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Mudra: A certain class of exercises in Hatha Yoga; symbols shown in hands during worship.
Mudra(Sanskrit) ::: A general name for certain intertwinings or positions of the fingers of the two hands, usedalone or together, in devotional yoga or exoteric religious worship, and these mudras or digital positionsare held by many Oriental mystics to have particular esoteric significance. They are found both in theBuddhist statues of northern Asia, especially those belonging to the Yogachara school, and also in Indiawhere they are perhaps particularly affected by the Hindu tantrikas. There is doubtless a good deal of hidefficacy in holding the fingers in proper position during meditation, but to the genuine occult student thesymbolic meaning of such mudras or digital positions is by far more useful and interesting. The subject istoo intricate, and of importance too small, to call for much detail of explanation here, or even to attempt afull exposition of the subject.
Mudra ::: Sanskrit for "gesture". A hand position. The ways in which the hands are situated in meditative practice can change awareness and movement of the mind and can also be utilized to work magic and sculpt reality.
Mudra (Sanskrit) Mudrā A symbol of power over invisible evil influences, whether as a simple posture or a posture considered as a talisman. Applied to certain positions of the fingers practiced in devotion, meditation, or exoteric religious worship, thought by some to imitate ancient Sanskrit characters, and therefore to have magic efficacy and to have a particular esoteric significance. Used both in the Northern Buddhist Yogacharya school and by the Hindu Tantrikas, with both symbolic and practical meanings.
Mudra: The “mystic seal” of Oriental occultism; a series of occult signs made with the fingers, and considered to have magical effects.
mudra ::: a position of the hands; the use of the hands to shut the ears mudra to outward sounds.
TERMS ANYWHERE
83. Samudra (T. Rgya mtsho nas nor bu len mkhan)
abhayamudrA. (T. mi 'jigs pa'i phyag rgya; C. shiwuwei yin; J. semuiin; K. simuoe in 施無畏印). In Sanskrit, "the gesture of fearlessness" or "gesture of protection"; also sometimes called the gesture of granting refuge. This gesture (MUDRA) is typically formed with the palm of the right hand facing outward at shoulder height and the fingers pointing up, although both hands may simultaneously be raised in this posture in a double abhayamudrA. Occasionally, the index, second, or third finger touches the thumb, with the remaining fingers extended upward. This gesture is associated with sAKYAMUNI Buddha immediately following his enlightenment, and standing buddha images will often be depicted with this mudrA, portraying a sense of the security, serenity, and compassion that derive from enlightenment. This gesture is also commonly associated with AMOGHASIDDHI.
abhisekamudrA. (T. dbang bskur phyag rgya; C. guanding yin; J. kanjoin; K. kwanjong in 灌頂印). In Sanskrit, "gesture of anointment." In this particular mudrA, the palms are held together with the forefingers extended against each other. See also MUDRA.
abhiseka. (P. abhiseka; T. dbang bskur; C. guanding; J. kanjo; K. kwanjong 灌頂). In Sanskrit, "anointment," "consecration," "empowerment," or "initiation"; a term originally used to refer to the anointment of an Indian king or the investiture of a crown prince, which by extension came to be applied to the anointment of a BODHISATTVA as a buddha. Just as a wheel-turning monarch (CAKRAVARTIN) invests the crown prince by sprinkling the crown of his head with fragrant water from all the four seas, so too do the buddhas anoint the crown of a bodhisattva when he makes his vow to achieve buddhahood. The Chinese translation, lit. "sprinkling the crown of the head," conveys this sense of anointment. In the MAHAVASTU, an early text associated with the LOKOTTARAVADA branch of the MAHASAMGHIKA school, the tenth and last stage (BHuMI) of the bodhisattva path is named abhiseka, rather than the more commonly known DHARMAMEGHABHuMI, indicating that the bodhisattva has then been initiated into the lineage of the buddhas. Abhiseka is used especially in tantric literature, such as the MAHAVAIROCANABHISAMBODHISuTRA, to refer to an initiation ceremony that empowers disciples to "enter the MAndALA," where they are then allowed to learn the esoteric formulae (MANTRA) and gestures (MUDRA) and receive the instructions associated with a specific tantric deity. In ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA, a series of four initiations or empowerments are described, the vase empowerment (KALAsABHIsEKA), the secret empowerment (GUHYABHIsEKA), the knowledge of the wisdom empowerment (PRAJNAJNANABHIsEKA), and the word empowerment (sabdAbhiseka), also known as the "fourth empowerment" (caturthAbhiseka). The vase empowerment is the only one of the four that is used in the three other tantras of KRIYATANTRA, CARYATANTRA, and YOGATANTRA. A special type of consecration ceremony, called a BUDDHABHIsEKA, is conducted at the time of the installation of a new buddha image, which vivifies the inert clay, metal, or wood of the image, invests the image with insight into the dharma (e.g., through reciting some version of the formula concerning causality, or PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA), and transforms the image into a living buddha.
AjantA. A complex of some thirty caves and subsidiary structures in India, renowned for its exemplary Buddhist artwork. Named after a neighboring village, the caves are carved from the granite cliffs at a bend in the Wagurna River valley, northeast of AURANGABAD, in the modern Indian state of Maharashtra. The grottoes were excavated in two phases, the first of which lasted from approximately 100 BCE to 100 CE, the second from c. 462 to 480, and consist primarily of monastic cave residences (VIHARA) and sanctuaries (CAITYA). The sanctuaries include four large, pillared STuPA halls, each enshrining a central monumental buddha image, which renders the hall both a site for worship and a buddha's dwelling (GANDHAKUtĪ), where he presides over the activities of the monks in residence. The murals and sculpture located at AjantA include some of the best-preserved examples of ancient Buddhist art. Paintings throughout the complex are especially noted for their depiction of accounts from the Buddha's previous lives (JATAKA). Despite the presence of some AVALOKITEsVARA images at the site, it is Sanskrit texts of mainstream Buddhism, and especially the MuLASARVASTIVADA school, that are the source and inspiration for the paintings of AjantA. Indeed, almost all of AjantA's narrative paintings are based on accounts appearing in the MuLASARVASTIVADA VINAYA, as well as the poems of Aryasura and AsVAGHOsA. On the other hand, the most common type of sculptural image at AjantA (e.g., Cave 4) is a seated