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Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit; Tibetan: Chagchen, Wylie: phyag chen, contraction of Chagya Chenpo, Wylie: phyag rgya chen po) literally means "great seal" or "great symbol." It "is a multivalent term of great importance in later Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism" which "also occurs occasionally in Hindu and East Asian Buddhist esotericism."[1]
The name refers to the way one who has realized mahāmudrā (that is, one who has succeeded in the practices of mahāmudrā) experiences reality: mudra refers to the fact that each phenomenon appears vividly, and maha refers to the fact that it is beyond concept, imagination, and projection.[2]
Mahāmudrā is a body of teachings that represents the culmination of all the practices of the new translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism, who believe it to be the quintessential message of all of their sacred texts.[2]
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The usage and meaning of the term mahāmudrā evolved over the course of hundreds of years of Indian and Tibetan history, and as a result, the term may refer variously to "a ritual hand-gesture, one of a sequence of 'seals' in Tantric practice, the nature of reality as emptiness, a meditation procedure focusing on the nature of mind, an innate blissful gnosis cognizing emptiness nondually, or the supreme attainment of buddhahood at the culmination of the Tantric path."[1]
It has been speculated that the first use of the term was in the c. 7th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, in which it refers to a hand gesture.[1] The term is mentioned with increasing frequency as Buddhist tantra developed further, particularly in the Yogatantras, where it appears in Tattvasaṁgraha and the Vajraśekhara-tantra. Here it also denotes a hand gesture, now linked to three other hand mudrās—the action (karma), pledge (samaya), and dharma mudrās—but also involves "mantra recitations and visualizations that symbolize and help to effect one’s complete identification with a deity’s divine form or awakening mind (bodhicitta)."[1] In Mahāyoga tantras such as the Guhyasamāja tantra, it "has multiple meanings, including a contemplation-recitation conducive to the adamantine body, speech, and mind of the tathāgatas; and the object-—emptiness-—through realization of which 'all is accomplished,'" and it is also used as a synonym for awakened mind, which is said to be "primordially unborn, empty, unarisen, nonexistent, devoid of self, naturally luminous, and immaculate like the sky."[1]
In the yoginī or Anuttarayoga tantras, mahāmudrā "emerges as a major Buddhist concept."[1]> As scholar Roger Jackson explains,
Though still connected there to creation-stage maṇḍala practice, it is more often related to completion-stage meditations involving the manipulation of mental and physical forces in the subtle body so as to produce a divine form and a luminous, blissful, nonconceptual gnosis. In the completion-stage discussions in such Tantric systems as the Hevajra, Cakrasaṁvara, and Kālacakra, mahāmudrā has three especially important meanings. First, it may refer to a practitioner’s female consort in sexual yoga practices. Second, as before, it is one of a sequence of mudrās corresponding to various Buddhist concepts, experiences, and path-stages. Here, though, it usually is the culmination of the series, a direct realization of the nature of mind and reality that transcends and perfects other, more conventional seals, including those involving actual or visualized sexual yoga. Third, Mahāmudrā by itself connotes the ultimate truth, realization, or achievement of yoginī Tantra practice: the great seal that marks all phenomena and experiences; a synonym for suchness, sameness, emptiness, space, and the goddess Nairātmyā (no-self); unchanging bliss beyond object and subject, shape, thought, or expression; and the ultimate gnostic attainment, mahāmudrā-siddhī.[1]
Thubten Yeshe explains: "Mahāmudrā means absolute seal, totality, unchangeability. Sealing something implies that you cannot destroy it. Mahāmudrā was not created or invented by anybody; therefore it cannot be destroyed. It is absolute reality".[3]
Aryadeva summarises: "The discussion of how to attain mahāmudrā entails methods for meditating on mind itself as something having voidness as its nature".[4]
Mahāmudrā is most well known as a teaching within the Kagyu (w. Bka´ brgyud) lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. However the Tibetan Buddhist Gelug and Sakya schools also practice mahāmudrā, as does Shingon Buddhism, the other major sub-school of the Vajrayana. The Nyingma and Bön traditions practise Dzogchen, a cognate but distinct method of direct introduction to the empty nature of mind. Nyingma students may also receive supplemental training in mahāmudrā, and the Palyul Nyingma lineage preserves a lineage of the "Union of Mahāmudrā and Ati Yoga" originated by Karma Chagme.
All of the various Tibetan mahāmudrā lineages originated with the tantric Mahasiddhas of the Pala Empire India in the 8th to 12th Centuries. The 'Profound Action' lineage originated with Maitreya and Asanga and was introduced to Tibet by Marpa and Atisha. Marpa introduced the lineage to the Kagyu school and Atisha to the Kadam school, which later produced the Gelug school. Gampopa later received both the Kagyu and Kadam transmissions of the lineage and passed them through to the present day Kagyu. The 'Profound View' lineage of mahāmudrā, which originated with Nagarjuna, also was introduced to Tibet by Atisha. Marpa introduced to Tibet the 'Profound Blessing Meditation Experience' lineage that is believed to have originated with the primordial Buddha Vajradhara and was passed to Tilopa and Naropa. Marpa also introduced a mahāmudrā lineage that traced back through Saraha and Maitripa.
