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Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: great seal or great symbol), (Tibetan: Chagchen, Wylie: phyag chen, contraction of Chagya Chenpo, Wylie: phyag rgya chen po), is a Buddhist method of direct introduction to the nature and essence of Mind (or Buddha-nature) and the practice of stabilizing the accompanying transcendental realization. It draws upon instructions from multiple levels of Buddhism, including Sutra and Vajrayana, to provide a range of approaches to enlightenment suited to various people's needs. Mahamudra is believed to enable one to realize the mindstream's innate purity, clarity and perfection, summed up by the term 'buddha nature', the topic of the Third Turning of the Dharmachakra or the final phase of the Buddha's teaching. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The Tibetan language is spoken primarily by the Tibetan people who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, as well as by large number of Tibetan refugees all over the world. ... A silhouette of a Buddha statue at Ayutthaya, Thailand. ... Buddha-nature (originally in Sanskrit, Buddha-dhatu - Buddha Element, Buddha-Principle) is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. ... SÅ«tra (sex) (Sanskrit) or Sutta (Pāli) literally means a rope or thread that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Three Turnings of the Wheel (of Dharma) refers to a framework for understanding the exoteric teachings of the Buddha, as understood by various schools and sects of Mahayana Buddhism. ... It has been suggested that Dharma-chakra be merged into this article or section. ...

Traditions of Mahamudra

Mahamudra is most prominent in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, but is practiced by the Gelug and Sakya schools of as well, and possibly also by derivative Vajrayana orders in China, Russia and Japan. The Nyingma and Bön traditions and their derivatives practise a cognate but distinct method of direct introduction called Ati Yoga (Tib. Dzogchen). However, it is not unusual for Nyingmapas to receive supplemental training in Mahamudra, and the Palyul Nyingma lineage preserves a lineage of the Union of Mahamudra & Ati Yoga originated by Karma Chagme. The Kagyu (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་; Wylie: Bka-brgyud) school, also known as the Oral Lineage and the Spotless Practice Lineage school, is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being Nyingma (Rnying-ma), Sakya (Sa-skya), and Gelug (Dge-lugs). ... Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ... The Geluk (dge lugs) School was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), Tibets best known religious reformer and arguably its greatest philosopher. ... Sakya is one of four major schools (Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug) in Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Guru Rinpoche - Padmasambhava statue - near Kullu, India The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (the other three being the Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug). ... Bön[1] (Tibetan: བོན་; Wylie: bon; Lhasa dialect IPA: [) is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. ... This article refers to the primordial state as considered in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. ... This article refers to the primordial state as considered in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. ... Palyul is one of the six mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

All of the various Mahamudra lineages originated in India. The Profound Action Lineage of Mahamudra originated with Maitreya and Asanga, introduced to Tibet by Marpa and Atisha. Atisha passed it through the Kadampa lineage and Marpa was the source of the Kagyu both of which Gampopa joined and passed through to the present day Kagyu. The Profound View Lineage of Mahamudra, which originated with Nagarjuna, also was introduced to Tibet by Atisha. Marpa introduced to Tibet the Profound Blessing Meditation Experience Lineage of Mahamudra that originated with Vajradhara and passed to Tilopa and Naropa. Marpa also introduced a lineage tracing back through Saraha and Maitripa. The Amulet Box Tradition of Mahamudra, also originating in India, is upheld by the Shangpa Kagyu.^{[citations needed]} This article is about the Buddhist bodhisattva Maitreya. ... Asanga (also called Aryasanga), born around 300 C.E., was a great exponent of the Yogacara. ... A traditional depiction of Marpa painted on a rock on Holy Isle, Firth of Clyde Marpa Lotsawa (1012-1097), or Marpa the translator was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India, including the teachings and lineages of vajrayana and mahamudra. ... AtiÅ›a Dipamkara Shrijnana (Bangla: অতীশ দীপঙ্কর শ্রীজ্ঞান) (982 - 1054 CE) was a Buddhist teacher who reintroduced Buddhism into Tibet after King Langdharma had nearly destroyed it. ... The Kadampa (Bka-gdams-pa) Tradition was a Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist school. ... Gampopa or Dakpo Rinpoche (1016-1053) was the formost student of the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Milarepa. ... The Kagyu (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་; Wylie: Bka-brgyud) school, also known as the Oral Lineage and the Spotless Practice Lineage school, is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being Nyingma (Rnying-ma), Sakya (Sa-skya), and Gelug (Dge-lugs). ... For other uses, see Nagarjuna (disambiguation). ... vajradhara (lit. ... Tilopa (Tibetan; Sankrit: Talika, 988 - 1069) was an Indian tantric practitioner, regarded as the human founder of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. ... Naropa (Tibetan; Sanskrit: Nadaprada, 1016-1100) was an Indian Buddhist mystic and monk, the pupil of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner, of Niguma. ... Saraha (or Sarahapa or Sarahapad) Originally known as Rahulbhadra, he is considered to be the first poet of Hindi by Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan. ... The Shangpa Kagyu is a relatively obscure sub-sect of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

