# Tibetan: ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྃ (Om mani padme hum)



## kaluvzmc

I bought this ring and my work (consignment shop) and I was really facinated in the writing that is on it. I have no idea what language this is, but my first thought was Hebrew. If anyone knows what this says or possibly what language this is (if not Hebrew) could you please try to guide me in the right direction? Thanks for your help.


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## Lugubert

Turn the pictures upside down, then read the text in a northern variety of Devanagari: Om mani pad..., that is, the beginning of the Tibetan mantra Om mani padme hum.


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## kaluvzmc

Lugubert said:


> Tibetan mantra Om mani padme hum.


 
What does that mean??


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## Lugubert

A common rendering is "Hail to you, son of the lotus flower" or "... you who are in the lotus flower."

Literally, "mani" means sceptre, thunderbolt, or gemstone, also "vajra" in Sanskrit.

One understanding in Tantric circles is "Oh! Finally, the spire is in the (guess what). Whoah!"


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## kaluvzmc

Lugubert said:


> A common rendering is "Hail to you, son of the lotus flower" or "... you who are in the lotus flower


 
haha woah, okay, lets stick to this meaning. Does "lotus flower" have a deeper meaning, or simply does it mean "hail to a flower"?? Does have anything to do with God?


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## Lugubert

To spell it out: The form of the lotus flower is suggestive of the yoni. As such, it occurs frequently in Indian art to indicate an atmosphere of love and/or passion. If for example Krishna is courting Radha and there is a stream in the picture, it will be filled with lotus flowers.


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## suzzzenn

Hi, 

Here is a quote from the Dalai Lama about the meaning of the "om mani padme hum"

"you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_mani_padme_hum
http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm
http://www.circle-of-light.com/Mantras/om-mantra.html


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## kaluvzmc

thank you for the links, i will be sure to check them out


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## Aquatarkus

[Moderator's Note: Merged with a previous thread]
Dear friends,

I'd like to know what is written on this stone, but I can only show the picture and cannot type tibetan letters. Please take a look and tell me, if you can.
Thank you


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## o-nami

Hi Aquatarkus.
It is written: Om Mani Peme Hum.
It is the most popular mantra in Tibet: it is the mantra of Cenrezig, Compassion Buddha.


Lugubert said:


> Literally, "mani" means sceptre, thunderbolt, or gemstone, also "vajra" in Sanskrit.



In Tibetan, Vajra is "Dorje". Mani it is an abbreviation of the Sanskrit word "cintamani", that means "wish-fullfilling Gem". It is not Tibetan. The only tibetan word in this mantra is "Padme" (lotus)

An advice: don't try to litterally translate a mantra... It's meaningless to do this.


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## fdb

"Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ" is all Sanskrit, not Tibetan.


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## Englishmypassion

And the lotus has a deeper spiritual meaning. Lord Buddha is often shown sitting on a lotus.


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## bearded

fdb said:


> "Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ" is all Sanskrit, not Tibetan.


And what is the literal translation of the Sanskrit words, then?  Thank you.


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## M Mira

^It's a spell, so there isn't a single agreed-upon interpretation. Some think the phrase is (or was) a meaningful utterance itself and try to explain it as a sentence, others think its six syllables are six spells and try to fit it into another six-related concept in Buddhism.


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