Tricycle | Awake in the World

The Sanskrit word mantra combines the root man (“to think”) with the suffix tra (“instrument” or “tool”). Therefore, mantra means literally “tool for thinking.” Since earliest Buddhist times, the repetition of sacred phrases has been used as an aid for meditation - to purify and focus the mind, to offer devotion or thanks, and to protect and nurture the spiritual activity of a particular person or place. Some authors differentiate between bijas, or “seed syllables” (pure sounds, such as om); “mixed” mantra, which combine bijas with words having translatable meanings; and dharanis (phrases that are similar in function to mantras but can be translated word for word).

Though some traditions lay claim to the ultimate mantra - the one that includes or surpasses all others - in most cases such claims can be taken simply as an expression of profound appreciation by those who practice and take them to heart.