The Kagyu lineage divides the mahāmudrā teachings into three types, "sutra mahāmudrā," "tantra mahāmudrā," and "essence mahāmudrā," in a formulation that appears to originate with Jamgon Kongtrul.[5] Sutra mahāmudrā, as the name suggests, draws its philosophical view and meditation techniques from the sutrayana tradition. Tantric mahāmudrā employs such tantric techniques as tummo, dream yoga, and clear light yoga, three of the six yogas of Naropa. Essence mahāmudrā is based on the direct instruction of a qualified lama, known as pointing-out instruction.
There have been many prominent practitioners and scholars of mahāmudrā in the Kagyu tradition. The Third Karmapa wrote 'Aspiration Prayer of Mahāmudrā'.[6] The Ninth Karmapa wrote 'Pointing Out the Dharmakaya' (Tibetan: Chos sku mdzub tshugs); 'An Ocean of the Definite Meaning' (Tibetan:Nges don rGya mtsho) and 'Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance'. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol wrote the 'Lamp of Mahāmudrā' and Dakpo Tashi Namgyal wrote 'Clarifying the Natural State' and 'Moonlight of Mahāmudrā'.
The particular Kagyu propensity to blend sutric and tantric traditions of mahāmudrā was a point of controversy in Tibet, with Sakya Pandita one of the most prominent critics thereof. As scholar Klaus-Dieter Mathes notes
Certain aspects of the Bka´ brgyud teachings on mahāmudrā, such as the possibility of a sudden liberating realization or the possibility that a beginner may attain mahāmudrā even without Tantric initiation, became a highly controversial issue in the 13th century. For Sa skya Paṇḍita (1182–1251), such teachings represented a new development stemming from a Sino-Tibetan influence on Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen (1079–1153). Later Bka´ brgyud pas defended their not specifically Tantric or sūtra mahāmudrā tradition by adducing Indian sources such as the Tattvadaśakaṭīkā or the Tattvāvatāra. These belong to a genre of literature which the Seventh Karmapa Chos grags rgya mtsho (1454–1506) called “Indian mahāmudrā-Works” (phyag chen rgya gzhung). . . . Dr. Mathes investigated the practice described in these mahāmudrā works and found that it is not necessarily Tantric. In Saraha´s dohās it is simply the realization of mind´s co-emergent nature with the help of a genuine guru. Maitrīpa (ca. 1007– ca. 1085) uses the term mahāmudrā for precisely such an approach, thus employing an originally Tantric term for something that is not a specifically Tantric practice. It is thus legitimate for later Bka´ brgyud pas to speak of Saraha´s mahāmudrā tradition as being originally independent of the Sūtras and the Tantras. For Maitrīpa, the direct realization of emptiness (or the co-emergent) is the bridging link between the Sūtras and the Tantras, and it is thanks to this bridge that mahāmudrā can be linked to the Sūtras and the Tantras. In the Sūtras it takes the form of the practice of non-abiding and becoming mentally disengaged, while in the Tantras it occupies a special position among the four mudrās.[7]
The First Panchen Lama identified a number of mahāmudrā lineages, according to their main practices for achieving mahāmudrā:
From the point of view of individually ascribed names, there are numerous traditions, such as those of the simultaneously arising as merged, the amulet box, possessing five, the six spheres of equal taste, the four syllables, the pacifier, the object to be cut off, dzogchen, the discursive madhyamaka view, and so on.[4]
In his teachings on the First Panchen Lama's root text and auto-commentary the Dalai Lama XIV delineated the Kagyu practice lineages as follows:[8]
The First and Second Panchen Lamas wrote important discourses about mahāmudrā from the Gelug perspective. The main text of the First Panchen Lama is 'A root text for the precious Gelug/Kagyu tradition of mahāmudrā: The Main Road of the Triumphant Ones' (Tibetan:dGe ldan bka' brgyud rin po che'i phyag chen rtsa ba rgyal ba'i gzhung lam zhes bya ba) .
According to Alexander Berzin:
The Kagyu and Gelug/Kagyu traditions have both sutra and anuttarayoga tantra levels of the practice, while Sakya only an anuttarayoga one. In other words, Sakya mahāmudrā focuses only on the nature of clear light mental activity, while the other two traditions include focus on the nature of the other levels of mental activity as well.[9]
The advice and guidance of a qualified teacher is considered to be very important in learning and practicing mahāmudrā meditation. Most often mahāmudrā (particularly essence mahāmudrā) is preceded by pointing-out instruction.
