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mahā-siddha

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | 558 words | Copyright

mahā-siddha (Skt, great adept). A great accomplished master, especially connected with Vajrayāna practices, who displays magical powers (siddhi) as an outward sign of his or her attainment. The 84 Indian mahā-siddhas, whose number includes several women adepts, are well-known as representatives of antinomian forms of tantric Buddhism, who flourished between the 8th and 12th centuries ce. Short accounts of their careers and activities are contained in the Biographies of the Eighty-Four Mahāsiddhas, surviving in Tibet translation.

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