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The Six Levels of Om Mani Peme Hung, Buddhist Fasting Practice Book Excerpt
The following excerpt by Wangchen Rinpoche provides six distinctions of mantra recitation, appropriate to one's level of practice.
The first kind of recitation of the mantra OM MANI PEME HUNG is referred to as sutra tradition recitation. The Six-Syllable Mantra should be recited like a talented person blowing a conch shell, continuously making a big or small sound. Imagining that whoever hears the sounds of the mantra has their obscurations purified is recitation in the sutra tradition.
The second, inner tantric recitation, is divided into two sections, jnanasattva and samayasattva. Imagining that light radiates from the samayasattva's heart and touches the jnanasattva's heart, one thinks all kinds of offerings are being made to please the body, speech, and mind of the jnanasattva. Light comes from the jnanasattva and touches the samayasattva's heart, by which one thinks one is receiving all the siddhis. In this way light continuously circles back and forth, and one recites the mantra like the sound of a flute, with high and low pitch.
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Third is the secret dakinis' blessing-sign recitation. While reciting the mantra, multicolored light radiates from the letter HRIH in one's heart and goes to the dakini realm. From there dakinis are magnetized and one imagines that they come right in front of you. In this way your body, speech, and mind, and those of others, are blessed by the dakinis. Recite the mantra like the sounds of a damaru, stronger and stronger.
The fourth, homage and prayer to guru and deity, is like children-calling-for-their-mother recitation. While reciting, light radiates from the letter HRIH in the heart center and it touches gurus, deities, and dakinis. Then, just as a mother will compassionately answer the call of a child, they will appear in the sky right in front of you. Imagining them blessing you and dispelling your obstacles, one recites the mantra like the sounds of a tambura, with changing melody.
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Wangchen Rinpoche |
Each syllable is itself a prayer and offering:
| OM | is the prayer and offering to the body of the buddhas; |
| MA | is the prayer and offering to the speech of the buddhas; |
| NI | is the prayer and offering to the mind of the buddhas; |
| PE | is the prayer and offering to the qualities of the buddhas; |
| ME | is the prayer and offering to the activities of the buddhas; |
| HUNG | gathers the blessings of the body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities of the buddhas. |
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The fifth is purification practice recitation. Here one visualizes one's tongue as a six-petaled lotus, in the center of which is the letter HRIH. On each of the petals is a syllable of the Six-Syllable Mantra. One recites the mantra like a well-versed text reader, with clear and precise sounds that capture the attention. One should recite with devotion from one's body, speech, and mind:
| OM | purifies obscurations of the body; |
| MA | purifies obscurations of speech; |
| NI | purifies obscurations of mind; |
| PE | purifies obscurations of afflictive emotions; |
| ME | purifies obscurations of habitual tendencies; |
| HUNG | purifies obscurations of obstructions to omniscience. |
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The sixth, vajra recitation, is with meditative equipoise and samadhi. While reciting the mantra one rests one's body, speech, and mind, and recites the mantra mentally, in complete silence. Speech is uninterrupted with ordinary words, and mind rests without any discursive thoughts, clear yet undistracted.
| OM | mind and dharmata, free from conceptual fabrications; |
| MA | mind and dharmata, self-arising; |
| NI | mind and dharmata, self-clarity; |
| PE | mind and dharmata, clarity and purity; |
| ME | mind and dharmata, emptiness and clarity; |
| HUNG | mind and dharmata, inherent purity. |
Such recitation could generate the experience of the union of bliss, clarity, and emptiness.
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More about the book . . .
The Tibetan Buddhist practice of Nyungne ("nyoong-nay") has been gaining increased attention in Buddhist centers across North America; participants say the practice purifies them both physically and spiritually. This volume is the only comprehensive treatment in English of these powerful teachings. Nyungne is a profound two-and-a-half-day practice, a length of time especially helpful for people whose schedules cannot accommodate long-term retreat. It involves the keeping of strict vows; the second day is devoted to complete silence and fasting. The meditation centers on the recitations, mantras, and guided visualizations of the Thousand-Armed Chenrezig, the embodiment of all the buddhas' loving-kindness and compassion. Translated as "abiding in the fast," Nyungne is said to be effective in the healing of illness, the nurturing of compassion, and the purification of negative karma.
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More about the author . . .
Wangchen Rinpoche is a student of Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche, with whom he lived and traveled from an early age. He is a master practitioner of Nyungne. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Books . . .
© 2009 Snow Lion: The Buddhist Magazine & Catalog
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