buddha making a variant of the gesture of turning the wheel of the dharma (DHARMACAKRAMUDRA), flanked by the two bodhisattvas AVALOKITEsVARA and VAJRAPAnI. The deployment of this mudrA and the two flanking bodhisattvas indicates that these buddha images are of VAIROCANA and suggests that tantric elements that appear in the MAHAVAIROCANABHISAMBODHISuTRA and the MANJUsRĪMuLAKALPA, both of which postdate the AjantA images, developed over an extended period of time and had precursors that influenced the iconography at AjantA. Inscriptions on the walls of the earliest part of the complex, primarily in Indian Prakrits, attest to an eclectic, even syncretic, pattern of religious observance and patronage. Later epigraphs found at the site associate various patrons with Harisena (r. 460-477), the last known monarch of the VAkAtaka royal family. VarAhadeva, for example, who patronized Cave 16, was one of Harisena's courtiers, while Cave 1 was donated by Harisena himself, and Cave 2 may have been patronized by a close relative, perhaps one of Harisena's wives. Cave 16's central image, a buddha seated on a royal throne with legs pendant (BHADRASANA), is the first stone sculpture in this iconographic form found in western India. Introduced to India through the tradition of KUSHAN royal portraiture, the bhadrAsana has been interpreted as a position associated with royalty and worldly action. This sculpture may thus have functioned as a portrait sculpture; it may even allegorize Harisena as the Buddha. In fact, it is possible that VarAhadeva may have originally intended to enshrine a buddha seated in the cross-legged lotus position (VAJRAPARYAnKA) but changed his plan midway in the wake of a regional war that placed Harisena's control over the AjantA region in jeopardy. Around 480, the constructions at AjantA came to a halt with the destruction of the VAkAtaka family. The caves were subsequently abandoned and became overgrown, only to be discovered in 1819 by a British officer hunting a tiger. They quickly became the object of great archaeological and art historical interest, and were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
Ajita. (T. Ma pham pa; C. Ayiduo; J. Aitta; K. Ailta 阿逸多). In Sanskrit and PAli, "Invincible"; proper name of several different figures in Buddhist literature. In the PAli tradition, Ajita is said to have been one of the sixteen mendicant disciples of the brAhmana ascetic BAvarĪ who visited the Buddha at the request of their teacher. Upon meeting the Buddha, Ajita saw that he was endowed with the thirty-two marks of a great man (MAHAPURUsALAKsAnA) and gained assurance that the Buddha's renown was well deserved. Starting with Ajita, all sixteen of the mendicants asked the Buddha questions. Ajita's question is preserved as the AjitamAnavapucchA in the ParAyanavagga of the SUTTANIPATA. At the end of the Buddha's explanations, Ajita and sixteen thousand followers are said to have become worthy ones (ARHAT) and entered the SAMGHA. Ajita returned to his old teacher BAvarī and recounted to him what happened. BAvarī himself converted and later became a nonreturner (ANAGAMIN). ¶ Another Ajita is Ajita-Kesakambala (Ajita of the Hair Blanket), a prominent leader of the LOKAYATA (Naturalist) school of Indian wandering religious (sRAMAnA) during the Buddha's time, who is mentioned occasionally in Buddhist scriptures. His doctrine is recounted in the PAli SAMANNAPHALASUTTA, where he is claimed to have denied the efficacy of moral cause and effect because of his materialist rejection of any prospect of transmigration or rebirth. ¶ An Ajita also traditionally appears as the fifteenth on the list of the sixteen ARHAT elders (sOdAsASTHAVIRA), who were charged by the Buddha with protecting his dispensation until the advent of the next buddha, MAITREYA. Ajita is said to reside on Mt. GṚDHRAKutA (Vulture Peak) with 1,500 disciples. He is known in Chinese as the "long-eyebrowed arhat" (changmei luohan) because he is said to have been born with long white eyebrows. In CHANYUE GUANXIU's standard Chinese depiction, Ajita is shown sitting on a rock, with both hands holding his right knee; his mouth is open, with his tongue and teeth exposed. East Asian images also sometimes show him leaning on a staff. In Tibetan iconography, he holds his two hands in his lap in DHYANAMUDRA. ¶ Ajita is finally a common epithet of the bodhisattva MAITREYA, used mostly when he is invoked in direct address.
AkAsagarbha. (T. Nam mkha'i snying po; C. Xukongzang pusa; J. Kokuzo bosatsu; K. Hogongjang posal 空藏菩薩). In Sanskrit, "Storehouse/Womb of Space"; a BODHISATTVA who is one of the MAHOPAPUTRA, whose position is the north; also known as CakrapAni. He is usually considered to be a form of AKsOBHYA, although sometimes he is instead said to be the emanation of VAIROCANA. He is depicted in bodhisattva form, with one face and two hands in various MUDRAS; his most common attribute is a sun disc. His consort is MAlA, and he is the counterpart to KsItIGARBHA, the "Womb of the Earth." The sutra that describes his attributes, the AkAsagarbhasutra, was first translated into Chinese by BUDDHAYAsAS at the beginning of the fifth century and again by Dharmamitra a few decades later.
Aksobhya. (T. Mi bskyod pa; C. Achu fo; J. Ashuku butsu; K. Ach'ok pul 阿閦佛). In Sanskrit, "Immovable" or "Imperturbable"; the name given to the buddha of the East because he is imperturbable in following his vow to proceed to buddhahood, particularly through mastering the practice of morality (sĪLA). Aksobhya is one of the PANCATATHAGATA (five tathAgatas), the buddha of the vajra family (VAJRAKULA). There are references to Aksobhya in the PRAJNAPARAMITA sutras and the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra"), suggesting that his cult dates back to the first or second century of the Common Era, and that he was popular in India and Java as well as in the HimAlayan regions. The cult of Aksobhya may have been the first to emerge after the cult of sAKYAMUNI, and before that of AMITABHA. In the Saddharmapundarīkasutra, Aksobhya is listed as the first son of the buddha MahAbhijNA JNAnAbhibhu, and his bodhisattva name is given as JNAnAkara. His cult entered China during the Han dynasty, and an early text on his worship, the AKsOBHYATATHAGATASYAVYuHA, was translated into Chinese during the second half of the second century. Although his cult was subsequently introduced into Japan, he never became as popular in East Asia as the buddhas AMITABHA or VAIROCANA, and images of Aksobhya are largely confined to MAndALAs and other depictions of the paNcatathAgata. Furthermore, because Aksobhya's buddha-field (BUDDHAKsETRA) or PURE LAND of ABHIRATI is located in the East, he is sometimes replaced in mandalas by BHAIsAJYAGURU, who also resides in that same direction. Aksobhya's most common MUDRA is the BHuMISPARsAMUDRA, and he often holds a VAJRA. His consort is either MAmakī or LocanA.
