"Om Mani Padme Hum" first known description of the mantra appears in the Karandavyuha Sutra (佛說大乘莊嚴寶王經/ The Buddha Teaches the Sutra of Mahayana King's Sublime Treasure), which is part of certain Mahayana canons such as the Tibetan's. It was stated inside the sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha said, "This is the most beneficial mantra, even I made this aspiration to all the million Buddhas and subsequently received this teaching from the Buddha Amitabha." This text is first dated to around the late 4th century CE to the early 5th century CE. "The Powers of the Six Syllables" The six syllables perfect the Six Paramitas of the Bodhisattvas. Gen Rinpoche, in his commentary on the Meaning of said: "The mantra Om Mani Pädme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable : "Om" it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, "Ma" helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and "Ni" helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. "Päd", the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, "Me" helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable "Hum" helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom. So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by all the Buddhas of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"
