The Vajra Guru Mantra

OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM

So goes the Vajra Guru mantra, which can be literally translated as, "I invoke you, the Vajra Guru, Padmasambhava, by your blessing may you grant us ordinary and supreme siddhis." The Tibetan Buddhists pronounce it slightly differently, Om Ah Hung Benza Guru Pema Siddhi Hung, but the essential meaning is the same.

Just as the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is considered the mantra of Buddha Kwan Yin, so is the Vajra Guru mantra considered the mantra of Buddha Padmasambhava. The Vajra Guru mantra is said to be held in high esteem by sadhakas (those who follow sadhana or spiritual practices; can also be used to refer to spiritual initiates and aspirants) because of the tremendous benefits encapsulated in the mantra.

In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, mantras are more than just canned prayers to the deity. Just as the Kabbalists believe that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and their different permutations, hold an inherent universal power, so do the very composition of the mantras hold power and provide a "direct line" to the essence of the deity being invoked.

According to legend, the Buddha Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche in Tibet, was born of the lotus flower, incarnating as an 8-year old child in a lotus blossom floating in Lake Dhanakosha. Like most legends, this story is an esoteric symbol. What the story is trying to say is that Padmasambhava was born fully illuminated, a truly great soul who entered the world. Padmasambhava went on to Tibet at the invitation of King Trisong Detsen (742–797), the first Emperor of Tibet. Thus was Tibet introduced to Tibetan Buddhism and Tantra.

In the Nyingmapa tradition, the Vajra Guru mantra is believed to be a powerful mantra that can engender union with the Three Vajras (body, speech and mind) of Padmasambhava's mindstream and consequently those of other enlightened beings. Because of this, we can say that the Vajra Guru mantra forms part of guru yoga because guru yoga seeks to unite the mindstream of the practitioner with the mindstream of the guru. Sharanagathi leads one to achieve the goal of guru yoga.

In his book Inner Teachings of Hinduism Revealed, Master Choa Kok Sui states that sharanagathi simply means internal conductivity. Just as a copper wire can easily transmit electricity because it is conductive, so must we have internal conductivity in order to fully receive the blessings of our spiritual teacher and the Higher Beings. Sharanagathi is not just the form or act but is rather one's state of being. Master Choa goes so far to say that if one has sharanagathi (internal conductivity), even without doing a lot of sadhanas (spiritual practices) the blessings one is receiving are so intense, it would be like doing sadhana. This is similar to what Jesus said that if one had faith the size of a mustard seed, one could move mountains.

The 14th century terton Karma Lingpa wrote a detailed commentary about the benefits of the Vajra Guru mantra. A terton refers to someone who discovers terma (treasure) teachings. It is said that Padmasambhava hid many of his written teachings in certain locations within Tibet, to be discovered in the future when it was time for those teachings to come out (the Tibetan Book of the Dead is an example of such a terma teaching). Most tertons are believed to be incarnations of Padmasambhava's 25 main disciples.

Karma Lingpa's commentary is quite long, so if you want to read it in full you may visit this site. But just to get a feel of the commentary, I give you this extract:

If this mantra is recited a hundred times a day, merely a hundred times a day without interruption, one will become attractive to others and will effortlessly come by food and wealth and the necessities of life.

If one recites it a thousand or ten thousand times on a daily basis, one is able to literally overwhelm others with one's brilliance, in the sense of becoming very charismatic and influential in exerting a positive influence over others, and one will gain unhindered force of blessings and spiritual power.

If one repeats it a hundred thousand or a million times on a regular basis one will become capable of effecting an immeasurably great benefit for beings, exactly as one would wish to.

If one recites the mantra three or seven million times, one is never separate from the buddhas of the three times and one becomes inseparable from me. All the gods and demons of existence will attend to one and offer their praises.

In the most excellent cases, individuals will attain the rainbow body, and the final level of attainment in this lifetime. On a more middling level, at the moment of death, the mother and child aspects of radiant luminosity will meet. At the very least, individuals will behold my face in the bardo state and all the appearances of the bardo state will be free in their own ground such that these individuals will be reborn on the continent of Ngayab and from that vantage point, be able to accomplish an immeasurable amount of benefit to beings.

The stated benefits of the Vajra Guru mantra are numerous, but aside from that, this mantra should also be recognizable to Arhatic Yogis in particular. After all, in his book Om Mani Padme Hum: The Blue Pearl in the Golden Lotus (available in National Bookstore), Master Choa revealed that Padmasambhava is none other than Mahaguruji Mei Ling, Master Choa's spiritual teacher.

Arhatic Yoga is a synthesis of spiritual practices from many cultures around the world, one of them being Tibet. After all, spiritual truths are universal, so they can be consistently found in different cultures and traditions. The threads that link Arhatic Yoga to its Tibetan lineage are there for those who sincerely search. As a practitioner of Arhatic Yoga, whenever I discover traces of this lineage, it makes me further appreciate my spiritual practice.