Meaning & Translation
Transliteration
Om Ben-za Sat-to Hung (Om Vaj-ra-satt-va Hum)
Pronunciation
ohm BEN-zah SAHT-toh hoong
Deity / Quality Invoked
Vajrasattva
Full Translation
Om Benza Satto Hung is the short, six-syllable form of the Vajrasattva mantra — the Tibetan pronunciation of the Sanskrit "Om Vajrasattva Hum." Vajrasattva is the Buddha of primordial purity, and his hundred-syllable mantra, of which this is the essence, is Tibetan Buddhism's foremost practice for purifying negative karma.
Spiritual Significance
In Vajrayana practice, Vajrasattva recitation is one of the four foundational practices (ngondro): the practitioner visualizes purifying light washing away the residue of harmful actions, regret transforming into clarity. The mantra carries the confidence that no negativity is permanent — everything can be purified.
Cultural Context & History
The hundred-syllable Vajrasattva mantra appears in Vajrayana liturgies transmitted from India to Tibet over a millennium ago and is recited in all four Tibetan schools. Deva Premal and the Gyuto Monks of Tibet recorded it as "Purification" on "Tibetan Mantras for Turbulent Times" (2010), with the monks intoning the full hundred syllables beneath 108 repetitions of the short form.
For Leaders
Chords and structure for leading this chant on harmonium or guitar — transcribed from the linked recording. New to leading? Read our guide to leading kirtan →
Original key
Fm
Tempo & feel
Slow purification pulse (~76 bpm); deep and steady
Chord Chart
Strumming & rhythm (4/4)
D = downstrum, U = upstrum, · = let it ring. purification pulse: deep 1, softer 3; add the up only as rounds build.
Main cycle
Lift (later rounds)
Call & Response Structure
The short Vajrasattva mantra circles an Fm drone, with Db darkening the middle of each early cycle. As the rounds build, the lift variation opens on Eb and warms through Ab before returning to Fm — use it sparingly, like sunlight crossing the chant. Monks' overtone drones sit under everything; keep the changes understated.
Terms in the Glossary
Words from this page, explained in our A–Z reference.