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Fivefold Mahāmudrā
Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudrā 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." The name also refers to a body of teachings representing 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. The practice of Mahāmudrā is also known as the teaching called "Sahajayoga" or "Co-emergence Yoga". In Tibetan Buddhism, particularly the Kagyu school, Sahaja Mahāmudrā is sometimes seen as a different Buddhist vehicle (yana), the "Sahajayana" (Tibetan: ''lhen chig kye pa''), also known as the vehicle of self-liberation. Jamgon Kongtrul, a Tibeta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudra
A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual gestures employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions, mudras have meaning in many forms of Indian dance, and yoga. The range of mudras used in each field (and religion) differs, but with some overlap. In addition, many of the Buddhist mudras are used outside South Asia, and have developed different local forms elsewhere. In hatha yoga, mudras are used in conjunction with pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), generally while in a seated posture, to stimulate different parts of the body involved with breathing and to affect the flow of prana. It is also associated with bindu, bodhicitta, amrita, or consciousness in the body. Unlike older tantric mudras, hatha yogic mudras are generally internal actions, involvin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saraha
Saraha, Sarahapa, Sarahapāda (or, in the Tibetan language མདའ་བསྣུན་, anün Wyl. mda' bsnun The Archer), (''circa'' 8th century CE) was an Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha and poet. The name ''Saraha'' means "the one who has shot the arrow.". According to one, scholar, "This is an explicit reference to an incident in many versions of his biography when he studied with a dakini disguised as a low-caste arrow smith. Metaphorically, it refers to one who has shot the arrow of non duality into the heart of duality." Saraha is considered to be one of the founders of Vajrayana Buddhism, particularly the Mahāmudrā tradition associated with the mind teachings of Tibet. Saraha was originally known as Rāhula or Rāhulabhadra and was born in Roli, a region of the city-state of Rajni in eastern India, into a Shakya family and studied at the Buddhist monastic university Nalanda. The Arrow Making Dakini Saraha is normally shown seated and holding an arrow (Skt. śaru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pala Dynasty
The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopāla by the chiefs of Gauda in late eighth century CE. The Pala stronghold was located in Bengal and eastern Bihar, which included the major cities of Gauḍa, Vikramapura, Pāṭaliputra, Monghyr, Somapura, Ramavati ( Varendra), Tāmralipta and Jagaddala. The Pālas were astute diplomats and military conquerors. Their army was noted for its vast war elephant corps. Their navy performed both mercantile and defensive roles in the Bay of Bengal. At its zenith under emperors Dharmapala and Devapala in the early ninth century, the Pala empire was the dominant power in the northern Indian subcontinent, with its territory stretching across the Gangetic plain to include some parts northeastern India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Dharmapala also exerted a strong cultural influence through Budd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahasiddhas
Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: ''mahāsiddha'' "great adept; ) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic and spiritual abilities and powers. Mahasiddhas were practitioners of yoga and tantra, or ''tantrika''s. Their historical influence throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas was vast and they reached mythic proportions as codified in their songs of realization and hagiographies, or namtars, many of which have been preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. The Mahasiddhas are identified as founders of Vajrayana traditions and lineages such as Dzogchen and Mahamudra, as well as among Bön, Nāth, and Tamil siddhars, with the same Mahasiddha sometimes serving simultaneously as a founding figure for different traditions. Robert Thurman explains the symbiotic relationship between Tantric Buddhist communities and the Buddhist un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samdhinirmocana Sutra
The ''Ārya-saṃdhi-nirmocana-sūtra'' (Sanskrit) or ''Noble Sūtra of the Explanation of the Profound Secrets'' is a Mahāyāna Buddhist text and the most important sutra of the Yogācāra school. It contains explanations of key Yogācāra concepts such as the basal-consciousness (''ālayavijñāna''), the doctrine of appearance-only (''vijñaptimātra'') and the "three own natures" (''trisvabhāva''). Étienne Lamotte considered this sutra "the link between the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' literature and the Yogācāra Vijñānavāda school". This sūtra was translated from Sanskrit into Chinese four times, the most complete and reliable of which is typically considered to be that of Xuanzang. It also was translated into Tibetan. The original Sanskrit text has not survived to the present day. Nomenclature and etymology The ''Ārya-saṃdhi-nirmocana-sūtra'' (; ''Gongpa Ngédrel'') is variously romanized as ''Sandhinirmocana Sutra'' and ''Samdhinirmocana Sutra''. The full Sanskri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
