nanshan Guanyin Park (10098528223).jpg, A statue of Avalokiteśvara, Amoghapāśa Lokeśvara at Nanshan Island, Nanshan, China. The Mantra of Light, alternatively (光明真言, pinyin: ''guāngmíng zhēny ...

, the

Namokar Mantra The Ṇamōkāra mantra is the most significant mantra in Jainism, and one of the oldest mantras in continuous practice. This is the first prayer recited by the Jains while meditating. The mantra is also variously referred to as the ''Pancha ...

, and the Mūl Mantar. Mantras without any actual linguistic meaning are still considered to be musically uplifting and spiritually meaningful. The use, structure, function, importance, and types of mantras vary according to the school and philosophy of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

, and

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

. A common practice is japa, the meditative repetition of a mantra, usually with the aid of a mala (prayer beads). Mantras serve a central role in the Indian tantric traditions, which developed elaborate yogic methods which make use of mantras. In tantric religions (often called "mantra paths",

: Mantranāya or Mantramarga), mantric methods are considered to be the most effective path. Ritual initiation (

abhiseka Abhisheka () is a religious Ritual, rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a deity. This is common to religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism An abhiṣeka is conducted ...

) into a specific mantra and its associated deity is often a requirement for reciting certain mantras in these traditions. However, in some religious traditions, initiation is not always required for certain mantras, which are open to all.Boyce, M. (2001), Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and practices, Psychology Press The word ''mantra'' is also used in English to refer to something that is said frequently and is deliberately repeated over and over.

Etymology and origins

The earliest mention of mantras is found in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

and the

Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...

ancient Iran The history of Iran (also known as Name of Iran, Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and ...

. Both

mántra and the equivalent

mąθra go back to the common

Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Indo-Iranian, also called Proto-Indo-Iranic or Proto-Aryan, is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd ...

*mantram, consisting of the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

*men "to think" and the instrumental suffix *trom. Due to the linguistic and functional similarities, they must go back to the common Indo-Iranian period, commonly dated to around 2000 BCE. Scholars consider the use of mantras to have begun in India before 1000 BC. By the middle

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...

(1000 BC to 500 BC) – claims

Frits Staal Johan Frederik "Frits" Staal (3 November 1930 – 19 February 2012) was the department founder and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and South/Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Staal specialized in the study of Ved ...

– mantras in Hinduism had developed into a blend of art and science. The Chinese translation is zh , t=真言 , p=zhenyan , l=true words , labels=no, the Japanese

on'yomi , or the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese reading, is the reading of a kanji based on the historical Chinese pronunciation of the character. A single kanji might have multiple ''on'yomi'' pronunciations, reflecting the Chinese pronuncia ...

reading of the Chinese being ''

shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

'' (which is also used as the proper name for the Shingon sect). According to Alex Wayman and Ryujun Tajima, "Zhenyan" (or "Shingon") means "true speech", has the sense of "an exact mantra which reveals the truth of the dharmas", and is the path of mantras. According to Bernfried Schlerath, the concept of ''sātyas mantras'' is found in Indo-Iranian

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

, where it is considered structured thought in conformity with the reality or poetic (religious) formulas associated with inherent fulfillment.

Definition

There is no generally accepted definition of mantra. As a result, there is a long history of scholarly disagreement on the meaning of mantras and whether they are instruments of mind, as implied by the etymological origin of the word ''mantra''. One school suggests mantras are mostly meaningless sound constructs, while the other holds them to be mostly meaningful linguistic instruments of mind. Both schools agree that mantras have melody and a well designed mathematical precision in their construction and that their influence on the reciter and listener is similar to that is observed in people around the world listening to their beloved music that is devoid of words. In Oxford Living Dictionary mantra is defined as a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. Cambridge Dictionary provides two different definitions. The first refers to Hinduism and Buddhism: a word or sound that is believed to have a special spiritual power. The second definition is more general: a word or phrase that is often repeated and expresses a particularly strong belief. For instance, a football team can choose individual words as their own "mantra." Louis Renou has defined mantra as a thought. Mantras are structured formulae of thoughts, claims Silburn. Farquhar concludes that mantras are a religious thought, prayer, sacred utterance, but also believed to be a spell or weapon of supernatural power. Zimmer defines mantra as a verbal instrument to produce something in one's mind. Agehananda Bharati defines mantra, in the context of the Tantric school of Hinduism, to be a combination of mixed genuine and quasi-morphemes arranged in conventional patterns, based on codified esoteric traditions, passed on from a guru to a disciple through prescribed initiation.Agehananda Bharati (1965), The Tantric Tradition, London: Rider and Co., Jan Gonda, a widely cited scholar on Indian mantras, defines mantra as general name for the verses, formulas or sequence of words in prose which contain praise, are believed to have religious, magical or spiritual efficiency, which are meditated upon, recited, muttered or sung in a ritual, and which are collected in the methodically arranged ancient texts of Hinduism.Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature (Samhitäs and Brähmanas), (HIL I.I) Wiesbaden: OH; also Selected Studies, (4 volumes), Leiden: E. J. Brill By comparing the Old Indic

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

and Old Iranian

n traditions, Gonda concludes that in the oldest texts, mantras were "means of creating, conveying, concentrating and realizing intentional and efficient thought, and of coming into touch or identifying oneself with the essence of the divinity". In some later schools of Hinduism, Gonda suggests a mantra is sakti (power) to the devotee in the form of formulated and expressed thought.

clarifies that mantras are not rituals, they are what is recited or chanted during a ritual. Staal presents a non-linguistic view of mantras. He suggests that verse mantras are metered and harmonized to mathematical precision (for example, in the ''viharanam'' technique), which resonate, but a lot of them are a hodgepodge of meaningless constructs such as are found in folk music around the world. Staal cautions that there are many mantras that can be translated and do have spiritual meaning and philosophical themes central to Hinduism, but that does not mean all mantras have a literal meaning. He further notes that even when mantras do not have a literal meaning, they do set a tone and ambiance in the ritual as they are recited, and thus have a straightforward and uncontroversial ritualistic meaning. The sounds may lack literal meaning, but they can have an effect. He compares mantras to bird songs, that have the power to communicate, yet do not have a literal meaning. On that ''saman'' category of Hindu mantras, which Staal described as resembling the arias of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

's oratorios and other European classics, he notes that these mantras have musical structure, but they almost always are completely different from anything in the syntax of natural languages. Mantras are literally meaningless, yet musically meaningful to Staal. The ''saman'' chant mantras were transmitted from one Hindu generation to next verbally for over 1000 years but never written, a feat, suggests Staal, that was made possible by the strict mathematical principles used in constructing the mantras. These ''saman'' chant mantras are also mostly meaningless, cannot be literally translated as Sanskrit or any Indian language, but nevertheless are beautiful in their resonant themes, variations, inversions, and distribution. They draw the devotee in. Staal is not the first person to view Hindu mantras in this manner. The ancient Hindu Vedic ritualist Kautsa was one of the earliest scholars to note that mantras are meaningless; their function is phonetic and syntactic, not semantic. Harvey Alper and others present mantras from the linguistic point view. They admit Staal's observation that many mantras do contain bits and pieces of meaningless jargon, but they question what language or text doesn't. The presence of an abracadabra bit does not necessarily imply the entire work is meaningless. Alper lists numerous mantras that have philosophical themes, moral principles, a call to virtuous life, and even mundane petitions. He suggests that from a set of millions of mantras, the devotee chooses some mantras voluntarily, thus expressing that speaker's intention, and the audience for that mantra is that speaker's chosen spiritual entity. Mantras deploy the language of spiritual expression, they are religious instruments, and that is what matters to the devotee. A mantra creates a feeling in the practicing person. It has an emotive numinous effect, it mesmerizes, it defies expression, and it creates sensations that are by definition private and at the heart of all religions and spiritual phenomena.