Before the 1955 invasion of Tibet, many of the texts and information that are now available would have been esoteric and restricted. The Dalai Lama has been influential in making public some of these formerly esoteric Tibetan teachings, while still some remain entirely esoteric, available to a student only through a private guru-student relationship.
Some parts of the transmission are done verbally and through empowerments and "reading transmissions". A student typically goes through various tantric practices before undertaking the "formless" practices described below; the latter are classified as part of "essence mahāmudrā".[10] Ngondro is the preliminary practice common to both mahāmudrā and dzogchen traditions. According to one scholar, most people have difficulty beginning directly with formless practices and lose enthusiasm doing so, so the tantric practices work as a complement to the formless ones.[11]
As in most Buddhist schools of meditation, the basic meditative practice of mahāmudrā is divided into two approaches: śamatha ("tranquility","calm abiding") and vipaśyanā ("special insight"). This division is contained in the instructions given by Wangchuk Dorje, the ninth Karmapa, in a series of texts he composed; these epitomize teachings given on mahāmudrā practice.[12]
Mahāmudrā śamatha contains instructions on ways to sit with proper posture. The mahāmudrā shamatha teachings also include instructions on how to work with a mind that is beset with various impediments to focusing,[13] such as raising the gaze when one feels dull or sleepy, and lowering it again when one feels overly excited. Two types of mahāmudrā śamatha are generally taught śamatha with support and śamatha without support.
Mahāmudrā śamatha with support involves the use of an object of attention to which the meditator continually returns his or her attention. One of the main techniques involved in Mahāmudrā śamatha with support is mindfulness of breathing (S. ānāpānasmṛti). Mindfulness of breathing practice is considered to be quite profound means of calming the mind to prepare it for the stages that follow. For the Kagyupa, in the context of mahāmudrā, mindfulness of breathing is thought to be the ideal way for the meditator to transition into taking the mind itself as the object of meditation and generating vipaśyanā on that basis.[14] The prominent contemporary Kagyu/Nyingma master Chogyam Trungpa, expressing the Kagyu Mahāmudrā view, wrote, "your breathing is the closest you can come to a picture of your mind. It is the portrait of your mind in some sense. . .The traditional recommendation in the lineage of meditators that developed in the Kagyu-Nyingma tradition is based on the idea of mixing mind and breath."[15]
In objectless meditation, one rests the mind without the use of a specific focal point.
The detailed instructions for the insight practices are what make mahāmudrā (and dzogchen) unique in Tibetan Buddhism. In Mahāmudrā vipaśyanā, Wangchuck Dorje gives ten separate contemplations that are use to disclose the essential mind within; five practices of "looking at" and five of "pointing out" the nature of mind. They all presume some level of stillness cultivated by mahāmudrā shamatha. In retreat, each contemplation would typically be assigned specific time periods.[16]
The five practices for "looking at" the nature of the mind are as follows:[17]
The practices for "pointing out the nature of mind" build on these. One now looks again at each of the five, but this time repeatedly asks oneself "What is it?" In these practices, one attempts to recognize and realize the exact nature of, respectively:
The above practices do not have specific "answers"; they serve to provoke one to scrutinize experience more and more closely over time, seeking to understand what is really there.[18]
Mahāmudrā is sometimes divided into four distinct phases known as the four yogas of mahāmudrā (S. catvāri mahāmudrā yoga, Wylie: phyag rgya chen po'i rnal 'byor bzhi). They are as follows:[19]
These stages parallel the four yogas of dzogchen semde.
The four yogas of mahāmudrā have been correlated with the Mahāyāna five paths (S. pañcamārga) as follows:
According to Tsele Natsok Rangdrol (Lamp of Mahāmudrā ):
According Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (Moonlight of Mahāmudrā)
According Je Gyare as reported by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (Moonlight of Mahāmudrā)
According Drelpa Dönsal as reported by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (Moonlight of Mahāmudrā)
Tilopa was a Bengali mahasiddha who developed the mahāmudrā method around 1,000 C.E. Tilopa gave Naropa, his successor, a teaching on mahāmudrā meditation called the Six Words of Advice.
In the following chart a translation is given of the Tilopa's Six Words of Advice.[20]
| First short, literal translation | Later long, explanatory translation | Tibetan (Wylie transliteration) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don’t recall | Let go of what has passed | mi mno |
| 2 | Don’t imagine | Let go of what may come | mi bsam |
| 3 | Don’t think | Let go of what is happening now | mi shes |
| 4 | Don’t examine | Don’t try to figure anything out | mi dpyod |
| 5 | Don’t control | Don’t try to make anything happen | mi sgom |
| 6 | Rest | Relax, right now, and rest | rang sar bzhag |
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