In the Kagyu tradition

The Kagyu lineage divides the Mahamudra teachings into three types, sutra Mahamudra, tantra Mahamudra, and essence Mahamudra. Sutra Mahamudra, as the name suggests, draws its philosophical view and meditation techniques from the sutrayana tradition. Tantric Mahamudra employs such tantric techniques as tummo and dream yoga, two of the six yogas of Naropa. Essence Mahamudra is based on the direct instruction of a qualified lama. Tumo (also spelled Tummo, or Tum-mo ) is a Tibetan term for a type of contemplative practice that causes an intense sensation of body heat to arise. ... The six yogas of Naropa describe a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric meditation practices compiled in and around the time of the Indian monk and mystic Naropa (1016-1100 C.E.), and conveyed to his student Marpa the translator. ...

Among the most prominent practitioners and scholars of Mahamudra in the Kagyu tradition are the Third and Ninth Karmapas, Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, Thrangu Rinpoche, and Dakpo Tashi Namgyal. Important texts are: Rangjung Dorje (rang byung rdo rje) (b. ... Wangchuk Dorje (1556-1603) was the ninth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. ... Tsele Natsok Rangdröl (rtse le sna tshogs rang grol). ... Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche Thrangu Rinpoche (/trɔŋgu rinpotʃe/) was born in 1933 in Kham, Tibet. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Third Karmapa

• Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra

Ninth Karmapa

• Pointing Out the Dharmakaya (Chos sku mdzub tshugs)
• An Ocean of the Definite Meaning (Nges don rGya mtsho)
• Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance

Dakpo Tashi Namgyal

• Clarifying the Natural State
• Moonlight of Mahamudra

Tsele Natsok Rangdrol

• Lamp of Mahamudra

In the Gelug tradition

The First and Second Panchen lamas wrote important discourses about Mahamudra from the Gelug perspective.

In Chinese Buddhism

Mahamudra is taught in the True Buddha School of Chinese Buddhist master Lu Sheng-yen, who teaches and writes on the topic of Mahamudra practice. However, there have been disputes concerning the authenticity of his teaching. The True Buddha School is regarded as a cult ^{[citation needed]} and is not recognised as an authentic Buddhist school within Buddhism. Casey, Noah. ... This article explores how Buddhism, a Indian origin, has affected and been affected by Chinese culture, politics, literature and philosophy. ... This article is about the Chinese Buddhist master. ...

The term Mahamudra

The term mahamudra is often explained as referring to the uncontestable validity of the experience. For example, if a document bears the Great Seal of the Emperor, then there is no question as to the authenticity of that document. Similarly, during the genuine experience of mahamudra, one has no question that one is directly glimpsing the nature of Mind (which is Tathāgatagarbha, realization that it is possible to achieve Buddhahood) and that recalling and stabilizing this experience leads to profound certainty and eventual enlightenment.^{[citations needed]} In Mahayana Buddhism, the Tathāgatagarbha doctrine (often essentially the same as the Buddha nature concept) teaches that each sentient being contains the intrinsic, effulgent Buddhic element or indwelling potency for becoming a Buddha. ... Bodhi (बोधि) is the Pāli and Sanskrit word for the awakened or knowing consciousness of a fully liberated yogi, generally translated into English as enlightenment. It is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root budh (to awake, become aware, notice, know or understand), corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (P...

Mahamudra meditation

Mahamudra meditation practice works to directly reveal emptiness to one's own direct experience in one's own mind. This is achieved by meditating directly on one's own mind. This is known as "taking the path of direct valid cognition"—it emphasizes directly experiencing the phenomena of one's own mind and experiencing emptiness.

As in all Buddhist schools of meditation, the basic meditative practice of Mahamudra is divided into two approaches: śamatha ("tranquility") and vipaśyanā ("insight"). Samatha (Pāli; Sanskrit: Å›amatha), Tranquility or concentration meditation. ... Vipassanā (Pāli) or vipaÅ›yanā (Sanskrit) means insight. While it is often referred to as Buddhist meditation, the practice taught by the Buddha was non-sectarian, and has universal application. ...