Hinduism

History

During the early

, Vedic poets became fascinated by the inspirational power of poems, metered verses, and music. They referred to them with the root ''dhi-'', which evolved into the '' dhyana'' (meditation) of

, and the language used to start and assist this process manifested as a mantra. By the middle vedic period (1000 BC to 500 BC), mantras were derived from all vedic compositions. They included ''ṛc'' (verses from Rigveda for example), ''sāman'' (musical chants from the Sāmaveda for example), ''yajus'' (a muttered formula from the yajurveda for example), and ''nigada'' (a loudly spoken yajus). During the

Hindu Epics Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called ''Kavya'' (or ''Kāvya''; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá''). The ''Ramayana'' and the '' Mahabharata'', which were originally composed i ...

period and after, mantras multiplied in many ways and diversified to meet the needs and passions of various schools of Hinduism.

(1996), Rituals and Mantras, Rules without meaning, , Motilal Banarsidass, Chapter 20 In the ''

Linga Purana The ''Linga Purana'' (लिङ्गपुराण, IAST: ) is one of the eighteen '' Mahapuranas'', and a ''Shaivism'' text of Hinduism. The text's title '' Linga'' refers to the iconographical symbol for Shiva. The author(s) and date of the ...

,'' Mantra is listed as one of the 1,008 names of Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. Numerous ancient mantras are found in the Saṃhitā portion of the

. The Saṃhitās are the most ancient layer of the Vedas, and contain numerous mantras, hymns, prayers, and

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''wikt:litania, litania'' from Ancient Greek wikt:λιτα ...

.Lochtefeld, James G. "Samhita" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, , page 587 The

Samhita contains about 10552 Mantras, classified into ten books called Mandalas. A

Sukta The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from ऋच्, "praise" and वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the ...

is a group of Mantras. Mantras come in many forms, including ''ṛc'' (verses from the Rigveda for example) and ''sāman'' (musical chants from the Sāmaveda for example). In Hindu tradition, Vedas are sacred scriptures which were revealed (and not composed) by the seers (

Rishis In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "g ...

). According to the ancient commentator and linguist, Yaska, these ancient sacred revelations were then passed down through an oral tradition and are considered to be the foundation for the Hindu tradition. Mantras took a center stage in Tantric traditions, which made extensive ritual and meditative use of mantras, and posited that each mantra is a deity in sonic form.

Function and structure

One function of mantras is to solemnize and ratify rituals. Each mantra, in Vedic rituals, is coupled with an act. According to ''Apastamba Srauta Sutra'', each ritual act is accompanied by one mantra, unless the ''Sutra'' explicitly marks that one act corresponds to several mantras. According to Gonda, and others, there is a connection and rationale between a Vedic mantra and each Vedic ritual act that accompanies it. In these cases, the function of mantras was to be an instrument of ritual efficacy for the priest, and a tool of instruction for a ritual act for others. Over time, as the

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

and Epics were composed, the concepts of worship, virtues and spirituality evolved in Hinduism and new schools of Hinduism were founded, each continuing to develop and refine its own mantras. In Hinduism, suggests Alper, the function of mantras shifted from the quotidian to redemptive. In other words,Harvey Alper (1989), Understanding Mantras, , State University of New York, pages 7–8 in Vedic times, mantras were recited a practical, quotidian goal as intention, such as requesting a deity's help in the discovery of lost cattle, cure of illness, succeeding in competitive sport or journey away from home. The literal translation of Vedic mantras suggests that the function of mantra, in these cases, was to cope with the uncertainties and dilemmas of daily life. In a later period of Hinduism,Harvey Alper (1989), Understanding Mantras, , State University of New York, Chapter 10 mantras were recited with a transcendental redemptive goal as intention, such as escape from the cycle of life and rebirth, forgiveness for bad karma, and experiencing a spiritual connection with the god. The function of mantras, in these cases, was to cope with the human condition as a whole. According to Alper, redemptive spiritual mantras opened the door for mantras where every part need not have a literal meaning, but together their resonance and musical quality assisted the transcendental spiritual process. Overall, explains Alper, using Śivasūtra mantras as an example, Hindu mantras have philosophical themes and are metaphorical with social dimension and meaning; in other words, they are a spiritual language and instrument of thought. According to Staal, Hindu mantras may be spoken aloud, ''anirukta'' (not enunciated), ''upamsu'' (inaudible), or ''manasa'' (not spoken, but recited in the mind). In ritual use, mantras are often silent instruments of meditation.

Invocation

For almost every mantra, there are six limbs called ''Shadanga''. These six limbs are: Seer (Rishi), ''Deity'' (Devata), ''Seed'' (Beeja), ''Energy'' (Shakti), ''Poetic Meter'' (chanda), and ''Lock'' (Kilaka).

Methods

The most basic mantra is '' Om'', which in Hinduism is known as the "pranava mantra," the source of all mantras. The

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the first Hinduism, Hindu religious traditions during the Iron Age in India, iron and Classical India, classical ages of India. In Indian ...

behind this is the premise that before existence and beyond existence is only One reality, Brahman, and the first manifestation of Brahman expressed as Om. For this reason, Om is considered as a foundational idea and reminder, and thus is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

s. While some mantras may invoke individual gods or principles, fundamental mantras such as Shanti Mantra, the

and others ultimately focus on the One reality. Japa Mantra ''japa'' is a practice of repetitively uttering the same mantra for an auspicious number of times, the most popular being 108, and sometimes just 5, 10, 28 or 1008.Monier Monier-Williams (1893), Indian Wisdom, Luzac & Co., London, pages 245–246, see text and footnote ''Japa'' is found in personal prayer or meditative efforts of some Hindus, as well during formal puja (group prayers). Japa is assisted by malas (bead necklaces) containing 108 beads and a head bead (sometimes referred to as the ' meru', or '

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

' bead); the devotee using their fingers to count each bead as they repeat the chosen mantra. Having reached 108 repetitions, if they wish to continue another cycle of mantras, the devotee turns the mala around without crossing the head bead and repeats the cycle. Japa-yajna is claimed to be most effective if the mantra is repeated silently in mind (manasah). According to this school, any

shloka Shloka or śloka ( , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927).) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stan ...

from holy Hindu texts like the Vedas,

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

, Yoga Sutra, even the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

, Durga saptashati or

Chandi Chandi (, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is a form of goddess Durga. She shares similarities with the Goddess Chamunda, not only in name but also in attributes and iconography. Due to these similarities, some consider them to ...

is a mantra, thus can be part of the ''japa'', repeated to achieve a numinous effect. The ''Dharmasāstra'' claims that the Gāyatri mantra, derived from Rig Veda verse 3.62.10, and the Purușasūkta mantra, from Rig Veda verse 10.90, are the most auspicious mantras for ''japa'' at sunrise and sunset; it is claimed to purify the mind and spirit.