AmitAbha. (T. 'Od dpag med/Snang ba mtha' yas; C. Amituo fo/Wuliangguang fo; J. Amida butsu/Muryoko butsu; K. Amit'a pul/Muryanggwang pul 阿彌陀佛/無量光佛). In Sanskrit, "Limitless Light," the buddha of the western PURE LAND of SUKHAVATĪ, one of the most widely worshipped buddhas in the MAHAYANA traditions. As recounted in the longer SUKHAVATĪVYuHASuTRA, numerous eons ago, a monk named DHARMAKARA vowed before the buddha LOKEsVARARAJA to follow the BODHISATTVA path to buddhahood, asking him to set forth the qualities of buddha-fields (BUDDHAKsETRA). DharmAkara then spent five KALPAS in meditation, concentrating all of the qualities of all buddha-fields into a single buddha field that he would create upon his enlightenment. He then reappeared before LokesvararAja and made forty-eight specific vows (PRAnIDHANA). Among the most famous were his vow that those who, for as few as ten times over the course of their life, resolved to be reborn in his buddha-field would be reborn there; and his vow that he would appear at the deathbed of anyone who heard his name and remembered it with trust. DharmakAra then completed the bodhisattva path, thus fulfilling all the vows he had made, and became the buddha AmitAbha in the buddha-field called sukhAvatī. Based on the larger and shorter versions of the SukhAvatīvyuhasutra as well as the apocryphal GUAN WULIANGSHOU JING (*AmitAyurdhyAnasutra), rebirth in AmitAbha's buddha-field became the goal of widespread Buddhist practice in India, East Asia, and Tibet, with the phrase "Homage to AmitAbha Buddha" (C. namo Amituo fo; J. NAMU AMIDABUTSU; K. namu Amit'a pul) being a central element of East Asian Buddhist practice. AmitAbha's Indian origins are obscure, and it has been suggested that his antecedents lie in Persian Zoroastrianism, where symbolism of light and darkness abounds. His worship dates back at least as far as the early centuries of the Common Era, as attested by the fact that the initial Chinese translation of the SukhAvatīvyuhasutra is made in the mid-second century CE, and he is listed in the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra") as the ninth son of the buddha MahAbhijNA JNAnAbhibhu. The Chinese pilgrims FAXIAN and XUANZANG make no mention of him by name in their accounts of their travels to India in the fifth and seventh centuries CE, respectively, though they do include descriptions of deities who seem certain to have been AmitAbha. Scriptures relating to AmitAbha reached Japan in the seventh century, but he did not become a popular religious figure until some three hundred years later, when his worship played a major role in finally transforming what had been previously seen as an elite and foreign tradition into a populist religion. In East Asia, the cult of AmitAbha eventually became so widespread that it transcended sectarian distinction, and AmitAbha became the most popular buddha in the region. In Tibet, AmitAbha worship dates to the early propagation of Buddhism in that country in the eighth century, although it never became as prevalent as in East Asia. In the sixteenth century, the fifth DALAI LAMA gave the title PAn CHEN LAMA to his teacher, BLO BZANG CHOS KYI RGYAL MTSHAN, and declared him to be an incarnation of AmitAbha (the Dalai Lama himself having been declared the incarnation of Avalokitesvara, AmitAbha's emanation). ¶ The names "AmitAbha" and "AmitAyus" are often interchangeable, both deriving from the Sanskrit word "amita," meaning "limitless," "boundless," or "infinite"; there are some intimations that Amita may actually have been the original name of this buddha, as evidenced, for example, by the fact that the Chinese transcription Amituo [alt. Emituo] transcribes the root word amita, not the two longer forms of the name. The distinction between the two names is preserved in the Chinese translations "Wuliangguang" ("Infinite Light") for AmitAbha and Wuliangshou ("Infinite Life") for AmitAyus, neither of which is used as often as the transcription Amituo. Both AmitAbha and AmitAyus serve as epithets of the same buddha in the longer SukhAvatīvyuhasutra and the Guan Wuliangshou jing, two of the earliest and most important of the sutras relating to his cult. In Tibet, his two alternate names were simply translated: 'Od dpag med ("Infinite Light") and Tshe dpag med ("Infinite Life"). Despite the fact that the two names originally refer to the same deity, they have developed distinctions in ritual function and iconography, and AmitAyus is now considered a separate form of AmitAbha rather than just a synonym for him. ¶ AmitAbha is almost universally shown in DHYANASANA, his hands at his lap in DHYANAMUDRA, though there are many variations, such as standing or displaying the VITARKAMUDRA or VARADAMUDRA. As one of the PANCATATHAGATA, AmitAbha is the buddha of the padma family and is situated in the west. In tantric depictions he is usually red in color and is shown in union with his consort PAndarA, and in East Asia he is commonly accompanied by his attendants AVALOKITEsVARA (Ch. GUANYIN) and MAHASTHAMAPRAPTA. See also JINGTU SANSHENG; WANGSHENG.
AmitAyus. (T. Tshe dpag med; C. Wuliangshou fo; J. Muryoju butsu; K. Muryangsu pul 無量壽佛). In Sanskrit, the buddha or bodhisattva of "Limitless Life" or "Infinite Lifespan." Although the name originally was synonymous with AMITABHA, in the tantric traditions, AmitAyus has developed distinguishing characteristics and is now sometimes considered to be an independent form of AmitAbha. The Japanese SHINGON school, for example, uses Muryoju in representations of the TAIZoKAI (garbhadhAtumandala) and Amida (AmitAbha) in the KONGoKAI (vajradhAtumandala). AmitAyus is often central in tantric ceremonies for prolonging life and so has numerous forms and appellations in various groupings, such as one of six and one of nine. He is shown in bodhisattva guise, with crown and jewels, sitting in DHYANASANA with both hands in DHYANAMUDRA and holding a water pot (kalasa) full of AMṚTA (here the nectar of long life); like AmitAbha, he is usually red.
Amituo jiupin yin. (J. Amida kuhon'in; K. Amit'a kup'um in 阿彌陀九品印). In Chinese, lit. "the nine-levels gesture of AMITABHA"; in East Asian Buddhist iconography, the distinctive gesture (MUDRA) associated with images of AmitAbha Buddha, whose western paradise of SUKHAVATĪ is said to have nine levels through which devotees pass in the process of attaining enlightenment. The gesture is formed with the index finger and thumbs of both hands touching each other, with one hand typically raised in the air.
Amoghasiddhi. (T. Don yod grub pa; C. Bukong Chengjiu rulai fo; J. Fuku Joju nyoraibutsu; K. Pulgong Songch'wi yorae pul 不空成就如來佛). In Sanskrit, "He Whose Accomplishments Are Not in Vain," name of one of the PANCATATHAGATA. He is the buddha of the KARMAN family (KARMAKULA) and his PURE LAND is located in the north. Amoghasiddhi is seldom worshipped individually and he appears to have been largely a creation to fill out the paNcatathAgata grouping. He is usually depicted in the guise of a buddha, green in color, and sitting in DHYANASANA with his right hand in DHYANAMUDRA or with a visvavajra in his upturned palm; his left hand is held at his chest in ABHAYAMUDRA. In Nepal, he alone of the five buddhas is shown with a NAGA above his face or coiled beside him. In East Asian representations of the paNcatathAgata, Amoghasiddhi is often replaced with sAKYAMUNI Buddha.
aNjali[mudrA]. (T. thal mo sbyar ba; C. hezhang; J. gassho; K. hapchang 合掌). In Sanskrit and PAli, "gesture of supplication" or "gesture of greeting." The aNjali is a traditional Indian gesture of salutation and respect wherein the palms of the hands are pressed together with fingers pointing up, usually at the level of the heart or the forehead. As a specific type of gesture (MUDRA), aNjali is used to symbolize thusness (TATHATA). In Buddhist iconography, this is one of the principal mudrAs of AVALOKITEsVARA, who in several forms holds a wish-fulfilling gem (CINTAMAnI) between cupped palms at his heart. This gesture is also commonly seen in images of religious donors and patrons.
Arakan Buddha. A colossal buddha image that is one of the most sacred images in Arakan, a coastal kingdom along the west coast of what eventually became the country of Burma after the Burmese conquest of the region in the eighteenth century; also known as the MAHAMUNI Buddha or the CandasAra Buddha. This twelve-foot, seven-inch, tall bronze image of the Buddha as MahAmuni ("Great Sage") is claimed by tradition to have been cast in 197 CE, during the reign of the Arakan king Candrasurya, and is assumed to be an exact replica of the Buddha himself, which was made at the time of his putative visit to the Arakan kingdom. The image is cast in the "earth-touching gesture" (BHuMISPARsAMUDRA) and is now enshrined in the Arakan pagoda (MahAmuni Paya), located near the old capital of AMARAPURA on the outskirts of the city of Mandalay, which was constructed to house it. The image was coveted by several of Arakan's neighboring kingdoms, including Prome, Pagan, Pegu, and the Shan, but was eventually carried off to Mandalay by the Burmese as war booty in 1784 when King Bodawpaya finally conquered the kingdom. Since its relocation to the shrine, the seated image has been covered by worshippers with so many layers of gold leaf that its torso is now totally obscured, leaving only the head and face fully visible. The image is embellished with a pointed crown and earrings made in 1884 in the JAMBUPATI style, with a royal insignia across its chest; the Buddha is also draped in shawls by the temple vergers every night to ward off the evening chill.
