I-laden Mantras that seek to 'influence' or 'implant' thoughts, like - i am peaceful - i am silent - i am loving especially in the face of unskillful thought, are supposed to purify the mind, but are adding thoughts and a sense of self. Nibbana is defined in part as the absence of unskillful thought, but Anatta is also part of it. Also, there is much advice not to fight thoughts. If we create an I-ness around one side of the aisle (love), and thoughts arise that stand in it's shadow (hate), have we not set ourselves up for suffering, or an identity crisis? Are such mantras and chanting therefore unhelpful, or at least, promoting an infight, perhaps even an I-ness? How does buddhism reconcile this?

There are a lot of mantras in our scriptures. Some of these mantras are used to invoke a particular deity, activity or a life-event. Some are mantras for longevity, some for knowledge, immortality, liberation and so on. Some of the highly notable mantras are Three Refuges, Om Mani Padme Hum, and Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato. **Three Refuges** > बुद्धं सरणं गच्छामि | धम्मं सरणं गच्छामि | सङ्घं सरणं गच्छामि > > Buddhaṃ Saraṇaṃ Gacchāmi | Dhammaṃ Saraṇaṃ Gacchāmi | Saṅghaṃ Saraṇaṃ Gacchāmi > > I take refuge in the Buddha. I take refuge in the Dharma. I take refuge in the Saṅgha. **Om Mani Padme Hum** > ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ > > Oṃ Maṇi Padmē Hūm̐ > > Praise to the jewel in the lotus **Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato** > नमो तस्सा भगवतो अरहतो सम्मा सम्बुधासा > > Namō Tas'sā Bhagavatō Arahatō Sam'mā Sambudhāsā > > Homage to the blessed One, the Perfected One, the Fully Awakened One However, is there **one universal Mantra / Mahamantra** which can be chanted by a devotee, which takes him or her to the highest realm of God realization? Is it one of the above mantras?

I'm referring to Mantras listed [here](https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/world_religions/buddhism/practices.pdf) such as the **Shakyamuni Mantra**: > *Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuniye Svaha* In Buddhist practice throughout the world, what is the predominant practice: are those mantras translated into the local language or do adherents recite them in the original Sanskrit? If one can choose, is there any spiritual benefit from reciting them in Sanskrit during meditation?

I don't know much about Buddhism. Sorry if this is off-topic. Where I live, Buddhism is rather uncommon, but in recent years, Tibetan prayer flags have become more and more widespread. These ones were installed close to my workplace, and made me curious. For what I've learned, these are _lungdhar_ or _lung ta_, and the design involves the _lung ta_ horse in the center, as well as the "four mythical animals, tiger, snow lion, dragon and Garuda" in each corner. But there is one thing I have found little information about, and it involves the text. I've read they are supposed to be mantras, but I have a (composite) question about the meaning: **What exactly do they say?** Is the text always the same, or it varies from one to the other? If the latter is the case, **I'm particularly interested in this specific flag**. I believe they are written in Tibetan script, but Google translate wasn't able to tell the language or give a translation. I'm sorry for the low quality of the photo. I know I just cut the text, but I hope it's enough to identify at least some of the general meaning (if the text is different from flag to flag).

It appears at the top of two different thangkas in a gompa, one representing Sakyamuni and another one with Vajrasattva in yab yum, and I am unable to find what it means.please help me clarify what mantra is that?

This is how I understand it and I'd like some clarity on where I'm right/wrong. Rebirth/the next birth happens when the mindstream, attracted to particular situations because of its mental imprints , 'finds' a suitable host body after death and incarnates into the flesh. Then the being, be it human or animal or deva, undergoes a series of situations due to karmic conditioning, creates more karmic conditioning, dies and is born again ad infinitum, unless it has the fortune (or karma, really) to encounter Buddhist teachings. Then the seed of enlightenment is planted; the being goes through several lives become increasingly interested in transcending the cycle of suffering. They follow Buddhist teachings consciously and diligently until they attain enlightenment. It doesn't have to explicitly be 'Buddhist teachings', but the being's motivation has to stem from compassion and bodhicitta. Certain enlightened beings who have already figured out the whole cycle & broken out of it (e.g. Amitabha, Padmasambhava etc.) leave being technology that unenlightened beings can use to break out of the cycle. i.e. Mantras. I would guess that its because chanting the mantras gradually shapes the mindstream to be more similar to that of the enlightened beings'. That's why its recommend to practice one mantra diligently, rather than spread out your efforts across several, and that 'all practice is the same because buddha-nature is the same'. **Is my understanding wrong in any way?**

**Hello,** I understand that the six realms can be interpreted as states of the mind. But at the same time I believe in Yidam yoga, not only as symbolic but as a real emanation too - I have devotion. If the six realms are only symbolic then Buddhas / Siddhas cannot surpass the three times and cannot preform any miracles also; as I think they are both superstitions, so may be rebirth. At the same time nirvana may not be reachable by mantras as only a 8th level Bodhisattva can compose a mantra; and a lower level Bodhisattva in the 1st step is able see 100 lives before and after. I do believe in miracles, karma, nirvana, rebirth and "spirits" because of my experiences in life. I might be wrong, but shouldn't this make sense ? I mean Buddhism is very logical... What is considered a superstition from a Buddhist point of view ? **Thank you !**

My question is this is the mantra Om Ah Hum Benza Guru Padma Siddhi Hum a Vajrayana mantra? Can I chant it? I am asking because, I’m wondering why I’ve had the company of hallucinations? Will the mental health problems be permanent, until I see a Lama to give me my refuge vows?