Kirtan (chanting)

Kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

is a more musical form of mantric practice. It is a common method in the bhakti traditions, such as

Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...

. Kirtan includes call and response forms of chanting accompanied by various Indian instruments (such as the

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

mrdanga The ''khol'' is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music (''bhakti''). It is also known as a ''mridanga'' (< Sanskrit + , ), not to be confused with ''mridangam''. It originates ...

and

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

), and it may also include dancing and theatrical performance.Sara Brown (2012), ''Every Word Is a Song, Every Step Is a Dance'', PhD Thesis, Florida State University (Advisor: Michael Bakan), pages 25-26, 87-88, 277 Kirtan is also common in

. Tantric Tantric Hindu traditions see the universe as sound. The supreme (para) brings forth existence through the Word (

shabda ''Shabda'' (, ) is the Sanskrit word for "speech sound". In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic performance. History In classical Indian philosophy of language, the grammarian Katyayana stated that ''s ...

). Creation consists of vibrations at various frequencies and amplitudes giving rise to the phenomena of the world. Buhnemann notes that deity mantras are an essential part of Tantric compendia. The tantric mantras vary in their structure and length. Mala mantras are those mantras which have an enormous number of syllables. In contrast, bija mantras are one-syllabled, typically ending in

anusvara Anusvara ( ; , , ), also known as Bindu ( ; ), is a symbol used in many Indic scripts to mark a type of nasal sound, typically transliterated or in standards like ISO 15919 and IAST. Depending on its location in a word and the language for ...

(a simple nasal sound). These are derived from the name of a deity; for example,

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

yields ''dum'' and

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

yields ''gam''. Bija mantras are prefixed and appended to other mantras, thereby creating complex mantras. In the tantric school, these mantras are believed to have supernatural powers, and they are transmitted by a preceptor to a disciple in an initiation ritual. Tantric mantras found a significant audience and adaptations in medieval India, Southeast Asia and numerous other Asian countries with Buddhism. Majumdar and other scholars suggest mantras are central to the Tantric school, with numerous functions. From initiating and emancipating a tantric devotee to worshiping manifested forms of the divine. From enabling heightened sexual energy in the male and the female to acquiring supernormal psychological and spiritual power. From preventing evil influences to exorcizing demons, and many others. These claimed functions and other aspects of the tantric mantra are a subject of controversy among scholars. Tantra usage is not unique to Hinduism: it is also found in Buddhism both inside and outside India.

Examples

Gayatri

:The

Gayatri mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra (), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (), is a sacred mantra from the ''Ṛig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. The mantra is attributed to the rajarshi Vishvamitra. The term Gāyatr ...

is considered one of the most universal of all Hindu mantras, invoking the universal Brahman as the principle of knowledge and the illumination of the primordial Sun. The mantra is extracted from the 10th verse of Hymn 62 in Book III of the Rig Veda.Monier Monier-Williams (1893), Indian Wisdom, Luzac & Co., London, page 17 ::ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: , तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् , भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि , धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात् ::''Oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ'' ''tat savitur vareṇyaṃ'' ''bhargo devasya dhīmahi'' ''dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt,'' ::"Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine Light (Vivifier, Sun). May he stimulate our understandings (knowledge, intellectual illumination)."

Pavamana

:: . ::( 1.3.28) ::"from the unreal lead me to the real, from the dark lead me to the light, from death lead me to immortality."

Shanti

:''Oṁ Sahanā vavatu'' ''sahanau bhunaktu'' ''sahavīryam karavāvahai'' ''tejasvi nāvadhītamastu'' :''Mā vidviṣāvahai'' :''Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ.'' ::"Om! Let the Studies that we together undertake be effulgent; ::Let there be no Animosity amongst us; ::Om! Peace, Peace, Peace." :: ''–

Taittiriya Upanishad The Taittiriya Upanishad (, ) is a Vedic era Sanskrit text, embedded as three chapters (''adhyāya'') of the Yajurveda. It is a '' mukhya'' (primary, principal) Upanishad, and likely composed about 6th century BCE. The Taittirīya Upanishad is ...

2''.2.2

Other

Other important Hindu mantras include: * '' Mahāmṛtyuṃjaya-mantra (''Great Death Defeating Mantra) - A popular Rigvedic mantra dedicated to

Rudra Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra ...

* Om̐ Namah Shivaya - one of the main mantras in

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

* Om̐ kālabhairavāya namaḥ - a key mantra of

Bhairava Bhairava (, ), or Kāla Bhairava, is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva.Kramrisch, Stella (1994). ''The Presence of Śiva''. Princeton, NJ: P ...

, the fierce form of Shiva * Om̐ Namo Narayanaya - the principal mantra of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

* Hare Krishna Maha Mantra - the most important mantra in the Vaishnava

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

tradition of

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...

* Om̐ aim mahāsarasvatyai namaḥ - a mantra of

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

* Om̐ Śrīm̐ Mahālakṣmyai Namaha - a

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

mantra * Om̐ Krim Kali - a

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

seed (bija) mantra * Om̐ Śrī Durgāya Namaḥ - one of the principal mantras in

Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...

and

dedicated to

* Ka E I La Hrim Ha Sa Ka La Ha Hrim Sa Ka La Hrim - the Panchadasi, the main mantra of Lalita in

Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, she had acted in more t ...

* Om̐ Śrī Gaṇeśāya Namaḥ - a key mantra of

* Om̐ Śrī Hanumate Namaḥ - the root mantra of

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

* Om hrim ksaumugram viram mahavivnumjvalantam sarvatomukham Nrsimham bhisanam bhadrammrtyormrtyum namamyaham -

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

mahamantra * Om̐ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya - the key mantra in Bhagavatism * Om̐ Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundayai Vichche - a mantra of the goddess

Chamunda Chamunda (, ), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu mother goddess, Mahadevi and is one of the seven Matrikas.Wangu p.72 She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or ...

* Om̐ Shree Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram - a mantra of

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

* Om̐ āim hrīm śrīm klīm - a mantra of the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

* The various mantras associated with the yogic Sūryanamaskāra (Sun Salutation) practice * The various versions of the Gayatri * So 'haṃ (I am He or I am That)

In the ''Shiva Sutras''

Apart from Shiva Sutras, which originated from Shiva's

tandava Tandavam (also spelled as ), also known as , is a divine dance performed by Hindu god Shiva. Shiva is depicted as dancing the Tandava in his form of Nataraja. The ''Natya Shastra'', a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts, describes variou ...

dance, the

Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta Shiva Sutras are a collection of seventy seven aphorisms that form the foundation of the tradition of spiritual mysticism known as Kashmir Shaivism. They are attributed to the sage Vasugupta of the 9th century C.E. History and translations ...

are a collection of seventy-seven aphorisms that form the foundation of the tradition of spiritual mysticism known as

Kashmir Shaivism Kashmir Shaivism tradition is a 20th century umbrella-term for a body of Sanskrit learning, Sanskrit exegetical literature from several Nondualism, non-dualist Shaivism, Shaiva-Shaktism, Shakta Tantra, tantric and Monism, monistic religious t ...