The meditation manuals (in particular those of The 9th Karmapa) are among the most detailed and precise in the Buddhist literature. For tranquility practice they enumerate the stages of settling the mind and specify many common problems (eg. excitement, torpor, doubt, apathy) and practices to remedy these problems. The objects of meditation are simple objects, statues of the Buddha, the breath, mantras, complex visualizations and deities and Yidams. These objects of mediation are common throughout Tibetan Vajrayana practice. Wangchuk Dorje (1556-1603) was the ninth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. ... In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Yidam (Tibetan) or Ishtadevata (Sanskrit) is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. ...

The detailed instructions for the Insight practices are what make Mahamudra (and Dzogchen) unique. This article refers to the primordial state as considered in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. ...

The meditator is instructed to observe the mind at rest and then during the occurrence of thought. In some practices disturbing emotions are deliberately invoked and the meditator is directed to experience their "empty" nature. The meditator is further instructed to observe that which is looking for the nature of the mind: to observe the observer.

Questions are posed to the meditator to verify the experiences, to trigger further insight and to identify and correct misconceptions. The Ocean of Definitive Meaning and Pointing out the Dharmakaya (9th Karmapa) both enumerate these questions and common answers to them.

A relationship with a teacher is strongly stressed, and in the former Tibet these texts would not have been available except through a teacher and without having completed preliminary practices. Some parts of the transmission are done verbally and through empowerments and "reading transmissions". In particular the teacher directly Points out the Mind of the Student.

The Soto Zen practice of meditation bears many similarities with Mahamudra. In both traditions the direct pointing-out transmission occurs between master and disciple. The Mahamudra teachings, however, on both tranquility and insight meditation are much more detailed than in the Soto schools. For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation). ...

Mahamudra in Hindu Yoga

The term mahamudra is sometimes applied to the asana (posture, mudra) of the legs in lotus position, the spine quite erect and the hands resting palm up in the lap (thumbs usually touching). The term is also apparently used in the Kriya Yoga tradition to name a series of dynamic yoga positions, done in conjunction with the breath, with the purpose of awakening the kundalini energy. H. H. Sri Swami Rama demonstrates Sukhasana or Easy pose, the most basic seated posture Padmasana or Lotus pose is a more advanced seated posture Chakrasana or Wheel pose is a backbending pose Asana, Sanskrit for sitting posture (asanam is sitting or ass / aste is he sits), is a body... A mudrā (Sanskrit, मुद्रा, literally seal) is a symbolic gesture usually made with the hand or fingers. ... Kodo Sawaki in lotus position practices meditation in Zen The first pictorial representation of the lotus position is seen in the ancient Indian depiction of Shiva as Pashupati, Lord of Beasts, in Harappa The lotus position (Sanskrit: Padmasanam -- lotus posture) is a cross-legged sitting posture which originated in representations... Kriya Yoga is a very specific system of Yoga that was revived in modern times by Lahiri Mahasaya, c 1861. ... Kundalini ( ) is a Sanskrit word meaning either coiled up or coiling like a snake. ...

See also

• Mudra
• Tilopa
• Naropa
• Kagyu

A mudrā (Sanskrit, मुद्रा, literally seal) is a symbolic gesture usually made with the hand or fingers. ... Tilopa (Tibetan; Sankrit: Talika, 988 - 1069) was an Indian tantric practitioner, regarded as the human founder of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. ... Naropa (Tibetan; Sanskrit: Nadaprada, 1016-1100) was an Indian Buddhist mystic and monk, the pupil of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner, of Niguma. ... The Kagyu (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་; Wylie: Bka-brgyud) school, also known as the Oral Lineage and the Spotless Practice Lineage school, is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being Nyingma (Rnying-ma), Sakya (Sa-skya), and Gelug (Dge-lugs). ...

Further reading

• Ray, Reginald (2000). Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 1-570-62166-7, ISBN 0-399-14218-5

External links

• Gampopa's Essence of Mind, Mahamudra, One Sufficient Path & Commentary by Tenga Rinpoche
• A Guide To Shamatha Meditation
• Dhagpo Kagyu index of teachings
• Mahamudra Meditation Guide
• Mahamudra in Dr.Berzin Archives
• Heart of the Mahamudra (Song of the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa)
• Teachings related to the Mahamudra Curriculum (By Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche)