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mahāmudrā

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | | Copyright

mahāmudrā (Skt.)
1. Great Seal; one of the four meditational seals (mudrā) according to yoga-tantra. It refers to the process of imaging the Buddhas in transformational meditation practice by way of their body-images (bimba) which correlate to their body aspect (see body, speech, mind).

2. A category of practices and their associated goal, especially linked with anuttara-yoga-tantra, although there are two aspects to the practice: the sūtra-based ‘ordinary’ form and the tantra-based ‘extra-ordinary’ form. In both cases, the aim of the practice is to realize the emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena, their intrinsic luminosity and the inseparable union of these two aspects. A major form of tantric Buddhist teaching and practice, mahāmudrā was transmitted to Tibet by Marpa who received it from the mahā-siddha (‘great adept’) Nāropa. From Marpa, the teachings went to Milarepa, and from him to Gampopa. Through the efforts of the latter, mahāmudrā became one of the core elements of the Kagyü school. The central element of mahāmudrā teaching involves a recognition of the inseparable nature of compassion (karuṇā) and insight (prajñā) or the identity of emptiness (śūnyatā) and saṃsāra.

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DAMIEN KEOWN. "mahāmudrā." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAMIEN KEOWN. "mahāmudrā." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-mahmudr.html

DAMIEN KEOWN. "mahāmudrā." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-mahmudr.html

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Mahāmudrā

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Mahāmudrā (Tib., Phyag.rgya.chen.po, ‘Great Symbol’). Principal religious and philosophical teaching of the Kagyü school (appearing also in Gelugpa, see GELUK) of Tibetan Buddhism. Obtained by Marpa Lotsawa from the 11th-cent. yogins Maitrīpa and Nāropa, Mahāmudrā has two aspects—sūtra and tantra. The sūtra aspects contain the teachings that the ultimate nature of reality is coincident wisdom and luminosity, bliss and emptiness (śūnyatā), while the tantra aspects concern the active realization of this truth through spiritual practices. As a teaching, Mahāmudrā falls in the zhen dong perspective of Tibetan thought, and is related also to dzogchen, especially in the realization of the three kayas (trikāya).

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JOHN BOWKER. "Mahāmudrā." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Mahāmudrā." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Mahmudr.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Mahāmudrā." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Mahmudr.html

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