. They are attributed to the sage Vasugupta of the 9th century C.E. ''Sambhavopaya'' (1–1 to 1–22), ''Saktopaya'' (2–1 to 2–10) and ''Anavopaya'' (3–1 to 3–45) are the main sub-divisions, three means of achieving God consciousness, of which the main technique of ''Saktopaya'' is a mantra. But "mantra" in this context does not mean incantation or muttering of some sacred formula. The word "mantra" is used here in its etymological signification. That which saves one by pondering over the light of Supreme I-consciousness is a mantra. The divine Supreme I-consciousness is the dynamo of all the mantras. ''Deha'' or body has been compared to wood, "mantra" has been compared to ''arani''—a piece of wood used for kindling fire by friction; ''prana'' has been compared to fire. ''Sikha'' or flame has been compared to ''atma'' (Self); ''ambara'' or sky has been compared to Shiva. When prana is kindled by means of mantra used as arani, fire in the form of ''udana'' arises in ''susumna'', and then just as flame arises out of kindled fire and gets dissolved in the sky, so also ''atma'' (Self) like a flame having burnt down the fuel of the body, gets absorbed in Shiva.

Buddhism

In Early Buddhism

One of the most ancient Buddhist mantras is the famous '' Pratītyasamutpāda-gāthā'', also known as the

dependent origination A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...

dhāraṇī. This phrase is said to encapsulate the meaning of the Buddha's Teaching. It was a popular Buddhist verse and was used as a mantra.Gergely Hidas (2014)
Two dhāranī prints in the Stein Collection at the British Museum. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
77, pp 105-117 This mantra is found inscribed on numerous ancient Buddhist statues,

chaitya A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...

s, and images. The Sanskrit version of this mantra is:

ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetuṃ teṣāṃ tathāgato hyavadat, teṣāṃ ca yo nirodha evaṃvādī mahāśramaṇaḥ

The phrase can be translated as follows:

Of those phenomena which arise from causes: Those causes have been taught by the
Tathāgata Tathāgata () is a Pali and Sanskrit word used in ancient India for a person who has attained the highest religious goal. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, used it when referring to himself or other past Buddhas in the Pāli Canon. Like ...
(
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
), and their cessation too - thus proclaims the Great Ascetic.

Early Buddhist texts also contain various apotropaic chants which have similar functions to Vedic mantras. These are called parittas in Pali (Sanskrit: ''paritrana'') and mean "protection, safeguard". They are still chanted in

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhism to this day as a way to heal, protect from danger and bless. Some of these are short Buddhist texts, like the ''

Mangala Sutta Mangala (, IAST: ) is the personification, as well as the name for the planet Mars, in Hindu literature. Also known as Lohita (), he is the deity of anger, aggression, as well as war. According to Vaishnavism, he is the son of Bhumi, the eart ...

,'' '' Ratana Sutta,'' and the ''

Metta Sutta The Mettā Sutta is the name used for two Buddhist discourses (Pali: '' sutta'') found in the Pali Canon. The one, more often chanted by Theravadin monks, is also referred to as ''Karaṇīyamettā Sutta'' after the opening word, ''Karaṇīyam' ...

.''

Theravada

According to the American Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield: "In contemporary Theravada practice, mantra practice is often combined with breathing meditation, so that one recites a mantra simultaneously with in-breath and out-breath to help develop tranquility and concentration. Mantra meditation is especially popular among lay people. Like other basic concentration exercises, it can be used simply to the mind, or it can be the basis for an insight practice where the mantra becomes the focus of observation of how life unfolds, or an aid in surrendering and letting go." The "Buddho" mantra is widespread in the

Thai Forest Tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The Thai Forest Traditi ...

and was taught by Ajahn Chah and his students. Another popular mantra in Thai Buddhism is ''Samma-Araham'', referring to the Buddha who has 'perfectly' (''samma'') attained 'perfection in the Buddhist sense' ('' araham''), used in Dhammakaya meditation. In the Tantric Theravada tradition of Southeast Asia, mantras are central to their method of meditation. Popular mantras in this tradition include ''Namo Buddhaya'' ("Homage to the Buddha") and ''Araham'' ("Worthy One"). There are Thai Buddhist

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

katha: that is, mantras to be recited while holding an amulet.

Mahayana Buddhism

Asakusa Temple Usnisa Vijaya Dharani Sutra Inscription

The use of mantras became very popular with the rise of

Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

. Many

Mahayana sutras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...

contain mantras, bijamantras ("seed" mantras), dharanis and other similar phrases which were chanted or used in meditation. According to Edward Conze, Buddhists initially used mantras as protective spells like the '' Ratana Sutta'' for apotropaic reasons. Even at this early stage, there was an idea that these spells were somehow connected with the

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

in a deep sense. Conze argues that in Mahayana sutras like the '' White Lotus Sutra'', and the '' Lankavatara Sutra'', mantras become more important for spiritual reasons and their power increases. For Conze, the final phase of the development of Buddhist mantras is the tantric phase of

Mantrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

. In this tantric phase, mantras are at the very center of the path to Buddhahood, acting as a part of the supreme method of meditation and spiritual practice. One popular bija (seed) mantra in Mahayana Buddhism is the Sanskrit letter A (see A in Buddhism). This seed mantra was equated with Mahayana doctrines like Prajñaparamita (the Perfection of Wisdom),

emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...

and non-arising. This seed mantra remains in use in

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

Dzogchen Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...

and

Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...

Zen. Mahayana Buddhism also adopted the Om mantra, which is found incorporated into various Mahayana Buddhist mantras (like the popular

Om Mani Padme Hum ' (, ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana ''Kāraṇḍavyūha sūtra'', where it is also referr ...

). Another early and influential Mahayana "mantra" or dharani is the Arapacana

alphabet An alphabet is a standard set of letter (alphabet), letters written to represent particular sounds in a spoken language. Specifically, letters largely correspond to phonemes as the smallest sound segments that can distinguish one word from a ...

(of non-Sanskrit origin, possibly Karosthi) which is used as a contemplative tool in the Long Prajñāpāramitā sutras.Jayarava, ''Visible Mantra: Visualising & Writing Buddhist Mantras'', pp. 35-43. 2011. The entire alphabet runs:

a ra pa ca na la da ba ḍa ṣa va ta ya ṣṭa ka sa ma ga stha ja śva dha śa kha kṣa sta jña rta ha bha cha sma hva tsa bha ṭha ṇa pha ska ysa śca ṭa ḍha

In this practice, each letter stood for a specific idea (for example, "a" stands for non-arising (anutpada), and pa stands for "ultimate truth" ( paramārtha). As such, this practice was also a kind of

mnemonic A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...

technique (''dhāraṇīmukha'') which allowed one to remember the key points of the teaching. The

introduced various mantras into Mahayana Buddhism, such as: * Mahayana sutras or texts often begin with the mantra: Om̐ namaḥ sarvajñāya (or just: namaḥ sarvajñāya, "Homage to omniscience") * Other Mahayana texts begin with Om̐ namo ratnatrayāya (Homage to the Three Jewels) * Shakyamuni Buddha's Mantra: Om̐ muni muni mahāmuni śākyamuni svāhā * ''Heart sutra'' (''Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya'') mantra: Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā * The mantra of bodhisattva Mañjuśrī: Om̐ arapacana dhīḥ * Prajñaparamita-devi mantra from ''The Sutra of Mañjuśrī's Questions'': Nama ārya prajñā pāramitāyāi svāhā * ''Kauśikaprajñāpāramitāsutra'' contains many Prajñaparamita mantras including: oṃ hrī śrī dhī

