The Six Syllable Mantra (Om Mani Padme Hum 唵嘛呢叭咪吽) is the foundational entry point for Asian folk magic traditions. We’ll be covering both the doctrinal Buddhist foundations and the practical applications.
This is a two-part intensive, Doctrine and Ritual, on the Sacred Six Syllable Mantra. Video 1 covers doctrine. The subsequent Video 2 is for ritual, to convey a direct empowerment so you can experience the magic and the Mystery for yourself. Both videos are now up on my YouTube channel.
Buddhist Mysteries emphasize the distinction between conceptual understanding (which Video 1 strives to deliver) and direct realization (which Video 2 strives to deliver). Dedicated, repetitive, sincere resonance with the Mantra itself, which Video 2 helps to facilitate, is how you receive direct realization and actualization.
For those like me who need to read something for the information to stick, let’s review the key points from Video 1, and add the thoughts that I couldn’t quite fit in to the video. It was already 30 minutes long… I had to cut, cut, cut, and edit. =/
Kuan Yin (Avalokitesvara)
The Six Syllable Sutra is associated with one particular manifestation of Kuan Yin (Avalokitesvara).
Per the Lotus Sutra 妙法蓮華經, there are 33 different manifestations of Kuan Yin.
With the Six Syllable Mantra, per scriptural tradition derived from the Karandavyuha Sutra 佛說大乘莊嚴寶王經, you’re invoking the manifestation of Kuan Yin as Mother Buddha 母佛, who gave birth to the five gods: the sun god, moon god, wind god, water god, and fire god; the king of heaven and the king of hell; and the four heavenly kings or lords of the four gates (the four directional deities).
The Sutra also describes a mandala of six hues: sapphire blue, emerald green, ruby red, crystal, silver, and gold. At the center of the mandala is Amithaba Buddha 阿彌陀佛, who is accompanied by Sadaksari Mahavidya, who is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara representative of the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.
Sadaksari Mahavidya is described as: having four arms, feminine, wearing white like an autumn full moon, and holding a lotus in her left hand, and embedded within the lotus blossom, a jewel.
Whereas the Great Compassion Mantra 大悲咒 is associated with Kuan Yin as the Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara (though in most East Asian religious art, you’ll still see depictions of Kuan Yin, even associated with the Great Compassion Mantra, in that more familiar white-robed serene-looking maternal figure).
咒 (zhou) = Mantra = Spell
While the words themselves are an essential formula, what empowers the Mantra (Spell) is the holistic mind, body, spirit engagement of the practitioner. The repetition is just what helps to induce the needed state of mind, body, and spirit engagement.
Each of the Six Syllables connects to one of the Six Realms, and therefore attunement to the Mantra gains the practitioner access to them. With respect to us humans already in the human realm, this is command over thought forms that dwell in this world, created by humans. (And my brain short-circuits a bit when I start philosophizing on what this might mean with respect to AI…)
The power wielded with this Mantra can placate restless or agitated spirits, because per Buddhist cosmology, spirits that are restless, agitated, baneful, and wreaking havoc are that way due to their suffering. The Mantra eases their suffering, and therefore eases their wrath. Thus, the power of the Mantra quiets disturbances. In that sense, it’s a spell 咒, or at least in Chinese, the word we use for “magical spell” is the same word we use for “Mantra,” just applied in different contexts.
Thus, the Mantra is considered a practitioner’s tool– it’s an incantation that can help you to cast spells. This Mantra + specific intention + holistic embodiment of the Mantra’s energy imprint = unstoppable. =)
Notably, you see Om Mani Padme Hum used, in folk magic, in three key contexts, though it’s by no means limited to these three applications:
- Exorcisms and Soul Retrievals
- Consecration or Purification Rites, and
- Spiritual or Psychic Protection
Where I would say the meatier aspect of the Mantra applied in folk magic is in both exorcism and soul retrieval rituals. To clear a haunting, a priest or practitioner first plays a blessed or consecrated audio recording of the Six Syllable Mantra (typically, the recording itself is done in a specific ritualistic manner) while utilizing other tools and methods to clear the space, such as with incense, talismans, and joss burnings. This is usually followed by a sutra or dharani recitation, such as the Great Compassion Mantra.
Likewise, you’ll find application of the Mantra, both in recited and stylized written form, in soul retrievals. I have something in the works that deep-dives into this topic.
Tangmi 唐密, Tang Dynasty Esoteric Buddhism
While tantric Buddhist practices were already in China well before the Tang dynasty, with Chinese translations of dharanis, spells and incantations incorporating Buddhist elements, mandalas, and manuals on mudras as early as the 3rd century, the imperial Tang sponsorship of esoteric Buddhist scholarship drove its advancements and popularity.
Esoteric Buddhism and practices of Buddhist magic traced back to the Tang became the backbone of many new variations of folk magical practices across Asia.
While prongs of Buddhist mysticism flourished during the Tang dynasty, and even during different pockets of time before that, there was a Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution that took place in the 9th century, which brought the decline of Tangmi 唐密 and related mystical and occult practices 密教.
