The mantra most identified with Tibetan Buddhism is the mantra of Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig in Tibetan), the bodhisattva of compassion, and of whom the Dalai Lama is held to be an incarnation. It is worth mentioning that this mantra is in Sanskrit and is recited by numerous devotees in different countries, however, it is the Tibetans who have most identified with this mantra without necessarily having a greater relationship with this bodhisattva, who takes other names (such as Kannon in Japan). Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva par excellence in the tradition of the mayahana or great vehicle of Buddhism, whose premise is not only to achieve individual awakening, but also to devote himself compassionately to liberating others. Its name alludes to a deity or a teacher who from the top of the world listens and is moved by the cries of the ocean of suffering or samsara. Another story tells that after having sworn not to rest until he freed all beings in the world, the bodhisattva felt powerless that his labors were not being so effective, for which, helped by Amitabha, he grew 1,000 arms and eleven. heads. Likewise, the deity Tara, associated with compassion as well (with literally helping to cross to the other shore), would have been born from one of his tears.
For Tibetan Buddhism compassion «thugs-rje» is the basic energy of the universe, literally the resonance or responsive vibration of the cosmos. It is this energy that is embodied by Avalokiteshvara, who is a deity not in the sense of being a person or entity that creates or controls, but in the sense of embodying a universal energy. The mantras in the traditions that derive from India are formulas or sound encapsulations of a divine energy. The Avalokiteshvara mantra is both a way of calling upon the deity as well as a way of resonating with compassion or universal love. His mantra is as follows:
Om Mani Padme Hum
The mantra means:
Om: the syllable of creation, the primordial energy of the universe. Mani, literally a pearl or gem, which in Eastern traditions is associated with the power to grant all wishes, but this coupled with -«manipadme»- is an epithet for the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, «the jewel in the lotus», the jewel of purity or buddha nature. Hum (or hung) is the seed syllable of enlightenment, of the awakened state of the Buddhas.
The Dalai Lama explains about this mantra that «the six syllables of the mantra refer to the purification of the six planes of existence», from the hells to the heavens purified by the energy of compassion. The Dalai Lama maintains that when reciting the mantra one must think when saying Om that body, mind and speech are purified. Mani refers to the method: compassion or enlightened love. Padme refers to wisdom which is also the emptiness or interdependence of all things (purification is achieved through compassion and wisdom). Hum means the indivisibility of all things.
Tibetan master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche explains:
There is no aspect of the 84,000 sections of the Buddha’s teachings that is not contained in Avalokiteshvara’s six-syllable mantra «Om Mani Padme Hum», and such qualities of «mani» are constantly praised in the sutras and tantras. …Whether you are sad or happy, if we take peanuts as our refuge, Chenrezig will never forget us, spontaneous devotion will arise in our minds, and the Great Vehicle will naturally be fulfilled.
The following is a beautiful version of this mantra accompanied by music from the always excellent Buddhist music and mantra site, Doha Songs, it also includes pieces of devotion to Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light.