Ritual · “Repetition Rewires”
The Five Warrior Syllables (Tibetan Sound Healing): A OM HUNG RAM DZA
To use sacred seed-sounds, sung on the breath at five chakras, to clear obstacles of body, speech, mind, qualities and action, and to rest in the open awareness (‘inner refuge’) that follows each sound.
Five Warrior Syllables in 5 lines: Settle into stillness (inner refuge). Then sing each on the out-breath and rest in silence after: A (brow, white — body), OM (throat, red — speech), HUNG (heart, blue — mind), RAM (navel, red — qualities), DZA (lower belly, green — action). Feel each vibrate and clear; the silence after each is the practice. End resting in open, warm awareness.
What it is
The Five Warrior Syllables — A, OM, HUNG, RAM, DZA — are five “indestructible” seed-sounds at the heart of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s Tibetan Sound Healing.
Each is sung aloud on the breath at a particular chakra, where it is held to clear a layer of obscuration and reveal an enlightened quality: A (body), OM (speech), HUNG (mind), RAM (virtuous qualities), DZA (enlightened action).
They are called warriors because the sounds are “powerful and indestructible,” able to cut through fear and ignorance. The practice repeatedly alternates sounding with silent resting in awareness — the sound clears, and the silence after is where you recognise your natural mind.
The Method
As Rinpoche teaches it in Tibetan Sound Healing (Sounds True, 2006):
- Settle and connect with the inner refuge. Sit comfortably, spine upright. Bring attention inward and rest briefly in stillness, silence, and spaciousness (the three doors / inner refuge). Often begin with the Nine Breathings of Purification or inner tsa lung to clear and centre.
- Sound each syllable on a full exhale, then rest in silence. For each of the five, take a comfortable breath, sing the syllable out loud on the exhalation at its location, feel it vibrate and clear that area, then stop and rest in the silent, open awareness that follows before moving on. The silence after each sound is as important as the sound.
- A — third eye / forehead-crown, white. Body. Sound a long, open “Aaah.” It clears obscurations of the body and reveals the changeless, unconditioned dimension. Rest in spacious awareness.
- OM — throat chakra, red. Speech. Sound “Ommm.” It clears obscurations of speech/energy and reveals unceasing, perfected speech. Rest.
- HUNG — heart chakra, blue. Mind. Sound “Hung.” It clears obscurations of the mind and reveals undeluded, luminous mind. Rest in the heart’s openness.
- RAM — navel chakra, red. Virtuous qualities. Sound “Ram.” It ripens and brings forth positive qualities (love, compassion, joy, equanimity). Rest.
- DZA — secret chakra (lower belly/pelvic floor), green. Enlightened action. Sound “Dza.” It activates spontaneous enlightened action in the world. Rest.
- Close in open awareness. After the fifth, stop sounding altogether and rest, bathed in the warmth and clarity the sounds have opened — abiding in the natural mind for as long as it lasts. Optionally dedicate the practice. (Sourcing note: the five syllables, their order, chakra locations, colours, and the body/speech/mind/qualities/action correspondences are Rinpoche’s documented teaching. The alternation of sounding then resting in silence/inner refuge is central to his method. Wording of the sounds is faithful paraphrase; “Aaah/Ommm/Hung/Ram/Dza” are his transliterations.)
Source & Lineage
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (b. 1961) is a lama of the Yungdrung Bön tradition and founder of Ligmincha International. The Five Warrior Syllables come from Bön Dzogchen seed-syllable practice; he presented them for a general audience in Tibetan Sound Healing (2006, with CD).
They are tied to the Five Pure Lights / Five Wisdoms and are often paired with the Nine Breathings and Tsa Lung movements as one integrated body-breath-sound system.
The Traditions' versions
Mantra / japa — repeated sacred sound to focus mind and transform state.
- Bīja (seed) syllables of Indian tantra — LAM/VAM/RAM/YAM/HAM at the chakras; same seed-at-centre logic.
- OM / pranava chanting — single sustained toning for calm and absorption.
- Toning & overtone/vocal sound healing (Western) — vocalised sound directed at the body for release.
- The 3 Doors inner refuge — the silent resting between sounds.
Common refinements
Skipping the silence. The most common error: rushing sound to sound. The rest in awareness after each syllable is where the practice does its work.
- Forcing volume. Sing comfortably; straining the throat or going too loud causes light-headedness and tension. Quiet, resonant, sustained beats loud.
- Treating it as pronunciation drill. Exact “correct” sound matters less than feeling the vibration at the location and then resting.
- No felt location. Place the sound where it belongs (A at the brow, OM throat, HUNG heart, RAM navel, DZA lower belly) and feel it vibrate there.
- No grounding/inner-refuge start. Begin by settling into stillness; ending abruptly without resting wastes the opening.