[Buddha-l] Om mani padme hum IN "Western Self, Asian Other"

[Richard Hayes]

On Jan 2, 2010, at 10:10 AM, JKirkpatrick wrote:

> Why can't it be the "jewel of (belonging to, from the) the lotus"?

I think the most insightful observations on mantras was given by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Through the Looking Glass.

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."