Tangmi hid beneath the cloak of Taoism, fragmented and integrated into various traditions and lineages of Taoist mysticism. Aspects of it also merged into Pure Land Buddhism. Fortunately, a lot of it was preserved in Japan through Shingon Buddhism, and much of what you see in Shingon Buddhism today reflects medieval Tangmi practices. Whereas to find remnants of Tangmi in China today, you’d be looking at regional folk practices.
The Practicum
Try working with the Six Syllable Mantra for yourself. This is an open practice, and well-suited for syncretizing with other practices and traditions in a manner that honors the intent of Avalokitesvara and the people who practice this faith.
I give one example of a practicum in the video. You can start before the new moon, but definitely “officially” start then. For about 15 days, from new moon to full moon, recite Mantra at least 108 times per day (about 5 minutes). The 15-minute video provided here is 108 recitations tripled, so you can play the audio and recite alongside. In traditional folk practices, even listening the audio with your mind and body attuned to the sacred sounds is just as effective as reciting it yourself.
Recitation, even pronunciation, is less important than sincerity of intention while the Sound of the Six Syllables is being made.
This 15-day period of daily chanting is to strengthen your energy bodies for the actual Working.
On the day of the full moon, create a mantra talisman. Light incense (candles optional, I really like candles) to set the ritual atmosphere. Copy, by hand, the written script of the Mantra. You can write it freehand or trace a template if the languages are too unfamiliar to you.
Here are the script references:
Note that the Chinese oracle bone version doesn’t have native equivalents for the two seed syllables “Om” and “Hum.” In Traditional Chinese, “Om” becomes “唵” and “Hum” is “吽.” However, when writing in oracle bone or seal script, you use the Sanskrit character for “Om” and “Hum.”
Also, preemptively, I apologize that I couldn’t be fully inclusive with all the different Asian scripts. I’m just going with the ones I personally see most often.
Before you begin, set a clear intention. What are you channeling and directing all of this energy toward to achieve? This intention needs to align with the cosmic force represented by Kuan Yin, however. So that’s spiritual protection, healing and wellness, helping to restore soul fragmentation if applicable, prosperity that enables you to help others, etc.
Then hold that intention while writing the Mantra. Also, play the Mantra chant in the background. (Hence, me providing the Video 2 recording.) If 15 minutes is too short, download the mp4 file and you can set it to play on a loop.
Then carry the paper in your wallet as a personal talisman, an energy amplifier. If it was for some form of protection, you could modify the instructions slightly, make many of them, and then roll each into a scroll, to tuck out of sight above each window and door frame in your home. Alternatively, you could place it on a study desk, in a drawer in your nightstand if it’s to safeguard you during your vulnerable hours of sleep, or on your altar. Lean in to your intuition and follow your gut instincts.
For Experienced Practitioners. If you already have an established magical or spiritual practice, get creative, follow what fusion approach calls to you, and experiment with how you might graft this Mantra practice into something you already do.
As I said in the video, let your own experience become your teacher.
Video #2 focuses on transmission of empowerments and direct experience. You can download the mp4 file of it here: Om Mani Padme Hum (390 Recitations).mp4
If you download the file directly, rather than rely on the YouTube upload, you can play it in a way that loops continuously.
And yep, that’s my voice doing the chanting. I recorded three separate layers of audio, my voice at three different pitches, then used Windows MovieMaker to layer them into a single recording.
Video #2 content is dedicated freely to the public domain. You can convert this mp4 file into an mp3 audio file for any purposes per your prudent discernment. Attribution or credits are nice, but not necessary.
However, note that for the video version, the six-petal Om Mani Padme Hum lotus image with seed syllable “Hri” in the center in Tibetan script is by Christopher J. Fynn under a Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution license.
The 15-minute harmonic recitation of the Sacred Six Syllable Mantra is designed to build a protective spiritual energy field around the space in which it is played. Om Mani Padme Hum is a foundational sacred formula transmitted through esoteric Buddhism and Taoist mysticism. Across many different traditions of Buddhism across North, South, Southeast, and East Asia, and indigenous folk practices of magic, shamanism, and spirit mediumship, this Mantra is revered for its powers of spiritual protection, clearing poisonous or baneful energy, and consecrating ritual space.
No matter where or how you branch off from here, this is the common ground many of us as pan-Asian practitioners of mystery traditions will start from.
In Buddhist and Taoist magic, your ability to channel the divine powers that the Six Syllable formula unlocks is instrumental to how you craft talismans, perform healing rituals and exorcisms, and petition spirits. Daily recitation of this Six Syllable Mantra is the best place for the beginner to start building and developing that requisite baseline power. Your tether to this channel will also be critical as you advance in practices involving altered states of consciousness and trance, as this is what with stabilize you.
Single Recitation Download
And in case this is helpful for those interested in producing their own creative works integrating the chant, you can download the single recitation. I have two versions, one with a blue background, the other gold:
CLICK HERE to download the BLUE field.
benebell wen 