AurangAbAd. A complex of twelve rock-cut Buddhist caves located at the outskirts of the city of AurangAbAd in the modern Indian state of Maharashtra. The oldest structure at the site is the severely damaged Cave 4, which dates to the beginning of the Common Era. The complex functioned as a center of popular devotion and secular patronage in the region. This strong linkage of the site with popular religiosity is particularly evident in Cave 2, with its central sanctum and pradaksinapatha for circumambulation (PRADAKsInA) left undecorated to display a number of individually commissioned votive panels. The arrangement combines the ritual need for circumambulation with the preference for placing the main buddha against the rear wall by creating a corridor around the entire shrine. The entrance to the shrine is flanked by the BODHISATTVAs MAITREYA and AVALOKITEsVARA, both attended by serpent kings (NAGA); the shrine itself contains a seated buddha making the gesture of turning the wheel of the DHARMA (DHARMACAKRAMUDRA) flanked by two bodhisattvas. The creation of the AurangAbAd cave site appears to have been connected with the collapse of the VAkAtakas, who had patronized the cave temples at AJAntA. AurangAbAd rose in response, testimony to the triumph of the regional powers and local Buddhist forces at the end of the fifth century. The small number of cells for the SAMGHA, the presence of the life-size kneeling devotees with a portrait-like appearance and royal attire sculpted in Cave 3, and the individually commissioned votive panels in Cave 2 indicate the growing importance of the "secular" at AurangAbAd. The strong affinities in design, imagery, and sculptural detail between AurangAbAd Cave 3 and Caves 2 and 26 at AjantA indicate that the same artisans might have worked at both sites. The sculptural panels in Cave 7, which date to the mid-sixth century, may demonstrate the growing importance of tantric sects, with their use of the imagery of voluptuous females with elaborate coiffures serving as attendants to bodhisattvas or buddhas.
Avalokitesvara. (T. Spyan ras gzigs; C. Guanshiyin/Guanyin; J. Kanzeon/Kannon; K. Kwanseŭm/Kwanŭm 觀世音/觀音). In Sanskrit, "Lord who Looks Down [in Empathy]"; the BODHISATTVA of compassion, the most widely worshipped of the MAHAYANA bodhisattvas and one of the earliest to appear in Buddhist literature. According to legend, Avalokitesvara was produced from a beam of light that radiated from the forehead of AMITABHA while that buddha was deep in meditation. For this reason, Buddhist iconography often depicts AmitAbha as embedded in Avalokitesvara's crown. His name dates back to the beginning of the Common Era, when he replaced the Vedic god BRAHMA as the attendant to sAKYAMUNI Buddha, inheriting in turn BrahmA's attribute of the lotus (PADMA). Images of Avalokitesvara as PADMAPAnI LOKEsVARA ("Lord with a Lotus in his Hand"), an early name, are numerous. Avalokitesvara is the interlocutor or main figure in numerous important MahAyAna sutras, including the PRAJNAPARAMITAHṚDAYASuTRA ("Heart Sutra"). His cult was introduced to China in the first century CE, where his name was translated as Guanshiyin ("Perceiver of the Sounds of the World") or GUANYIN ("Perceiver of Sounds"); his cult entered Korea and Japan with the advent of Buddhism in those countries. Avalokitesvara was once worshipped widely in Southeast Asia as well, beginning at the end of the first millennium CE. Although the MahAyAna tradition eventually faded from the region, images of Avalokitesvara remain. Avalokitesvara is also the patron deity of Tibet, where he is said to have taken the form of a monkey and mated with TARA in the form of a local demoness to produce the Tibetan race. Tibetan political and religious leaders have been identified as incarnations of him, such as the seventh-century king SRONG BTSAN SGAM PO (although that attribution was most likely a later addition to the king's legacy) and, notably, the DALAI LAMAs. The PO TA LA Palace, the residence of the Dalai Lamas, in the Tibetan capital of LHA SA is named for Avalokitesvara's abode on Mount POTALAKA in India. In China, Avalokitesvara as Guanyin underwent a transformation in gender into a popular female bodhisattva, although the male iconographic form also persists throughout East Asia. PUTUOSHAN, located off the east coast of China south of Shanghai, is said to be Potalaka. Avalokitesvara is generally depicted in the full raiments of a bodhisattva, often with an image of AmitAbha in his crown. He appears in numerous forms, among them the two-armed PadmapAni who stands and holds a lotus flower; the four-armed seated Avalokitesvara, known either as Caturbhuja Avalokitesvara [CaturbhujAvalokitesvara] or CintAmani Avalokitesvara [CintAmanyavalokitesvara], who holds the wish-fulfilling jewel (CINTAMAnI) with his central hands in ANJALIMUDRA, and a lotus and crystal rosary in his left and right hands, respectively; the eleven-armed, eleven-faced EKADAsAMUKHA; and the thousand-armed and thousand-headed SAHASRABHUJASAHASRANETRAVALOKITEsVARA (q.v. MAHAKARUnIKA). Tradition holds that his head split into multiple skulls when he beheld the suffering of the world. Numerous other forms also exist in which the god has three or more heads, and any number of arms. In his wrathful form as AstabhayatrAnAvalokitesvara (T. Spyan ras gzigs 'jigs pa brgyad skyob), "Avalokitesvara who Protects against the Eight Fears," the bodhisattva stands in ARDHAPARYAnKA ("half cross-legged posture") and has one face and eight hands, each of which holds a symbol of one of the eight fears. This name is also given to eight separate forms of Avalokitesvara that are each dedicated to protecting from one of the eight fears, namely: AgnibhayatrAnAvalokitesvara ("Avalokitesvara Who Protects from Fear of Fire") and so on, replacing fire with Jala (water), SiMha (lion), Hasti (elephant), Danda (cudgel), NAga (snake), dAkinī (witch) [alt. PisAcī]; and Cora (thief). In addition to his common iconographic characteristic, the lotus flower, Avalokitesvara also frequently holds, among other accoutrements, a jeweled rosary (JAPAMALA) given to him by Aksamati (as related in chapter twenty-five of the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA), or a vase. In East Asia, Avalokitesvara often appears in a triad: the buddha AmitAbha in the center, flanked to his left and right by his two bodhisattva attendants, Avalokitesvara and MAHASTHAMAPRAPTA, respectively. In Tibet, Avalokitesvara is part of a popular triad with VAJRAPAnI and MANJUsRĪ. As one of the AstAMAHOPAPUTRA, Avalokitesvara also appears with the other bodhisattvas in group representation. The tantric deity AMOGHAPAsA is also a form of Avalokitesvara. The famous mantra of Avalokitesvara, OM MAnI PADME HuM, is widely recited in the MahAyAna traditions and nearly universally in Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to the twenty-fifth chapter of the Saddharmapundarīkasutra, the KARAndAVYuHA is also devoted to him. See also BAIYI GUANYIN; GUANYIN; MIAOSHAN; MAnI BKA' 'BUM.