Sometimes, gurus will perform empowerment ceremonies or give lung in-person (or more recently, online) to recite a certain mantra or practice a certain deity. Sometimes this comes with samaya vows. What exactly is empowerment & lung? It is said that reciting certain mantra without empowerment is ineffective, possibly even useless. It seems that empowerment 'activates' certain aspects in the practitioner that makes the mantra 'useful'. I've heard the analogy is driving a car without fuel & driving one with fuel to describe the difference between mantra without & with empowerment. What is it about the empowerment that makes the mantra useful? What is the mechanics of this, how does this happen?

I've received empowerment for Seven Line Prayer & have been practicing it consistently ever since. Once in a while, a thought arises that I would like to practice other mantras for 'worldly situations', e.g. Green Tara when there is a situation of illness & disease Should I concentrate my efforts on a single practice? Or is it beneficial to 'spread out' my practices. My goals are stream-entry as a layperson

Is it bad to do my mantra backwards? I say it normally, just I have been moving the beads backwards. Should I move them forward?

I have a 108 bead mala (Rudraksh) which I use to chant a single mantra. I also have another bodhi seed mala which I use to chant a different mantra. I've always wondered what the difference was between a physical, 'authentic' mala versus using something like a digital counter. I get that there is some kind of tactile/memory related property to using a physical mala, but is it really significant? Is a mala simply just a tool to help one keep count, or is there more to it? I've heard explanations that the physical make of the mala actually matters, confers some kind of energetic benefit to the user, stores the power of the mantra depending on the material, so on and so forth. I ask because I recently saw an Asian electronics company release a set of 'smart prayer beads' which are a lot more portable than your traditional 108 bead mala and it got me thinking about whether the make of it really matters more than its ability to keep count.

I've been practicing mantra for quite a while now & received empowerments for a few. The main ones that I practice are Guru Rinpoche, White Tara, Vajrasattva 100-syllable. I take care not to go for those which require extensive samaya so that I don't break vows. I rotate between several mantras, sometimes depending on my mood, sometimes to address a certain life situation. For example, practicing White Tara or Medicine Buddha when I am physically ill. Generally I feel like they are all effective(?) and I don't know whether I should just pick one to focus on, or just do what I'm doing now and spread my effort out over a few practices. I understand that on an ultimate level, it doesn't really matter because all Buddhas have the same realization, but on a mundane level, how do you know which mantra suits you?

I am a total outsider not well-versed in the Buddhist tradition, and apologize in advance if some of the terms/names I'll write are placed out of context or misused. To cut the story short, I am looking for a transcription (and possibly translation into English) of a certain Tantric overtone singing (Rgyud Skad) [fragment](https://www.dropbox.com/s/hg7c1ty973k403o/fragment.wav?dl=0) , used as a sound effect at the end of each level in Painkiller 2004 videogame. According to my research, I believe it to be a sample from Yamāntaka mantra as performed by Gyütö Monks on [this](https://www.discogs.com/en/Tibetan-Institute-Of-Performing-Arts-Dhama-Suna-%E0%BD%96%E0%BD%A2%E0%BD%98%E0%BD%A6%E0%BD%A6/release/1327226) album, [4th track](https://www.dropbox.com/s/s1av0jtonl5epo2/mantra.mp3?dl=0) , starting at 0:32 time mark. I tried to make sense of the chanting by reading [Meditation on Vajrabhairava](http://lit.lib.ru/img/i/irhin_w_j/vadjrabhajrava/victory-over-evil.pdf) and attempting to "sync" the text by looking at the places where performers play the bell — obviously, I have little to no idea of what I am doing and that didn't ring any bells (pun intended) :)

OM or AUM is used in "OM MANI PADME HUM" and some other mantras. To my knowledge, OM is found only in Mahayana and Vajrayana schools. It's not found in Theravada. The 14th Dalai Lama explained the meaning of OM here: On the meaning of OM MANI PADME HUM . It's an extremely important and venerated word in Hinduism -- see "What is the significance of ॐ (Om/Aum)? " on Hinduism.SE. Is OM in Buddhism an imported religious term from Hinduism? Or like "namo " which means "salutations" or "adoration", does OM have an ordinary meaning and therefore not considered an imported religious term?

Been meditating for some years, been doing most anapana & also a bit of Goenka-vipassana. Have had certain experiences, samadhi states and jhana (although I'm still far from being able to stabilize and consistently maintain them). In recent years, certain things transpired in my life such that I began a daily mantra practice. I now practice the mantra but I wonder if theres a point to it if I can already attain to samadhi states via anapana. I've heard conflicting views regarding this; some say that mantra is just a way to concentrate the mind, and once you get samadhi you don't really need the mantra anymore. Others say mantra grant specific worldly benefits which make your practice in this human life more efficient, depending on the root deity/mantra being chanted. **Is there a value to mantra chanting over breath meditation?** If my goal is to go towards liberation (or at least stream entry) as a layperson.

Q/.Is there any short comprising of 2 words/phrase that can be recited while inhaling & exhaling like mantra chanting (Bud- dho) in order to strengthen our contemplation.

I heard from some brotherhood from Mahayana said Theravada also will do some chanting for eating meat. Is it true ? I have only able to find the Mahayana Mantra but not Theravada info as below https://drukpachoegon.org/meat-blessing-mantra

In Mahayana Buddhism chanting mantras is one of the core practices and each mantra is associated with a certain Buddha form (yidam). Since in Theravada Buddhism there is no meditations on yidams (or am I wrong?), I'm wondering what is the role of mantra chanting. Are there secret mantras which can be recited only after receiving the transmission from the teacher or can the mantras be shared publicly and used by anyone? And finally, are prayer beads (malas) commonly used?

Where can I find a reliable list of mantras with their respective translations?