Om Mandala with Om Mane Padme Hum Mantra is handpainted in Nepal.
In Tibetan Buddhism, Om is often placed at the beginning of mantras and dharanis. Probably the most well-known mantra is "Om mani Padme Hum", the six-syllable mantra of the Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokitesvara.
This mantra is particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteśvara. Moreover, as a seed syllable (bija mantra), Aum is considered sacred and holy in Esoteric Buddhism.
Some scholars interpret the first word of the mantra oṃ maṇipadme hūṃ to be auṃ, with a meaning similar to Hinduism - the totality of sound, existence, and consciousness.
Om described by the 14th Dalai Lama as:
Composed of three pure letters, A, U, and M. These symbolize the impure body, speech, and mind of everyday unenlightened life of a practitioner; they also symbolize the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of an enlightened Buddha." According to Simpkins, Om is a part of many mantras in Tibetan Buddhism and is a symbolism for "wholeness, perfection and the infinite.
