“Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum” is the mantra of Guru Padmasambhava.
The Buddha Amitabha gathered the energy of all the Buddhas of the ten thousand directions to his heart centre and transferred this pure light into a lotus flower in the Danakosha Lake in the land of Odiyana. From this lotus flower, the immaculate Padmasambhava was born.
Variations on the spelling are:
- om ah hung vajra guru padma siddhi hung
- om ah hung vajra guru pema siddhi hung
Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum
Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum is the mantra of Padmasambhava and the blessings that lie in the mantra are manifold. There are various meanings of the inner, outer and secret levels on which this mantra can be used and so there are many esoteric ways to use the mantra.
- OM is the sound principle of the crown chakra.
- AH is the sound principle of the throat chakra.
- HUM is the sound principle of the heart chakra.
- VAJRA refers to the energy of the enlightened mind; like light breaking into an indestructible diamond or a lightning bolt passing through everything.
- GURU means wise teacher or master.
- PADMA means lotus and refers to the purity of the enlightened mind; symbolising wisdom and compassion.
- SIDDHI refers to unprecedented achievements or supernatural powers.
- HUM is the manifestation of enlightenment in the individual human being.
If you let the mantra sink in, you will see that there are different aspects hidden in the mantra:
- How to meditate: OM AH HUM
- To whom do we address: VAJRA GURU
- What we ask: PADMA SIDDHI
- Who are we asking for: HUM
Thus, we can also use the mantra Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum as supplication towards Padmasambhava and thus give outer expression. It then means as much as:
Oh great enlightened master whose wisdom and compassion may shine upon me. Bless my body, thoughts and actions with your power and energy and help me come to understanding equal you.
Cultivation of our own Buddha nature
Visualising the purity-born Guru Padmasambhava floating in our minds is an invocation from the enlightened aspect of your own Buddha-mind. OM AH HUM VAJRA PADMA SIDDHI HUM recited with faith, love, devotion, compassion and wisdom, grants you all the spiritual powers and qualities your mind can contain.
- As an external aspect, continuous recitation brings you closer to Padmasambhava and his Buddha field of copper-coloured mountains.
- On an inner aspect, continuous recitation will purify all your energy centres and channel systems and transform your body into a Buddha field.
- As for the secret aspect, continuous recitation will open your mind to the realisation that Padmasambhava is you and that you are Padmasambhava and always have been.
With Amitabha at the crown of my head, I praise the transcendent and infinite light.
With Avalokitesvara in my throat chakra, I praise compassion beyond dualistic fixation.
With Padmasambhava in my heart, I praise the rainbow beyond time and space.
May all beings attain enlightenment through the Buddha's teachings.
Padmasambhava and the Vajrayana Buddhist teachings
India and China had been Buddhist nations for centuries, but Tibet had too many obscurations to be fully endowed with the Dharma. They needed a nirmanakaya Buddha with the power over time and space and the wrathful compassion to lead Tibet out of its dormant torpor. Therefore, the wisdom-Buddha Manjushri reincarnated as the king of Tibet, Trisong Detsun, and invited Padmasambhava to establish the very powerful Vajrayana Buddhist teachings there.
Although Guru Padmasambhava was fully enlightened at birth, he again took up all the Buddha's teachings on earth and in space and spread them throughout India, China, Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, Jang and Hor. After subduing the hostile forces of Tibet, he established the cosmic mandala of Samye Monastery to firmly plant all Buddha's teachings in Tibet. He invited many great masters from India and China to translate and pass on the full spectrum of Buddhism there. Samye monastery was built and consecrated as a sacred mandala representing the cosmos with the three floors of the monastery representing the three great Buddhist nations of India, China and Tibet.
Samye monastery - Padmasambhava's vision
The Indian floor represented the Hinayana and Vinaya teachings, the Chinese floor represented the teachings of Mahayana and dhyana, and the Tibetan floor represented the Vajrayana and tantra teachings. All together, the three vehicles of Buddhism were fully planted and the great wish of the Dharma king Trisong Detsun was fulfilled.
Even today, some 14 hundred years later, the energy at Samye Monastery is still very intense. Behind the monastery is Mala Mountain and the 108 caves of Samye Chimpu where practitioners retreat. These pilgrims can witness many modern wonders, such as;
- lighting themselves up in the cave walls,
- hand and footprints of Padmasambhava and other great masters,
- And even Padmasambhava's fingerprints in solid rock.
The number of conscious beings who achieved enlightenment here in the past, present and future are innumerable because the blessings flowing through this cosmic mandala are infinite.
