Vajrasattva

100 hundred-Syllable MantraThe Tibetan pronunciation of the mantra differs from the original Sanskrit one. His Holiness the Dalai Lama recommends that non-Tibetans follow the original Sanskrit manner:

OM VAJRA-SATTVA SAMAYA MANU-PALAYA, VAJRA-SATTVA TVENO-PATISHTA,

DRIDHO ME BHAVA, SUTOSHYO ME BHAVA, SUPOSHYO ME BHAVA, ANURAKTO ME BHAVA,

SARVA SIDDHIM ME PRAYACCHA, SARVA KARMA SUCHA ME,

CHITTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM, HA HA HA HA HOH BHAGAVAN,

SARVA TATHAGATA VAJRA, MA ME MUNCHA,

VAJRI BHAVA, MAHA-SAMAYA-SATTVA,

AH HUM PHAT.

The literal translation of the mantra is:

Om Vajrasattva, Uphold your close bond.

Bring it about that I remain closely with this Vajrasattva-hood. Bring it about that I am stable. Bring it about that I am happy. Bring it about that I am joyous.

Bring it about that I am safeguarded. Bestow on me all actual attainments.

Make all my actions excellent. Make the mind supreme – HUM.

HA HA HA HA HO, Vanquishing Master Surpassing All, Vajra state of all Thusly Gone Ones.

Do not let me loose, O Vajra Being, being with the great bond.

AH, HUM, PHAT.

Although there are several ways of explaining each phrase of the mantra, one way is:

OM = seed syllable for body; VAJRASATTVA = diamond-strong-minded one.

O, Diamond-strong-minded One – meaning you with the indestructible state of mind, namely Vajrasattva, representing clear light blissful awareness of voidness. The OM at the beginning of the mantra goes together with the AH and HUM at the end, for speech and mind, indicating the body, speech, and mind that need to be purified and the purified states of body, speech, and mind achieved as a result of the purification.

SAMAYAM = close bond; ANUPALAYA = uphold.

Uphold the close bond – namely, the close bond or promise that through clear light blissful awareness of voidness, I will be able to purify away all karmic aftermaths.

VAJRASATTVATVA = Vajrasattva-hood; ENA = this; UPATISHTA = remain closely.

Bring it about that I remain closely with this state of Vajrasattva – in other words, the state of clear light awareness.

DRIDHO = stable; ME = me; BHAVA= make it be.

Bring it about that I am stable – through my eliminating the networks of negative karmic forces and the negative karmic tendencies from my mental continuum.

SUTOSHYO = happy; ME = me; BHAVA = make it be.

Bring it about that I am happy – through my eliminating the networks of all karmic forces and all the karmic tendencies from my mental continuum, so that I attain liberation, with its untainted happiness.

SUPOSHYO = joyous; ME = me; BHAVA = make it be.

Bring it about that I am joyous – through my eliminating all karmic constant habits, so that I attain enlightenment, with its everlasting bliss.

ANURAKTO = safeguarded; ME = me; BHAVA = make it be.

Bring it about that I am safeguarded – so that my mind never leaves clear light blissful awareness of voidness.

SARVA = all; SIDDHIM = actual attainment; ME = me; PRAYACCHA = bestow.

Bestow on me the actual attainment – specifically, the supreme actual attainment of enlightenment.

SARVA =all; KARMA = actions; SUCHA = excellent; ME = me.

May all my actions be excellent – in terms of enlightenment, may I attain a Rupakaya (a Corpus of Forms) of a Buddha, so that all my actions are excellent for best benefiting others.

CHITTAM = mind; SHRIYAM = supreme; KURU= make;

Make (my) mind supreme – in terms of enlightenment, may I attain a Dharmakaya (a Corpus Encompassing Everything), to have omniscient awareness and an all-embracing heart.

HUM = seed syllable for mind; HA = represents a building-up pathway mind (path of accumulation);

HA = represents an applying pathway mind (path of preparation); HA = represents a seeing pathway mind (path of seeing); HA = represents an accustoming pathway mind (path of meditation); HOH = represents a pathway mind needing no further training (path of no more learning).

May my mind progressively develop into the five pathway minds.

Alternatively, HA HA HA HA HOH can represent the five types of deep awareness which, in their totally purified states constitute the omniscient mind of a Buddha. In this case, the line means: May my mind develop into the five types of purified deep awareness.

BHAGAVAN = Vanquishing Master Surpassing All; SARVA = all; TATHAGATA = Thusly Gone Ones; VAJRA = diamond-strong.

And thus may I become one who has vanquished and purified away all karmic aftermaths and mastered and thus gained all good qualities, surpassing all other beings. In other words, may I attain the diamond-strong state of all those who have gone to enlightenment thusly.

MA = do not; ME = me; MUNCHA = let lose,

Do not let me lose – in other words, do not let me lose or leave clear light blissful awareness of voidness.

VAJRI = diamond-strong; BHAVA = being,

O Vajra Being – namely, Vajrasattva.

MAHA = great; SAMAYA = close bond; SATTVA = minded-one,

O you, whose mind has the great bond – in other words, O clear light blissful awareness of voidness which has the great bond to bring about complete purification.

AH – seed syllable for speech; HUM = seed syllable for mind; PHAT = stabilizing syllable.

The AH and HUM for speech and mind complete the OM at the start of the mantra for body. May all interferences to body, speech, and mind be turned away and may the purification remain stable.