śruti ''Śruti'' or shruti (, , ) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. Manusmriti states: ''Śrutistu vedo vijñeyaḥ'' (Devanagari: ...

smṛti ' (, , ), also spelled ' or ', is a body of Hindu texts representing the remembered, written tradition in Hinduism, rooted in or inspired by the Vedas. works are generally attributed to a named author and were transmitted through manuscripts, ...

mati gati vijaye svāhā * A protective mantra found in the Sanskrit ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

'': agaṇe gaṇe gauri gandhāri caṇḍāli mātaṅgi pukkasi saṃkule vrūsali sisi svāhā * Medicine Guru mantra (in the ''Sutra of Medicine Guru''): Om̐ bhaiṣajye bhaiṣajye mahābhaiṣajya-samudgate svāhā * Avalokiteshvara's mantra (the Mani mantra): Om̐ maṇi padme hūṃ, first appearing in the ''Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra'' (4th-5th century CE) * Cundī dhāraṇī or mantra also first appeared in the ''Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra'': namaḥ saptānāṃ samyaksaṃbuddha koṭīnāṃ tadyathā oṃ cale cule cunde svāhā * '' Amitabha Sukhavati Dhāraṇī'', sometimes called the ''Pure Land Rebirth Mantra'' * '' Mantra of Light of the Great Consecration'' (Ch: 大灌頂光真言): Om̐ Amogha Vairocana

Mahāmudrā Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of Prajnaparamita, wisdom and Śūnyatā, empti ...

Maṇipadma Jvalapravartāya Hūṃ

East Asian Buddhism

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

, various mantras, including the Great Compassion Mantra, the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī from the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sutra, the Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī Dhāraṇī, the

Heart Sutra The ''Heart Sūtra'', ) is a popular sutra in Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title ' translates as "The Heart of the Prajnaparamita, Perfection of Wisdom". The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (''śūnyatā''), em ...

and various forms of Buddha remembrance are commonly chanted by both monastics and laymen. In China and Vietnam, a set of mantras known as the Ten Small Mantras ( Chinese: 十小咒;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Shíxiǎozhòu'') was established by the monk Yulin ( Chinese: 玉琳國師;

: ''Yùlín Guóshī''), a teacher of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizu of Qing, personal name Fulin, was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China pro ...

(1638 – 1661), for monks, nuns, and laity to chant during morning liturgical services. This set of mantras is still chanted in modern Chinese Buddhism.

Zen Buddhism Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...

also makes use of esoteric mantras, a practice which can be traced back to the Tang dynasty. Mantras and dharanis are recited in all Zen traditions, including

Japanese Zen :''See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan'' Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen, Zen Buddhism, an orig ...

Korean Seon Seon or Sŏn Buddhism (; ) is the Korean name for Chan Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism commonly known in English as Zen Buddhism. Seon is the Sino-Korean pronunciation of Chan, () an abbreviation of 禪那 (''chánnà''), which is a ...

, Chinese Chan and Vietnamese Thien. One of these is the '' Śūraṅgama Dharani,'' which has been taught by various modern Chan and Zen monks, such as Venerable Hsuan Hua. This long dharani is associated with the protective deity Sitatpatra. The short heart mantra of this dharani is also popular in East Asian Buddhism.

Shaolin temple Shaolin Monastery ( zh, labels=no, c=少林寺, p=shàolínsì), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak o ...

monks also made use of esoteric mantras and dharani.

Chinese Mantrayana and Japanese Shingon

Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Vajrayana, Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' ...

also known as ''Zhēnyán'' ( zh, c=真言'','' lit. "true word", which is the translation for "mantra") draws extensively on mantras. This tradition was established during the Tang dynasty by Indian tantric masters like

Śubhakarasiṃha Śubhakarasiṃha (637–735 CE) () was an eminent Indian Buddhist monk and translator of Esoteric Buddhist texts. He originally studied in Nalanda monastery and later arrived in the Chinese capital Chang'an (now Xi'an) in 716 CE and trans ...

, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Chinese esoteric Buddhist practice was based on

deity yoga The fundamental practice of Vajrayana and Tibetan tantric practice, Tibetan tantra is deity yoga (''devatayoga''), a form of Buddhist meditation centered on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''). Thi ...

and the "three mysteries": mantra,

mudra A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual ges ...

and

mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

. These three mysteries allow the Buddhist yogi to tap into the body, speech and mind of the Buddhas. This tradition was transmitted to Japan by

Kūkai , born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the Vajrayana, esoteric Shingon Buddhism, Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) und ...

(774–835), who founded the Japanese Shingon (Japanese for ''Zhēnyán'') mantra vehicle. Kūkai saw a mantra as a manifestation of the true nature of

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

which is saturated with meaning. For Kūkai, a mantra is nothing but the speech of the Buddha Mahavairocana, the " ground dharmakaya" which is the ultimate source of all reality. According to Kūkai, Shingon mantras contain the entire meaning of all the scriptures and indeed the entire universe (which is itself the sermon of the Dharmakaya). Kūkai argues that mantras are effective because: "a mantra is suprarational; It eliminates ignorance when meditated upon and recited. A single word contains a thousand truths; One can realize Suchness here and now." One of Kūkai's distinctive contributions was to take this symbolic association even further by saying that there is no essential difference between the syllables of mantras and

sacred text Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

s, and those of ordinary language. If one understood the workings of mantra, then any sounds could be a representative of ultimate reality. This emphasis on sounds was one of the drivers for Kūkai's championing of the phonetic writing system, the

kana are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , wh ...

, which was adopted in Japan around the time of Kūkai. He is generally credited with the invention of the kana, but there is apparently some doubt about this story amongst

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

s. This mantra-based theory of language had a powerful effect on Japanese thought and society which up until Kūkai's time had been dominated by imported Chinese culture of thought, particularly in the form of the Classical Chinese language which was used in the court and amongst the literati, and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

which was the dominant political

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

. In particular, Kūkai was able to use this new theory of

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

to create links between indigenous Japanese culture and Buddhism. For instance, he made a link between the Buddha Mahavairocana and the

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

sun Goddess

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

. Since the emperors were thought to be descended form Amaterasu, Kūkai had found a powerful connection here that linked the emperors with the Buddha, and also in finding a way to integrate

with Buddhism, something that had not happened with Confucianism. Buddhism then became essentially an indigenous religion in a way that Confucianism had not. And it was through language and mantra that this connection was made. Kūkai helped to elucidate what mantra is in a way that had not been done before: he addresses the fundamental questions of what a text is, how signs function, and above all, what language is. In this, he covers some of the same ground as modern day Structuralists and others scholars of language, although he comes to very different conclusions. In this system of thought, all sounds are said to originate from "a". For esoteric Buddhism "a" has a special function because it is associated with Shunyata or the idea that no thing exists in its own right, but is contingent upon causes and conditions. (See

Dependent origination A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...

