but, so far as I know, there is nothing to show that these were not introduced from Tibet into China and thence found their way further East.  The hypothesis that they were known in India and thence exported to Tibet on one side and China on the other naturally suggests itself, but the total absence of praying machines in India as well as in the ruined cities of Central Asia and the general Hindu habit of regarding scriptures and spells as words rather than written documents lend it no support.  It may be that when the illiterate Tibetans first became acquainted with written prayers, they invented this singular method of utilizing them without reading them.

Equally obscure is the origin of the formula Om mani padme[1051] hum, which permeates Tibet, uttered by every human voice, revolved in countless machines, graven on the rocks, printed on flags.  It is obviously a Dharani[1052] and there is no reason to doubt that it came to Tibet with the first introduction of Buddhism, but also no record.  The earliest passage hitherto quoted for its occurrence is a Chinese translation made between 980 and 1001 A.D.[1053] and said to correspond with the Kanjur and the earliest historical mention of its use is found in Willelm de Rubruk (1254) and in the writings of Bu-ston.[1054] The first legend of its origin is contained in the Manikambum, a work of doubtful age and authorship but perhaps as old as the fifteenth century.[1055] The popularity of the prayer may date from the time when the pontiffs of Lhasa were recognized as incarnations of Avalokita.  The first and last words are mystic syllables such as often occur in these formulae.  Mani padme is generally interpreted to mean the jewel in the lotus,[1056] but Thomas has pointed out that it is more consonant with grammar and usage to regard the syllables as one word and the vocative of a feminine title similar to Padmapani, one of Avalokita’s many names.  The analogy of similar spells supports this interpretation and it seems probable that the formula was originally an invocation of the Sakti under the title of Manipadma, although so far as I know it is now regarded by the Tibetans as an address to the male Avalokita.  It has also been suggested that the prominence of this prayer may be due to Manichaean influence and the idea that it contained the name of Mani.  The suggestion is not absurd for in many instances Manichaeism and Buddhism were mixed together, but if it were true we should expect to find the formula frequently used in the Tarim basin, but of such use there is no proof.

FOOTNOTES: 

[Footnote 1012:  The Shingon sect in Japan depict benevolent deities in a raging form, Funnu.  See Kokka, No. 292, p. 58.  The idea goes back to India where the canons of sacred art recognize that deities can be represented in a pacific (santa or saumya) or in a terrific (ugra or raudra) form.  See Gopinath Rao, Hindu Iconography, vol.  I. p. 19, and vol.  II of the same for a lengthy description of the aspects of Siva.]