AvataMsakasutra. (T. Mdo phal po che; C. Huayan jing; J. Kegongyo; K. Hwaom kyong 華嚴經). In Sanskrit, "Garland Scripture"; also known as the BUDDHAVATAMSAKASuTRA ("Scripture of the Garland of Buddhas"), or *BuddhAvataMsakanAmamahAvaipulyasutra, the Sanskrit reconstruction of the title of the Chinese translation Dafangguang fo huayan jing, which is usually abbreviated in Chinese simply as the HUAYAN JING ("Flower Garland Scripture"). The sutra is one of the most influential Buddhist scriptures in East Asia and the foundational text of the indigenous East Asian HUAYAN ZONG. The first major edition of the AvataMsakasutra was said to have been brought from KHOTAN and was translated into Chinese by BUDDHABHADRA in 421; this recension consisted of sixty rolls and thirty-four chapters. A second, longer recension, in eighty rolls and thirty-nine chapters, was translated into Chinese by sIKsANANDA in 699; this is sometimes referred to within the Huayan tradition as the "New [translation of the] AvataMsakasutra" (Xin Huayan jing). A Tibetan translation similar to the eighty-roll recension also exists. The AvataMsakasutra is traditionally classified as a VAIPULYASuTRA; it is an encyclopedic work that brings together a number of heterogeneous texts, such as the GAndAVYuHA and DAsABHuMIKASuTRA, which circulated independently before being compiled together in this scripture. No Sanskrit recension of the AvataMsakasutra has been discovered; even the title is not known from Sanskrit sources, but is a reconstruction of the Chinese. (Recent research in fact suggests that the correct Sanskrit title might actually be BuddhAvataMsakasutra, or "Scripture of the Garland of Buddhas," rather than AvataMsakasutra.) There are, however, extant Sanskrit recensions of two of its major constituents, the Dasabhumikasutra and Gandavyuha. Given the dearth of evidence of a Sanskrit recension of the complete AvataMsakasutra, and since the scripture was first introduced to China from Khotan, some scholars have argued that the scripture may actually be of Central Asian provenance (or at very least was heavily revised in Central Asia). There also exists in Chinese translation a forty-roll recension of the AvataMsakasutra, translated by PRAJNA in 798, which roughly corresponds to the Gandavyuha, otherwise known in Chinese as the Ru fajie pin or "Chapter on the Entry into the DHARMADHATU." Little attempt is made to synthesize these disparate materials into an overarching narrative, but there is a tenuous organizational schema involving a series of different "assemblies" to which the different discourses are addressed. The Chinese tradition presumed that the AvataMsakasutra was the first sermon of the Buddha (see HUAYAN ZHAO), and the sutra's first assembly takes place at the BODHI TREE two weeks after he had attained enlightenment while he was still immersed in the samAdhi of oceanic reflection (SAGARAMUDRASAMADHI). The AvataMsaka is therefore believed to provide a comprehensive and definitive description of the Buddha's enlightenment experience from within this profound state of samAdhi. The older sixty-roll recension includes a total of eight assemblies held at seven different locations: three in the human realm and the rest in the heavens. The later eighty-roll recension, however, includes a total of nine assemblies at seven locations, a discrepancy that led to much ink in Huayan exegesis. In terms of its content, the sutra offers exuberant descriptions of myriads of world systems populated by buddhas and bodhisattvas, along with elaborate imagery focusing especially on radiant light and boundless space. The scripture is also the inspiration for the famous metaphor of INDRAJALA (Indra's Net), a canopy made of transparent jewels in which each jewel is reflected in all the others, suggesting the multivalent levels of interaction between all phenomena in the universe. The text focuses on the unitary and all-pervasive nature of enlightenment, which belongs to the realm of the Buddha of Pervasive Light, VAIROCANA, the central buddha in the AvataMsaka, who embodies the DHARMAKAYA. The sutra emphasizes the knowledge and enlightenment of the buddhas as being something that is present in all sentient beings (see TATHAGATAGARBHA and BUDDHADHATU), just as the entire universe, or trichiliocosm (S. TRISAHASRAMAHASAHASRALOKADHATU) is contained in a minute mote of dust. This notion of interpenetration or interfusion (YUANRONG) is stressed in the thirty-second chapter of Buddhabhadra's translation, whose title bears the influential term "nature origination" (XINGQI). The sutra, especially in FAZANG's authoritative exegesis, is presumed to set forth a distinctive presentation of dependent origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA) in terms of the dependence of the whole on its parts, stressing the unity of the universe and its emptiness (suNYATA) of inherent nature; dependent origination here emerges as a profound ecological vision in which the existence of any one thing is completely dependent on the existence of all other things and all things on any one thing. Various chapters of the sutra were also interpreted as providing the locus classicus for the exhaustive fifty-two stage MahAyAna path (MARGA) to buddhahood, which included the ten faiths (only implied in the scripture), the ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, and ten stages (DAsABHuMI), plus the two stages of awakening itself: virtual enlightenment (dengjue) and sublime enlightenment (miaojue). This soteriological process was then illustrated through the peregrinations of the lad SUDHANA to visit his religious mentors, each of whom is identified with one of these specific stages; Sudhana's lengthy pilgrimage is described in great detail in the massive final chapter (a third of the entire scripture), the Gandavyuha, titled in the AvataMsakasutra the "Entry into the DharmadhAtu" chapter (Ru fajie pin). The evocative and widely quoted statement in the "Brahmacarya" chapter that "at the time of the initial arousal of the aspiration for enlightenment (BODHICITTOTPADA), complete, perfect enlightenment (ANUTTARASAMYAKSAMBODHI) is already achieved" was also influential in the development of the East Asian notion of sudden enlightenment (DUNWU), since it implied that awakening could be achieved in an instant of sincere aspiration, without requiring three infinite eons (ASAMKHYEYAKALPA) of religious training. Chinese exegetes who promoted this sutra reserved the highest place for it in their scriptural taxonomies (see JIAOXIANG PANSHI) and designated it the "perfect" or "consummate" teaching (YUANJIAO) of Buddhism. Many commentaries on and exegeses of the sutra are extant, among which the most influential are those written by FAZANG, ZHIYAN, CHENGGUAN, LI TONGXUAN, GUIFENG ZONGMI, WoNHYO, ŬISANG, and MYoE KoBEN.
Bahishkrita: Outcast; a form of Antardhauti in which the belly is, by Kakini-mudra, filled with air, which is retained for an hour and a half, and then sent downwards.
Baiyi Guanyin. (S. PAndaravAsinī; T. Gos dkar mo; J. Byakue kannon; K. Paegŭi Kwanŭm 白衣觀音). In Chinese, "White-Robed GUANYIN (Perceiver of Sounds)." An esoteric form of the BODHISATTVA AVALOKITEsVARA (known as Guanyin in Chinese), who became a popular focus of cultic worship in East Asia. The cult of Baiyi Guanyin began around the tenth century in China, whence it spread to Korea and Japan. Several indigenous Chinese scriptures praise the compassion and miraculous powers of White-Robed Guanyin. According to the various Baiyi Guanyin APOCRYPHA, she was also a grantor of children, as was Songzi Guanyin. Many testimonials from literati are appended to these scriptures, which attest to Baiyi Guanyin's ability to ensure the birth of sons, although it is also said that she granted children of both genders. Like many other Guanyin-related texts, the White-Robed Guanyin texts frequently invoke esoteric Buddhist terminology such as DHARAnĪ, MUDRA, and MANTRA. Beginning in the tenth century, Baiyi Guanyin's cult was associated with the founding of temples, as well as the production of countless images commissioned by both religious and laity. Many worshippers, especially monastics and royalty, had visions of White-Robed Guanyin. These dreams range from being promised children in return for a residence (such as the Upper Tianzhu monastery outside of Hangzhou, later also associated with Princess MIAOSHAN), to enlarging existing structures or even restoring them once a vision or dream of White-Robed Guanyin occurred. In such visions and dreams, White-Robed Guanyin appeared as a female, thus differentiating this form of the bodhisattva from SHUIYUE GUANYIN (Moon-in-the-Water Avalokitesvara), who was similarly dressed in a white robe, but appeared as a male. Some miracle tales highlighting the donors' names were also produced in honor of Baiyi Guanyin, lending further credence to the accounts of the bodhisattva's miraculous powers.
