“Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum” is the mantra of Guru Padmasambhava.
The Buddha Amitabha gathered the energy of all the Buddhas from the Ten Thousand Directions into his heart center and transferred this pure light into a lotus flower in Lake Danakosha 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 contained within the mantra are numerous. There are diverse meanings regarding the inner, outer, and secret levels on which this mantra can be used, and thus 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 in an indestructible diamond or a lightning bolt that penetrates everything.
- GURU means wise teacher or master.
- PADMA means lotus and refers to the purity of the enlightened mind; a symbol of 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 various aspects are hidden within the mantra:
- How to meditate: OM AH HUM
- To whom do we address ourselves: VAJRA GURU
- What we ask: PADMA SIDDHI
- For whom are we asking this: HUM
In this way, we can also use the mantra Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum as a supplication towards Padmasambhava and thus give outward expression. It then means something like:
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 attain insight like You.
Meditating with the Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum mantra
Hopefully, after reading the meaning of the Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum mantra, you have an idea of its power. In the following exercise, I will explain step by step how you can meditate with this mantra and experience its potential.
Duration of the meditation 15 minutes
What Do You Need?
- a quiet place where you won't be disturbed
- a good chair or meditation cushion
- something to indicate the time (e.g. timer on a mobile)
What should you pay attention to?
- Make sure you have eaten something light so you don't feel hungry.
- Make sure your mobile or PC is set to Do Not Disturb
- If you are tired, it is better to rest first.
The meditation explained step by step:
Step 1: preparing to meditate and visualize
Ensure you sit in a relaxed yet active position. Your back is straight and your chin drops slightly towards your chest – as if there is a string attached to the crown of your head being gently pulled. Lengthen your neck and back in this way and hold it throughout the meditation.
Breathe in and out calmly, trying to breathe through your nose. Ideally, the exhalation is slightly longer than the inhalation.
Now visualize in your mind the image of Padmasambhava that you see in this step. You can look at the image, then briefly close your eyes and bring the image back to mind. Repeat this several times so that the image becomes increasingly clear.
See Padmasambhava hovering in the air to shine his blessings upon you.
Step 2: recite OM
To begin, use a full inhalation and exhalation to recite the sounds.
While reciting the OM sound, visualize a white light emanating from Padmasambhava's forehead. See how the light connects with the chakras of your forehead ( crown / third eye ), thus purifying your body and empowering it with the body of the Buddha.
Step 3: recite AH
Recite the sound AH and visualize a red light flowing from Padmasambhava's throat chakra to your throat chakra. The light purifies your thoughts and speech and empowers you to speak with the loving compassion and decisiveness of a Buddha.
Step 4: recite HUM
Recite the sound HUM and visualize a blue light from the heart of Padmasambhava connecting with your heart chakra . This blue light purifies and empowers you with the spirit of the Buddha.
Step 5 : Recite VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM
Vajra is pronounced 'benza', and Padma can be pronounced 'pemmeh'.
Recite the sounds VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM and let a rainbow of light shine from your heart in the 10.000 directions to purify the bodies, speech, and thoughts of all people on earth.
Note: In English, the term 'sentient beings in samsara' is used; therefore, we can also speak of all perceiving and empathic beings in the cycle of life and death, and thus include the animal kingdom as well.
Step 6: Connect the Vajra with your heart and the light
End a recitation with the transformation of Padmasambhava into a lightning bolt and draw it towards yourself. Let the lightning, as it were, pass through your central nervous system to your heart. Use the 'vajra' – the lightning bolt – to let the rainbow light shine even brighter from your heart center/chakra.
In the photo, you see a 'vajra' which you can hold between your thumb and index finger at the bead in the middle while meditating.
Step 7: Repeat the mantra
You can repeat the mantra from step 2 through step 6 several times. You will notice that the more often you do this, the more powerful the connection with Padmasambhava feels. You will experience the entire mantra coming together as one sound, and continuous rainbow light radiating from your heart as you repeat the mantra (in your mind).
Experience the union with Padmasambhava and your own Buddha nature.
Cultivation of our own Buddha nature
Visualizing Guru Padmasambhava, born of purity, floating in our thoughts, is an invocation from the enlightened aspect of your own Buddha-mind. Reciting OM AH HUM VAJRA PADMA SIDDHI HUM with faith, love, devotion, compassion, and wisdom bestows upon you all the spiritual powers and qualities that your mind can contain.
- As an external aspect, continuous recitation brings you closer to Padmasambhava and his Buddha-field of copper-colored mountains.
- On an inner aspect, continuous recitation will purify all your energy centers and channel systems and transform your body into a Buddha field.
- As for the secret aspect, continuous recitation will open your mind to the realization that Padmasambhava is you and that you are Padmasambhava and that you have always been that.
With Amitabha on 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 teachings of the Buddha.
Padmasambhava and the Vajrayana Buddhist teachings
India and China had been Buddhist nations for centuries, but Tibet had too many obscurities to be fully endowed with the Dharma. They needed a Nirmanakaya Buddha with power over time and space and wrathful compassion to lead Tibet out of its slumbering stupor. 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 once again absorbed all the teachings of the Buddha on Earth and in space and spread them throughout India, China, Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, Yang, and Hor. After subduing the hostile forces of Tibet, he established the cosmic mandala of Samye Monastery to firmly plant all the Buddha's teachings in Tibet. He invited many great masters from India and China to translate and transmit the full spectrum of Buddhism there. Samye Monastery was built and consecrated as a sacred mandala representing the cosmos, with the three levels of the monastery representing the three great Buddhist nations of India, China, and Tibet.
The Samye Monastery – the vision of Padmasambhava
The Indian floor represented the Hinayana and Vinaya teachings, the Chinese floor represented the Mahayana and Dhyana teachings, 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 fourteen hundred years later, the energy in the 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 miracles, such as;
- self-illuminating images in the cave walls,
- hand and footprints of Padmasambhava and other great masters,
- and even Padmasambhava's finger drawings in solid rock.
The number of conscious beings who attained enlightenment here in the past, present, and future is countless because the blessings flowing through this cosmic mandala are infinite.