) In Sanskrit "a" is a prefix which changes the meaning of a word into its opposite, so "vidya" is understanding, and "avidya" is ignorance (the same arrangement is also found in many

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words, like e.g. "atheism" vs. "theism" and "apathy" vs. "pathos"). The letter a is both visualised in the Siddham script and pronounced in rituals and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

practices. In the Mahavairocana Sutra which is central to

Shingon Buddhism is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō-j ...

it says: "Thanks to the original vows of the Buddhas and

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

s, a miraculous force resides in the mantras, so that by pronouncing them one acquires merit without limits". n Conze, p. 183 A mantra is Kuji-kiri in

as well as in Shugendo. The practice of writing mantras, and copying texts as a spiritual practice, became very refined in Japan, and some of these are written in the Japanese script and Siddham script of Sanskrit, recited in either language.

= Main Shingon Mantras

= There are thirteen mantras used in

, each dedicated to a major deity (the " thirteen Buddhas" - ''jūsanbutsu -'' of Shingon). The mantras are drawn from the '' Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra''. The mantra for each deity name in Japanese, its equivalent name in Sanskrit, the Sanskrit mantra, and the Japanese version in the Shingon tradition are as follows: # Fudōmyōō (,

Acala or Achala (, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a Fierce deities, wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Budd ...

): Sanskrit: namaḥ samanta vajrāṇāṃ caṇḍa mahāroṣaṇa sphoṭaya hūṃ traṭ hāṃ māṃ (Shingon transliteration: nōmaku samanda bazaratan senda makaroshada sowataya untarata kanman) # Shaka nyorai (, Sakyamuni): namaḥ samanta buddhānāṃ bhaḥ (nōmaku sanmanda bodanan baku) # Monju bosatsu (, Manjushri): oṃ a ra pa ca na (on arahashanō) # Fugen bosatsu (, Samantabhadra): oṃ samayas tvaṃ (on sanmaya satoban) # Jizō bosatsu (, Ksitigarbha): oṃ ha ha ha vismaye svāhā (on kakaka bisanmaei sowaka) # Miroku bosatsu (,

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

): oṃ maitreya svāhā (on maitareiya sowaka) # Yakushi nyorai (,

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru (, zh, t= , , , , ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabha-rāja ("Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light"; zh, t=藥師琉璃光(王)如來, , , ), is the Buddha of healing and medicine i ...

): oṃ huru huru caṇḍāli mātangi svāhā (on korokoro sendari matōgi sowaka) # Kanzeon bosatsu (, Avalokitesvara): oṃ ārolik svāhā (on arorikya sowaka) # Seishi bosatsu (, Mahasthamaprapta): oṃ saṃ jaṃ jaṃ saḥ svāhā (on san zan saku sowaka) # Amida nyorai (, Amitabha): oṃ amṛta teje hara hūṃ (on amirita teisei kara un) # Ashuku nyorai (, Akshobhya): oṃ akṣobhya hūṃ (on akishubiya un) # Dainichi nyorai (, Vairocana): oṃ a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ vajradhātu vaṃ (on abiraunken basara datoban) # Kokūzō bosatsu (, Akashagarbha): namo ākāśagarbhāya oṃ ārya kāmāri mauli svāhā (nōbō akyashakyarabaya on arikya mari bori sowaka)

Other Japanese Buddhist traditions

Mantras are also an important element of other Japanese Buddhist traditions. The

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

school includes extensive repertoire of Esoteric Buddhist practices, which include the use of mantras.

Nichiren Buddhist Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as ''Hokkeshū'' (, meaning ''Lotus Sect''), is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period schools ...

practice focuses on the chanting of one single mantra or phrase: '' Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō'' (南無妙法蓮華経, which means "Homage to the

").

also makes use of mantras. One example is the

(''kōmyō shingon''), which is common in Japanese Soto Zen and was derived from the

sect. The use of esoteric practices (such as mantra) within Zen is sometimes termed "mixed Zen" (''kenshū zen'' 兼修禪). Keizan Jōkin (1264–1325) is seen as a key figure that introduced this practice into the Soto school. A common mantra used in Soto Zen is the Śūraṅgama mantra (''Ryōgon shu'' 楞嚴呪; T. 944A).

In Northern Vajrayana Buddhism

(Sanskrit), which may be translated as "way of the mantra", was the original self-identifying name of those that have come to be determined ' Nyingmapa'. The Nyingmapa which may be rendered as "those of the ancient way", a name constructed due to the genesis of the Sarma "fresh", "new" traditions. Mantrayana has developed into a synonym of Vajrayana. According to the important Mantrayana Buddhist text called the ''Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa'', mantras are efficacious because they are manifestations of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. As such, a mantra is coextensive with the bodies of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. When one recites a mantra, one's mind is coextensive with the mantras, and thus, one's mind makes a connection with the mantra's deity and their meditative power (samadhi-bala).

Om mani padme hum

Probably the most famous mantra of Buddhism is

Om mani padme hum ' (, ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana ''Kāraṇḍavyūha sūtra'', where it is also referr ...

, the six syllable mantra of the

of compassion

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...

(Tibetan: '' Chenrezig'', Chinese: ''

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

''). This mantra is particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteśvara. The

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

is said to be an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, and so the mantra is especially revered by his devotees. The book ''Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism'' by Lama Anagarika Govinda, gives a classic example of how such a mantra can contain many levels of symbolic meaning.

Other

The following list of mantras is from '' Kailash: A Journal of Himalayan Studies'', Volume 1, Number 2, 1973. (pp. 168–169) (augmented by other contributors). The mantras used in Tibetan Buddhist practice are in

, to preserve the original mantras. Visualizations and other practices are usually done in the

Tibetan language Tibetan language may refer to: * Lhasa Tibetan or Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect * Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard * Any of the other Tibetic languages See also * Ol ...

. *''Om vagishvara hum'' This is the mantra of the Mahabodhisattva

Manjusri Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...

, Tibetan: Jampelyang ( Wylie "'jam dpal dbyangs")... The Buddha in his wisdom aspect. *''Om vajrasattva hum'' The short mantra for White Vajrasattva, there is also a full 100-syllable mantra for Vajrasattva. *''Om vajrapani namo hum'' The mantra of the Buddha as Protector of the Secret Teachings. i.e.: as the Mahabodhisattva Channa Dorje ( Vajrapani). *''Om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum'' The mantra of the Vajraguru Guru Padma Sambhava who established

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

Buddhism and Tantra in Tibet. *''Om tare tuttare ture mama ayurjnana punye pushting svaha'' The mantra of Dölkar or White Tara, the emanation of Arya Tara hittamani Tara Variants: ''Om tare tuttare ture mama ayurjnana punye pushting kuru swaha'' ( Drikung Kagyu), ''Om tare tuttare ture mama ayu punye jnana puktrim kuru soha'' (

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, M ...

