(, ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra where it is also referred to as the sadaksara (six syllabled) and the paramahrdaya, or “innermost heart” of Avalokiteshvara. In this text the mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings. The precise meaning and significance of the words remains much discussed by Buddhist scholars. The literal meaning in English has been expressed as "praise to the jewel in the lotus", or as a declarative aspiration possibly meaning "I in the jewel-lotus". Padma is the Sanskrit for the Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), and mani for "jewel", as in a type of spiritual "jewel" widely referred to in Buddhism. The first word, aum/om, is a sacred syllable in various Indian religions, and hum represents the spirit of enlightenment. In Tibetan Buddhism, this is the most ubiquitous mantra and the most popular form of religious practice, performed by laypersons and monastics alike. It is also an ever present feature of the landscape, commonly carved onto rocks, known as mani stones, painted into the sides of hills or else it is written on prayer flags and prayer wheels. Due to the increased interactions between Chinese Buddhists and Tibetans and Mongolians during the 11th century, the mantra also entered Chinese Buddhism. The mantra has also been adapted into Chinese Taoism. Meaning and effects Semantic Mantras may be interpreted by practitioners in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict semantic meaning. The middle part of the mantra, , is often interpreted as being in the locative case, "jewel in the lotus", Sanskrit "jewel, gem, cintamani" and the locative of "lotus". The lotus is a symbol present throughout Indian religion, signifying purity (due to its ability to emerge unstained from the mud) and spiritual fruition (and thus, awakening). Maṇipadme is preceded by the syllable and followed by the syllable, both interjections without linguistic meaning, but widely known as divine sounds. However, according to Donald Lopez (citing Tibetan grammatical sources) it is much more likely that is in fact a vocative, addressing a bodhisattva called , "Jewel-Lotus"- an alternative epithet of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Damien Keown also notes that another theory about the meaning of the mantra is that it actually invokes a female deity named Manipadmi. This is due