HH Penor Rinpoche
Presently, we are in the dharma-ending age, where people have limited wisdom,
faith and diligence. Thus, it is
necessary to persevere diligently in the practice of dharma. A practice that fulfills
this necessity is reciting the six-syllables mani mantra while viewing through
one’s devotion that the guru is not different from Chenrezig. The six syllables mani mantra is very easy to
recite and encompasses the essential meaning of all the Buddha’s
teachings. It is the heart-essence of
Chenrezig (or Avalokiteshvara) and brings infinite blessings. If one takes it
as one’s primary practice, then all humans, celestial beings, and even the
harmful ghosts or gods will bless you benevolently and you will have a long
life without any sickness or calamities.
In the next life, you will be reborn in Potala mountain or Amitabha’s
pureland, or at least, you will take rebirth in a land where the Buddha-dharma
is flourishing. This is because
Chenrezig’s heart mantra is imbued with the limitless blessings, loving
kindness and compassion of all the Buddhas.
In a sutra, it says, “If one recites this mantra, innumerable Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas, Gods, Dragons and beings of the eight classifications will congregate
where one dwells and there will be endless dharma-doors of samadhi. Seven generations of the family of one who
recites (this mantra) will be liberated.
The worms (or sentient beings) in one’s stomach will attain levels on
the Bodhisattva path. Such a person
(who recites the mantra) will perfect the paramitas daily, have unimpeded
eloquence and purify his wisdom aggregate. Whenever his breath touches others’
bodies, it would cause that person to attain levels on the Bodhisattva path. If, for instance, all beings below the fourth
heaven realm attained to the seventh bhumi Bodhisattva position, all their
combined merit would be the same as reciting the six syllables mani mantra
once. If one used gold and jewels to
build Buddha statues as numerous as dust, it would not be as meritorious as
writing one syllable of the six syllables mani mantra. If one obtained the six syllables mani
mantra, one will not be contaminated by the greed, hatred and ignorance. If one wore this mantra on the body, one will
likewise not be contaminated by the sickness of greed, hatred and ignorance.
Anyone who wears, touches, sees (the mantra), all such sentient beings will
attain the levels on the Bodhisattva path and be forever set apart from the
sufferings such as birth, old age, sickness and death.”
The six syllables mani mantra of Chenrezig, Om Mani Padme Hung, is the
manifestation of all the Buddhas’ compassion in the form of sound. Within it, the 84,000 dharma-doors of the
Buddha are encapsulated. Although there
are many different kinds of mantras, such as awareness-mantra, dharanis, secret
mantras, but none of them is more sublime than the six syllables mani
mantra. The vast benefits of reciting
this mantra (which is usually just called ‘mani’) has been mentioned frequently
in the Buddha’s sutras and tantras. It
is said that just reciting this mantra once is equivalent to reciting all the
12 categories of the Buddha’s teachings.
Reciting the six syllables mani mantra can perfect the six bodhisattva
paramitas and firmly seal off all possibilities of taking rebirth in the six
realms. This is a simple practice, easy
to understand. All the people can
practice its recitation and it encompasses the essence of the
Buddhadharma. If you are able to regard
the mani mantra as your refuge in times of happiness or suffering, then
Chenrezig will always be with you. You
will become more and more devoted without even trying to. The realisation of the mahayana path will
naturally arise in your mindstream.
According to the records in the Jewel-Chest sutra, reciting a hundred-million
times of this mantra will cause all the organisms on one’s body to receive
Chenrezig’s blessings and after one’s death, the smoke from the cremation of
one’s corpse can protect anyone who breathes it from rebirth in the three lower
realms.
Even one syllable from this mantra, whether it be ‘Om’, ‘Ma’ or ‘Ni’ has
inconceivable power. It can bless and
cause sentient beings to be liberated.
It is said that the Buddha, who has such extraordinary power far
exceeding those of any sentient being, is able to tell accurately how many
raindrops there are in a rainstorm lasting 12 years but yet, even he is unable
to completely express the merit of saying the mani mantra once. If the Buddha began to express its merit,
even if all the world’s forests and trees were made into paper, it would not be
sufficient for writing down even the smallest part of the merit of the mantra.
There is nothing in this world that can really frighten the god of death and
make him retreat, but the warm radiance of Chenrezig’s compassion can remove
all fear that anyone felt at the point of death. This is what is called, “the refuge which
never deceives”.
The six syllables mani mantra is Chenrezig’s heart-essence, it is the
bodhisattvas’ paramitas in the form of mantra.
If you recite this mantra, all the six paramitas will automatically
arise and action-bodhichitta will spontaneously be accomplished.
Mantra is one essential component of the Vajrayana path but not one mantra is
better than the mani mantra. It
encompasses all the functions of all mantras and also embodies all the other
mantras’ blessings and power. Even the
great Karma Chakme and other well-learned noble beings could not find any
mantra in the teachings that was of more benefit, more quintessential and
simple to practise than the mani, and thus utilised the mani mantra as their
main practice. Even hearing the mani
mantra can liberate one from samsara.
Just as Chenrezig has said, anyone who practises this mani mantra will
perfect all the six bodhisattva paramitas and cleanse all their obscurations
and karma.
In order to bless sentient beings, Chenrezig endowed the mani mantra with the
same power as his very own body, this is the ‘dedication of unborn
emptiness’. Writing the six syllables
mani mantra will lead all beings who see it to be liberated. Reciting the six syllables mani mantra will
lead all beings who hear it to be liberated.
If one thought of the mantra, then one will be liberated by
recalling. By wearing it on one’s body,
there will be liberation by contact. If
you are accustomed to regarding all sounds as the mani mantra, then all the
fearful sounds in the bardo will not cause you any trepidation.
In this age of the five degenerations, the compassionate Chenrezig’s blessings
is exceptionally strong. But, just as
Guru Rinpoche has predicted, “in the future, there will be some beings with
insufficient merit who will not treasure the six syllables mani mantra.” Chenrezig’s emanation, the Tibetan king
Songtsen Gampo also said, “in the future, there will be some beings who will
discriminate the dharma due to their own self-clinging, they will abandon all
positive actions and belittle the six syllables mani mantra saying that it is a
practice for old people or children.
These people have been led by the demonic obstacles into the deviant
paths. Their future life would
definitely be in the hells. Thus you
should not give rise to any doubt about compassionate Chenrezig’s dharma
practice but should instead practice it diligently, because this practice is
the easiest to accomplish and there is no other practice that bestows greater
blessings that this.”
The six syllables mani mantra has worldly benefits such as removing all
sickness, pain, negative karma, obscurations and demonic obstacles, increasing
one’s merit and prosperity. Its ultimate
benefit is to end samsara and bring one to the state of perfect unsurpassed
Buddhahood.