). *''Om tare tuttare ture svaha'', mantra of Green Arya Tara— Jetsun Dolma or Tara, the Mother of the Buddhas: om represents Tara's sacred body, speech, and mind. Tare means liberating from all discontent. Tutare means liberating from the eight fears, the external dangers, but mainly from the internal dangers, the delusions. Ture means liberating from duality; it shows the "true" cessation of confusion. Soha means "may the meaning of the mantra take root in my mind." According to Tibetan Buddhism, this mantra (Om tare tutare ture soha) can not only eliminate disease, troubles, disasters, and karma, but will also bring believers blessings, longer life, and even the wisdom to transcend one's circle of reincarnation. Tara representing long life and health. *''Oṃ amaraṇi jīvantaye svāhā'' (Tibetan version: oṃ ā ma ra ṇi dzi wan te ye svā hā) The mantra of the Buddha of limitless life: the Buddha Amitayus (Tibetan Tsépagmed) in celestial form. *''Om dhrung svaha'' The purification mantra of the

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

Namgyalma. *''Om ami dhewa hri'' The mantra of the Buddha Amitabha (Opagme(d) in Tibetan) of the Western Pureland, his skin the color of the setting sun. *''Om ah ra pa ca na dhih'' The mantra of the "sweet-voiced one", Jampelyang ( Wylie "'jam dpal dbyangs") or

, the Bodhisattva of wisdom. *''Om muni muni maha muniye sakyamuni swaha'' The mantra of Buddha Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha *''Om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha'' The mantra of the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (

) *''Namo bhagavate Bhaishajya-guru vaidurya-praba-rajaya tathagataya arhate samyak-sambuddhaya tadyata *Tadyata OM bhaishajye bhaishajye maha bhaishajya raja-samudgate svaha'' The mantra of the 'Medicine Buddha', Bhaiṣajya-guru (or Bhaishajyaguru), from Chinese translations of the Master of Healing Sutra.

In Bon

There are also numerous mantras in the

Bön Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

religion such as ''Om Ma Tri Mu Ye Sa Le Du''.

Zoroastrianism

, the use of mantras, commonly called manthra (), goes back to Zarathustra himself, who describes his role as a prophet of the creator deity

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...

explicitly as a knower of mantras (; ). In the Zoroastrian tradition, a mantra is usually a shorter inspired utterance that accompanies religious rituals. They differ from the longer, often eight-syllable praise songs (called Yasht in the

) as well as the often eleven-syllable songs (called Gathas in the Avesta as well as in the

). The four most important Zoroastrian mantras are the Ahuna Vairya, the Ashem Vohu, the

Yenghe hatam The Yenghe hatam (Avestan: 𐬫𐬈𐬣𐬵𐬉⸱𐬵𐬁𐬙𐬅𐬨) is one of the four major Mantra (Zoroastrianism), manthras, and one of the most important Zoroastrian prayer, prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is interpreted as a call to pray spe ...

, and the Airyaman ishya. The ''Ashem Vohu'' states: Both Vedic and Avestan mantras have a number of functional similarities. One of these is the idea that truth, when properly expressed in the mantra, can compel a deity to grant the speaker's request (compare

Sacca-kiriya Sacca-kiriyā (Pali language, Pāli; , but more often: ''satyādhiṣṭhāna'') is a solemn declaration of truth, expressed in ritual speech. Most often found in Buddhism, it can be an utterance with regard to one's own virtue, or with regard t ...

). Another similarity is the Vedic and Avestic association of mantras with paths, so that a properly formulated mantra can open a path to the deity addressed. Because of the etymological and conceptual similarity, such religious utterances must therefore have already been known during the common Indo-Iranian period, when the people of the Avesta and of the Vedas formed a single people. They are, therefore, not derived from the Vedic tradition, but represent an independent development of ancient Iran, corresponding to that in ancient India. The study of their commonalities is therefore important for understanding the poetic and religious traditions of the early

Indo-Iranians The Indo-Iranian peoples, also known as Ā́rya or Aryans from their self-designation, were a group of Indo-European speaking peoples who brought the Indo-Iranian languages to parts of Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia in waves from the f ...

Jainism

Namokar Mantra shrine at a Jain center in New Jersey In

mantras are mainl used for praising the omniscient enlightened ones ( Arihants), or praising the five supreme types of beings ( Pañca-Parameṣṭhi). Some mantras are also used for seeking forgiveness, or to enhance intellect, prosperity, wealth or fame. There are many mantras in

; most of them are in

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

, but in the last few centuries, some have been composed in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

or Gujrati languages. Mantras, couplets, are either chanted or sung, either aloud or by merely moving lips or in silence by thought.

Namokar

Some examples of Jain mantras are Bhaktamara Stotra, Uvasagharam Stotra and Rishi Mandal Mantra. The greatest is the Namokar or

. Acharya Sushil Kumar, a self-realized master of the secrets of the Mantra, wrote in 1987: "There is a deep, secret science to the combination of sounds. Specific syllables are seeds for the awakening of latent powers. Only a person who has been initiated into the vibrational realms, who has actually experienced this level of reality, can fully understand the Science of Letters...the Nomokar Mantra is a treasured gift to humanity of unestimable (sic) worth for the purification, upliftment and spiritual evolution of everyone.". His book, The Song of the Soul, is a practical manual to unlock the secrets of the mantra. "Chanting with Guruji" is a compilation of well-known Jain mantras, including the Rishi Mandal Mantra. The Navkar Mantra (literally, "Nine Line Mantra") is the central mantra of

. "It is the essence of the gospel of the Tirthankars." The initial 5 lines consist of salutations to various purified souls, and the latter 4 lines are explanatory in nature, highlighting the benefits and greatness of this mantra. According to the timeperiods of this world or the Kaals, we are living in the era of Pancham Kaal or Fifth Kaal. It started 4 months after the Nirvana of the last tirthankar of Jainism, Mahaveer Swami. In the Pancham Kaal we are only eligible to know these basic 5 lines and the concluding 4 lines of the Namokar Mantra, but it is believed that the mantra exceeds till infinity. If it is chanted with complete faith, it could even do or undo the impossible. Jains also believe that it is the elementary form of all other Mantras. It is renowned as the King of all Mantras . It is also held that even the Mantras of other ancient religions like Hinduism & Buddhism are also derived from the Navkar Mantra. Indeed, it is held that 8.4 million Mantras have been derived from the Navkar Mantra.

The Mantra is as follows (Prakrit, English): One of the best approach to chant the Namokar Mantra while keeping in mind the flow of the chakras is to focus on each chakra as you recite each phrase of the mantra . Here is a suggested sequence : 1. Begin by taking a few deep breaths and focusing your attention on the base of your spine, where the first chakra (Muladhara) is located. As you inhale, imagine energy flowing up from the earth and into your root chakra. 2. As you recite "Namo Arihantanam," visualize a bright white light at the base of your spine and feel the energy rising up through your body while bowing to all Arihants at the Same Time. 3. As you recite "Namo Siddhanam," focus on your second chakra (Svadhisthana), located in the lower abdomen. Visualize a warm orange light here, and feel the energy of creativity while bowing to all Siddhas. 4. As you recite "Namo Ayariyanam," bring your attention to your third chakra (Manipura), located in the solar plexus. Imagine a bright yellow light here, representing personal power and will while bowing to all Arihants at the same Time. 5. As you recite "Namo Uvajhayanam," focus on your fourth chakra (Anahata), located in the center of your chest. Visualize a green light here, representing love and compassion while bowing to all Upadhayas at the Same time. 6. As you recite "Namo Loye Savva Sahunam," bring your attention to your fifth chakra (Vishuddha), located in the throat. Imagine a blue light here representing communication and self- expression while bowing to all Sadhus in the Dhai Dweep. 7. As you recite "Eso Panch Namukaro," focus on your sixth chakra (Ajna), located in the center of your forehead Visualize a deep purple light here representing intuition and spiritual insight. 8. Finally, as you recite "Savva Pavappanasano," bring your attention to your seventh chakra (Sahasrara), located at the crown of your head. Imagine a bright white light here, representing spiritual enlightenment and connection to the divine entity. Repeat the mantra several times, moving your awareness up through each chakra with each phrase. This can help to balance and activate your energy centers.