Benkenmitsu nikyoron. (辯顯密二教論). In Japanese, literally "Distinguishing the Two Teachings of the Exoteric and Esoteric"; a relatively short treatise composed by the Japanese SHINGON monk KuKAI in the early ninth century. The text is commonly known more simply as the Nikyoron. As the title suggests, the central theme of the Benkenmitsu nikyoron is the elaboration of the difference between the exoteric and esoteric teachings of Buddhism and the demonstration of the latter's superiority. The text begins with a brief introduction, followed by a series of questions and answers, and a short conclusion. The Benkenmitsu nikyoron describes the relation between the exoteric teachings preached by the NIRMAnAKAYA of the Buddha and the esoteric teachings preached by his DHARMAKAYA as that between provisional words spoken according to the different capacities of sentient beings and ultimate truth. By meticulously citing scriptural references, such as the LAnKAVATARASuTRA, the Benkenmitsu nikyoron shows that the dharmakAya, like the nirmAnakAya and SAMBHOGAKAYA, can indeed preach and that it does so in a special language best articulated in such esoteric scriptures as the MAHAVAIROCANABHISAMBODHISuTRA. Whereas the nirmAnakAya speaks the DHARMA with reference to the six perfections (PARAMITA), the dharmakAya employs the language of the three mysteries: the body, speech, and mind of MAHAVAIROCANA expressed in MUDRA, MANTRA, and MAndALA. Like many of kukai's other writings, the arguments presented in his Benkenmitsu nikyoron helped him legitimize the introduction and installment of the new teachings, now known as MIKKYo or esoteric Buddhism, which he had brought back from China. There are several commentaries on the text, including those composed by Seisen (1025-1115), Raiyu (1226-1304), Yukai (1345-1416), and Kaijo (1750-1805).
Bhadra. (P. Bhadda; T. Bzang po; C. Batuoluo zunzhe; J. Batsudara sonja; K. Palt'ara chonja 跋陀羅尊者). The Sanskrit name of the sixth of the sixteen ARHAT elders (sOdAsASTHAVIRA), who are charged by the Buddha with protecting his dispensation until the advent of the next buddha, MAITREYA. He is said to reside in Sri Lanka with nine hundred disciples. His mother gave birth to him under the bhadra (auspicious) tree, hence his name. A cousin of the Buddha, he served as his attendant and was famed for his clear exposition of the teachings. In the Chinese tradition, he is charged with matters related to bathing and his image is therefore enshrined in bath houses in some mountain monasteries. In CHANYUE GUANXIU's standard Chinese depiction, Bhadra typically sits on a rock in meditation. His forehead is high, his cheeks plump, and his gaze is turned slightly upward. His right hand is hidden under his robes and his left hand rests on his knee, holding prayer beads (JAPAMALA). Some East Asian images also show him accompanied by a tiger. In Tibetan iconography, he holds his left hand at his chest in VITARKAMUDRA, his right at his lap in DHYANAMUDRA.
Bhaisajyaguru. (T. Sman bla; C. Yaoshi rulai; J. Yakushi nyorai; K. Yaksa yorae 藥師如來). In Sanskrit, "Medicine Teacher"; the "Healing Buddha" or "Medicine Buddha," who was the focus of an important salvific cult in the early MAHAYANA tradition. According to his eponymous scripture, the BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA, he has a body more brilliant than the sun, which was the color of lapis lazuli (vaiduryamani) and possessed the power to heal illness and physical deformities; his pure land of VaiduryanirbhAsa is located in the east. The origin of Bhaisajyaguru and his healing cult is unclear, although his worship seems to have arisen contemporaneously with the rise of the MahAyAna. BHAIsAJYARAJA and Bhaisajyasamudgata, two bodhisattvas mentioned in the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra"), are likely antecedents, and similarities with other "celestial" buddhas like AMITABHA and AKsOBHYA also suggest possible influence from those rival cults. The Bhaisajyagurusutra was translated into Chinese in the seventh century, during the Tang dynasty, when his worship finally achieved the wide recognition that it continues to enjoy within the Chinese tradition. The Bhaisajyagurusutra is also cited in the eighth-century tantric text, MANJUsRĪMuLAKALPA, indicating that his cult had by then achieved widespread acclaim throughout Asia. Bhaisajyaguru was one of the earliest buddhas to gain popularity in Japan, although initially he was familiar only within the imperial court, which constructed monasteries in his honor beginning in the sixth century. By the eighth century, his cult had spread throughout the country, with Bhaisajyaguru being invoked both to cure illness and to ward off dangers. The worship of Bhaisajyaguru seems to have entered Tibet during the eighth century, two versions of the Bhaisajyagurusutra having been translated into Tibetan by the prolific YE SHES SDE and others. Early in the development of his cult, Bhaisajyaguru was divided into a group of eight medicine buddhas (asta-bhaisajyaguru), made up of seven of his emanations plus the principal buddha. Their names vary according to source, and none save Bhaisajyaguru are worshipped individually. Two of these emanations-Suryaprabha and Candraprabha-are often depicted in a triad with Bhaisajyaguru. Further, Bhaisajyaguru is also said to command twelve warriors (YAKsA) related to various astrological categories and to wage war on illness in the name of their leader. Indic images of Bhaisajyaguru are rare, but his depictions are common across both the East Asian and Tibetan cultural spheres. East Asian images are almost uniform in depicting him seated, with his right hand in the gesture of fearlessness (ABHAYAMUDRA) or the gesture of generosity (VARADAMUDRA), his left in his lap, occasionally holding a medicine bowl. In Tibet, he is also shown holding the fruit of the medicinal myrobalan plant.
Bhṛkutī. (T. Khro gnyer can; C. Pijuzhi; J. Bikutei; K. Piguji 毘胝). In Sanskrit, lit. "She who Frowns"; a wrathful deity understood to be a form of TARA, who is reputed to have been born from a frown of the BODHISATTVA AVALOKITEsVARA. An alternate account is that she arose from a ray of light emanating out of Avalokitesvara's left eye at the same time TArA was born from the right eye. Bhṛkutī is sometimes said to be an emanation of the buddha AMITABHA as well, particularly in Japan, and often appears with an image of AmitAbha in her crown. Although she can appear in peaceful form, she is generally depicted as a wrathful deity, most commonly with one face with three eyes, and four arms holding a trident, vase, and rosary and displaying the VARADAMUDRA, and either standing in ALĪdHA posture or sitting in LALITASANA. ¶ Bhṛkutī is also the name of the Nepali princess who married SRONG BTSAN SGAM PO. According to the MAnI BKA' 'BUM, she was the daughter of the Nepalese king AMsuvarman and was brought to Tibet by the famed minister Mgar stong btsan after Srong btsan sgam po saw her in a prophetic dream. The Nepalese king initially refused to send her, deriding Tibet as a land of savagery, lacking not only the teachings of the Buddha but basic civil laws as well. Mgar convinced the king that Srong btsan sgam po was sincere in desiring the DHARMA, and was able to return with her, after which he set out to China to bring back the Tang princess WENCHENG. Bhṛkuti is said to have brought with her to Tibet the statue of sAKYAMUNI called JO BO MI BSKYOD RDO RJE, which was eventually housed in RA MO CHE. The historicity of both Bhṛkuti and her father has been called into question by recent scholarship. The Nepalese princess is said to have also brought a sandalwood statue of BhṛkutĪ to Tibet, but (if it ever existed) it had disappeared by the seventeenth century, when the fifth DALAI LAMA, in his guidebook to the temples of LHA SA, reported it missing.
