“Dharma Master Gushan said, ‘The secret mantras in sutras, as a rule, should not be translated. In the past Dharma Masters held various opinions about this, but the Tiantai School compiled them into four:
“1) A mantra contains the names of kings of ghosts and spirits. When you say the king’s name, the subjects all obey, due to their respect for their lord. They dare not cause trouble. This is a fortunate benefit for the world.
“2) The saying of a mantra is like the secret password of the military. If the reply is correct, there’s no further question. If the reply is incorrect, one is punished. This is of benefit to humankind.
“3) A mantra is a secret way to stop evil without anybody knowing it. [This is] like a lowly person who goes to another country and passes himself off as a prince. He marries the princess of that country, but he is bad-tempered and hard to attend to. Then somebody comes along who knows him and reveals his disguise. He uses a verse to expose him, which quietly puts him in his place.” (SM I 37-38, commentary omitted)
“The verse goes:
Lacking virtue, you went to another country,
And cheated all the people there.
Originally you were a poor, unfortunate man.
What right do you have to get so angry?” (SM I 38)
“This has the benefit of correcting situations and stopping evil.
“4) The mantra is the secret language of all Buddhas, and only the sages know about it. For example, when the king gives the order for saindhava, which is really one name for four things: salt, water, a vessel, and a horse, the multitude does not know what he wants. Only the wise officials know. A single phrase of the mantra is filled with many different powers: curing an illness, eradicating offenses, producing good, according with the Way, and entering into the primary truth. Mantras have these four benefits… [which correspond to the four meanings above].” (SM I 38-40, commentary omitted)
Among the better known Buddhist mantras are 1) om mani padme hum (wvbs #11 29-31), 2) the Great Compassion Mantra, and 3) the Śūraṅgama Mantra.
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