Universal compassion

'' Pratikraman'' also contains the following prayer:

Forgiveness

Forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychology, psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may have felt initially wronged, victimized, harmed, or hurt goes through a process of changing feelings and attitude regarding a given ...

is one of the main virtues Jains cultivate. ''Kṣamāpanā'', or supreme forgiveness, forms part of one of the ten characteristics of ''

dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

''.
In the '' pratikramana'' prayer, Jains repeatedly seek forgiveness from various creatures—even from ''ekindriyas'' or single sensed beings like plants and microorganisms that they may have harmed while eating and doing routine activities. Forgiveness is asked by uttering the phrase, ''Micchāmi dukkaḍaṃ.'' ''Micchāmi dukkaḍaṃ'' is a Prakrit phrase literally meaning "may all the evil that has been done be fruitless." In their daily prayers and samayika, Jains recite the following ''Iryavahi sutra'' in Prakrit, seeking forgiveness from literally all creatures while involved in routine activities:

May you, O Revered One, voluntarily permit me. I would like to confess my sinful acts committed while walking. I honour your permission. I desire to absolve myself of the sinful acts by confessing them. I seek forgiveness from all those living beings which I may have tortured while walking, coming and going, treading on a living organism, seeds, green grass, dew drops, ant hills, moss, live water, live earth, spider web and others. I seek forgiveness from all these living beings, be they one sensed, two sensed, three sensed, four sensed or five sensed, which I may have kicked, covered with dust, rubbed with earth, collided with other, turned upside down, tormented, frightened, shifted from one place to another or killed and deprived them of their lives. (By confessing) may I be absolved of all these sins.

Sikhism

In the

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

religion, a ''mantar'' or ''mantra'' is a Shabad (Word or

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

) from the Adi Granth to concentrate the mind on God. Through repetition of the mantra, and listening to one's own voice, thoughts are reduced and the mind rises above materialism to tune into the voice of God. Mantras in Sikhism are fundamentally different from the secret mantras used in other religions. Unlike in other religions, Sikh mantras are open for anyone to use. They are used openly and are not taught in secret sessions but are used in front of assemblies of Sikhs. The

Mool Mantar The Mūl Mantar (, ) is the opening verse of the Sikh scripture, the ''Guru Granth Sahib''. It consists of twelve words in the Punjabi language, written in Gurmukhi script, and are the most widely known among the Sikhs. They summarize the essen ...

, the first composition of

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...

, is the second most widely known Sikh mantra. The most widely known mantra in the Sikh faith is "Wahe Guru." According to the Sikh poet Bhai Gurdas, the word "Wahe Guru" is the Gurmantra, or the mantra given by the Guru, and eliminates ego. According to the 10th Sikh Master, Guru Gobind Singh, the "Wahe Guru" mantra was given by God to the Order of the Khalsa, and reforms the apostate into the purified.

Chinese religions

The influence of

during the

Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD, between the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and the beginning of the Sui ...

period and the Tang led to the widespread use of Buddhist esoteric practices in other Chinese religions such as

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

. This included the use of mantras. Mantras are often still used in Chinese

, such as the words in ''Dàfàn yǐnyǔ wúliàng yīn'' (大梵隱語無量音), the recitation of a deity's name. Another example of a Taoist mantra is found in one of the most popular liturgies in Taoism (dating from the Tang dynasty), the ''Pei-tou yen-sheng ching'' (''The North Star Scripture of Longevity''), which contains a long mantra called the "North Star Mantra." The text claims that this mantra "can deliver you from disaster," "ward off evil and give you prosperity and longevity," "help you accumulate good deeds" and give you peace of mind. The Indian syllable '' om'' (唵) is also used in Taoist esotericism. After the arrival of Buddhism many Taoist sects started to use Sanskrit syllables in their mantras or talismans, as well as creating some of their own mantras based on Sanskrit to enhance one's spiritual power aside from the traditional Han incantations. One example of this is the "heart mantra" of Pu Hua Tian Zun (普化天尊), a Taoist deity manifested from the first thunder and head of the "36 thunder gods" in orthodox religious Taoism. His mantra is "Ǎn hōng zhā lì sà mó luō - 唵吽吒唎薩嚩囉". Taoist believe this incantation to be the heart mantra of Pu Hua Tian Zun which will protect them from bad qi and calm down emotions. Taoist mantra recitation may also be practiced along with extensive visualization exercises. There are also mantras in

Cheondoism Cheondoism (Hanja: 天道敎; spelled Chondoism in North Korea) is a Korean indigenous religion that emerged as a continuation and development of Donghak, which was founded by Choe Je-u (Su-un) in 1860 during the late Joseon Dynasty as an anti ...

, Daesun Jinrihoe, Jeung San Do and Onmyōdō. Other Chinese religions have also adopted the use of mantras. These include: *''Námó Tiānyuán Tàibǎo Āmítuófó'' (南無天元太保阿彌陀佛) The mantra of

Xiantiandao The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ', Japanese language, Japanese: ') or known as Blue/Green Lotus sect (), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: ') is one of the most productive currents of C ...

and Shengdao in Chinese. *''Wútàifó Mílè'' (無太佛彌勒) The mantra of

Yiguandao Yiguandao / I-Kuan Tao (), meaning the Consistent Way or Persistent Way, is a Chinese salvationist religions, Chinese salvationist religious sect that emerged in the late 19th century, in Shandong, to become China's most important redemptive ...

in Chinese. *'' Guānshìyīn Púsà'' (觀世音菩薩) The mantra of the Li-ism in Chinese. *''Zhēnkōng jiāxiàng, wúshēng fùmǔ'' (真空家鄉，無生父母) The mantra of the Luojiao in Chinese. *''Zhōng Shù Lián Míng Dé, Zhèng Yì Xìn Rěn Gōng, Bó Xiào Rén Cí Jiào, Jié Jiǎn Zhēn Lǐ Hé'' (忠恕廉明德，正義信忍公，博孝仁慈覺，節儉真禮和) The mantra of the Tiender and the Lord of Universe Church in Chinese. *''Qīngjìng Guāngmíng Dàlì Zhìhuì Wúshàng Zhìzhēn Móní Guāngfó'' (清淨光明大力智慧無上至真摩尼光佛) The mantra of the

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

in Chinese.

Notes

References

*Gelongma Karma Khechong Palmo. ''Mantras on the Prayer Flag''. '' Kailash: A Journal of Himalayan Studies'', Volume 1, Number 2, 1973. (pp. 168–169). *''The Rider Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and religion''. (London : Rider, 1986). *Durgananda, Swami. ''Meditation Revolution''. (Agama Press, 1997). * *

External links

{{Authority control Mantras, Mantras Hindu philosophical concepts Indian poetics Meditation Puja (Hinduism) Spiritual practice Religious formulas