bhumisparsamudrA. (T. sa gnon gyi phyag rgya; C. chudi yin; J. sokujiin; K. ch'okchi in 觸地印). In Sanskrit, "gesture of touching the earth"; this MUDRA is formed by the right hand touching the ground with extended fingers, usually across the right knee, while the left hand remains resting in the lap. It is the most common mudrA depicted in seated images of sAKYAMUNI Buddha. The bhumisparsamudrA recalls a specific moment in sAkyamuni's biography. After MARA had sought to dislodge the future buddha from his seat under the BODHI TREE by attacking him with his minions and seducing him with his daughters, he ultimately tried to cause the Buddha to move by claiming that he had no right to occupy that spot. The bodhisattva then touched the earth, thereby calling on the goddess of the earth Pṛthivī or STHAVARA to bear witness to his practice of virtue over his many lifetimes on the bodhisattva path. The goddess responded affirmatively by causing the earth to quake. With that, MAra withdrew for good and the bodhisattva went on to achieve buddhahood that evening. In Southeast Asia, this scene is elaborated to include the goddess, called THORANI, emerging from the earth to wring from her hair all of the water that the Buddha had offered during his lifetimes as a BODHISATTVA. The water creates a flood that sweeps away MAra and his horde. The mudrA is also considered a gesture of immovability (acala) and is thus the mudrA associated with the buddha AKsOBHYA.
bhutadAmaramudrA. (T. 'byung po 'dul byed kyi phyag rgya; C. xiang sanshi yin; J. gozanzein; K. hang samse in 降三世印). In Sanskrit, "spirit-subduing gesture," a gesture (MUDRA) formed by crossing the left wrist in front of the right with palms facing forward and linking the little fingers; the thumbs hold down the two middle fingers and the forefingers of both hands stick out in the threatening gesture (TARJANĪMUDRA). In Tibet, the mudrA is specific to BhutadAmara, a name for a four-armed wrathful form of VAJRAPAnI; the Chinese translation of the term means "gesture that subjugates the three time periods" of past, present, and future.
Binglingsi. (J. Heireiji; K. Pyongnyongsa 炳靈寺). In Chinese, "Bright and Numinous Monastery"; site of a Buddhist cave complex, located fifty miles outside Lanzhou, the capital of the present-day Chinese province of Gansu, and accessible only by boat. The complex contains 183 caves with 694 stone and eighty-two clay statues. Binglingsi, along with MAIJISHAN, developed under the patronage of the Qifu rulers of the Western Qin dynasty (385-43). The carving of Buddhist caves at Binglingsi may have started as early as the late fourth century; however, the earliest inscription was found in cave 169 and is dated 420. Two novel features can be found in cave 169. One is the stylistic link of some of its sculptures with the Buddhist art of KHOTAN on the southern SILK ROAD. For example, five seated buddhas in niche 23 inside the cave are attired in their monastic robes and perform the meditation gesture (DHYANAMUDRA), backed by a large aureole. Second, numerous inscriptions identify the sculptures and painted images in this cave, which include AMITABHA Buddha, accompanied by AVALOKITEsVARA (GUANYIN) and MAHASTHAMAPRAPTA (Dashizi). This triad in niche 6 closely resembles the style of Liangzhou, and thus KUCHA. Among the painted images are the buddhas of the ten directions (see DAsADIs), members of the Qin dynastic house, and the state preceptor (GUOSHI) Tanmobi (Dharmapriya), cotranslator with ZHU FONIAN of the AstASAHASRIKAPRAJNAPARAMITA. The representations in cave 169 depict the content of then-newly translated scriptures such as the VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEsA, SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA, and the shorter SUKHAVATĪVYuHASuTRA (see also AMITABHASuTRA), which had been translated by KUMARAJĪVA in Chang'an around 400-410. The sculptures and paintings at Binglingsi serve as precedents for the subsequent Northern Wei sculpture found at YUNGANG and LONGMEN.
bka' babs bzhi. (kabap shi). In Tibetan, "four instructional lineages" (bka' means words-of a buddha or enlightened master-and babs means to descend in a stream); a series of tantric instructions that the Indian SIDDHA TILOPA received from various masters, codified, and then passed on to his disciple NAROPA. These later became foundational teachings for the BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism and were incorporated into the six doctrines of NAropa (NA RO CHOS DRUG). Tibetan sources vary widely regarding the lineage and content of these four transmissions. According to a biography of Tilopa composed by MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS, they are (1) the transmission of illusory body (T. sgyu lus kyi bka' babs) received from the siddha NAGARJUNA; (2) the transmission of dreams (T. rmi lam gyi bka' babs) received from the siddha CaryApa; (3) the transmission of clear light (T. 'od gsal gyi bka' babs) received from the siddha Lavapa; and (4) the transmission of inner heat (T. gtum mo'i bka' babs) received from JNAnadAkinī. According to other sources, these four may alternatively include the transmissions of MAHAMUDRA, the intermediate state (BAR DO), mother tantra (MATṚTANTRA), father tantra (PITṚTANTRA), and individual tantras such as the tantra of CAKRASAMVARA, HEVAJRA, and GUHYASAMAJA.
Bka' brgyud. (Kagyü). In Tibetan, "Oral Lineage" or "Lineage of the Buddha's Word"; one of the four main sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The term bka' brgyud is used by all sects of Tibetan Buddhism in the sense of an oral transmission of teachings from one generation to the next, a transmission that is traced back to India. Serving as the name of a specific sect, the name Bka' brgyud refers to a specific lineage, the MAR PA BKA' BRGYUD, the "Oral Lineage of Mar pa," a lineage of tantric initiations, instructions, and practices brought to Tibet from India by the translator MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS in the eleventh century. Numerous sects and subsects evolved from this lineage, some of which developed a great deal of autonomy and institutional power. In this sense, it is somewhat misleading to describe Bka' brgyud as a single sect; there is, for example, no single head of the sect as in the case of SA SKYA or DGE LUGS. The various sects and subsects, however, do share a common retrospection to the teachings that Mar pa retrieved from India. Thus, rather than refer to Bka' brgyud as one of four sects (chos lugs), in Tibetan the Mar pa Bka' brgyud is counted as one of the eight streams of tantric instruction, the so-called eight great chariot-like lineages of achievement (SGRUB BRGYUD SHING RTA CHEN PO BRGYAD), a group which also includes the RNYING MA, the BKA' GDAMS of ATIsA, and the instructions on "severance" (GCOD) of MA GCIG LAB SGRON. In some Tibetan histories, Mar pa's lineage is called the Dkar brgyud ("White Lineage"), named after the white cotton shawls worn by its yogins in their practice of solitary meditation. The reading Dka' brgyud ("Austerities Lineage") is also found. The lineage from which all the sects and subsects derive look back not only to Mar pa, but to his teacher, and their teachers, traced back to the tantric buddha VAJRADHARA. Vajradhara imparted his instructions to the Indian MAHASIDDHA TILOPA, who in turn transmitted them to the Bengali scholar and yogin NAROPA. It was NAropa (in fact, his disciples) whom Mar pa encountered during his time in India, receiving the famous NA RO CHOS DRUG, or the six doctrines of NAropa. Mar pa returned to Tibet, translated the texts and transmitted these and other teachings (including MAHAMUDRA, the hallmark practice of Bka' brgyud) to a number of disciples, including his most famous student, MI LA RAS PA. These five figures-the buddha Vajradhara, the Indian tantric masters Tilopa and NAropa, and their Tibetan successors Mar pa and Mi la ras pa (both of whom were laymen rather than monks)-form a lineage that is recognized and revered by all forms of Bka' brgyud. One of Mi la ras pa's chief disciples, the physician and monk SGAM PO PA BSOD NAMS RIN CHEN united the tantric instructions he received from Mi la ras pa and presented them in the monastic and exegetical setting that he knew from his studies in the Bka' gdams sect. Sgam po pa, therefore, appears to have been instrumental in transforming an itinerant movement of lay yogins into a sect with a strong monastic element. He established an important monastery in the southern Tibetan region of Dwags po; in acknowledgment of his importance, the subsequent branches of the Bka' brgyud are sometimes collectively known as the DWAGS PO BKA' BRGYUD. The Bka' brgyud later divided into what is known in Tibetan as the "four major and eight minor Bka' brgyud" (BKA' BRGYUD CHE BZHI CHUNG BRGYAD). A number of these subsects no longer survive as independent institutions, although the works of their major figures continue to be studied. Among those that survive, the KARMA BKA' BRGYUD, 'BRI GUNG BKA' BRGYUD, and 'BRUG PA BKA' BRGYUD continue to play an important role in Tibet, the Himalayan region, and in exile.
Bla ma Zhang. [full name, Zhang tshal pa Brtson 'grus grags pa] (Shangtsalpa Tsondrü Drakpa) (1123-1193). The founder of the TSHAL PA BKA' BRGYUD, one of the four major and eight minor subsects of the BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism (BKA' BRGYUD CHE BZHI CHUNG BRGYAD). He was an important figure in twelfth-century Tibet in both the religious and political realms. Born into an aristocratic family near LHA SA, he is said to have studied black magic in his youth. When both of his parents soon died, he attributed their deaths to his negative deeds and decided to become a Buddhist monk, receiving BHIKsU ordination in 1148. In 1152, he met the nephew of SGAM PO PA, from whom he received instructions in MAHAMUDRA, the subject of his best known work, Phyag chen lam mchog mthar thug ("Supreme Path of MahAmudrA"). In 1175 he established his own community, Tshal gung thang, north of Lha sa, controlling the region with a law code of his own composition and his own militia, dismissing criticisms of his use of force with the claim that such acts were the skillful methods of the tantric master. However, he eventually agreed to renounce violence when he was requested to do so by the first KARMA PA, DUS GSUM MKHYEN PA.
Mudra: A certain class of exercises in Hatha Yoga; symbols shown in hands during worship.
Mudra(Sanskrit) ::: A general name for certain intertwinings or positions of the fingers of the two hands, usedalone or together, in devotional yoga or exoteric religious worship, and these mudras or digital positionsare held by many Oriental mystics to have particular esoteric significance. They are found both in theBuddhist statues of northern Asia, especially those belonging to the Yogachara school, and also in Indiawhere they are perhaps particularly affected by the Hindu tantrikas. There is doubtless a good deal of hidefficacy in holding the fingers in proper position during meditation, but to the genuine occult student thesymbolic meaning of such mudras or digital positions is by far more useful and interesting. The subject istoo intricate, and of importance too small, to call for much detail of explanation here, or even to attempt afull exposition of the subject.
Mudra ::: Sanskrit for "gesture". A hand position. The ways in which the hands are situated in meditative practice can change awareness and movement of the mind and can also be utilized to work magic and sculpt reality.
Mudra (Sanskrit) Mudrā A symbol of power over invisible evil influences, whether as a simple posture or a posture considered as a talisman. Applied to certain positions of the fingers practiced in devotion, meditation, or exoteric religious worship, thought by some to imitate ancient Sanskrit characters, and therefore to have magic efficacy and to have a particular esoteric significance. Used both in the Northern Buddhist Yogacharya school and by the Hindu Tantrikas, with both symbolic and practical meanings.
Mudra: The “mystic seal” of Oriental occultism; a series of occult signs made with the fingers, and considered to have magical effects.
bodhimanda. (T. byang chub snying po; C. daochang; J. dojo; K. toryang 道場). In Sanskrit (and very late PAli), "seat of enlightenment" or "platform of enlightenment," the place in BODHGAYA under the BODHI TREE where the Buddha sat when he achieved liberation from the cycle of birth and death (SAMSARA). (The word manda in this compound refers to the scum that forms on the top of boiling rice or the heavy cream that rises to the top of milk, thus suggesting the observable and most essential signs of the supreme act of BODHI, or enlightenment. Note that Western literature sometimes wrongly transcribes the term as *bodhimandala rather than bodhimanda.) All buddhas are associated with such a place, and it is presumed that all BODHISATTVAs of this world system as well will sit on such a seat before attaining buddhahood. The term is also used to refer to the region surrounding the seat itself, which, in the case of sAKYAMUNI, is BodhgayA. The bodhimanda is also known as the VAJRASANA ("diamond seat"), since it is the only site on earth strong enough to bear the pressures unleashed by the battle for enlightenment. Buddhist iconography often depicts the Buddha just prior to his enlightenment sitting on the bodhimanda in the "earth-touching gesture" (BHuMISPARsAMUDRA), i.e., with his right hand touching the ground, calling the earth to bear witness to his achievement. The bodhimanda is often said to be the center or navel of the world and thus can be understood as what early scholars of religion called an axis mundi-the liminal site between divine and profane realms; according to the ABHIDHARMAKOsABHAsYA, the various hot and cold hells (see NARAKA) are located not below Mount SUMERU but below the bodhimanda. In medieval East Asia, the Chinese term for bodhimanda began to be used to designate a "ritual precinct," viz., a site where such critical Buddhist rituals as ordinations were held, and by the seventh century came to be commonly used as the equivalent of "monastery" (si). In Korea, toryang (= bodhimanda) is also used to designate the central courtyard around which are arrayed the most important shrine halls in a monastery.
bodhyangīmudrA. (T. byang chub mchog gi phyag rgya; C. zhiquan yin; J. chiken'in; K. chigwon in 智拳印). In Sanskrit, "gesture of the branches of enlightenment"; a gesture (MUDRA) found primarily with images of VAIROCANA, the DHARMAKAYA buddha, the central figure of the esoteric traditions of Buddhism and the chief buddha of the TATHAGATA family (see PANCAKULA). The gesture is typically formed with the right fist clasping the raised left index finger at the level of the heart, although the hand positions may be reversed. (This gesture is known in Chinese as the zhiquan yin, or "wisdom-fist gesture" a rendering often found in English accounts.) Alternatively, the raised thumb of the left fist may be clasped by the four fingers of the right fist, symbolizing the MAndALA of the five buddhas (PANCATATHAGATA). The gesture is interpreted to indicate the unity in the DHARMAKAYA of the divergent experience of ordinary beings (PṚTHAGJANA) and buddhas, SAMSARA and NIRVAnA, ignorance (AVIDYA) and wisdom (PRAJNA), and delusion (MOHA) and enlightenment (BODHI). See also JNANAMUstI.
Borobudur. [alt. Barabudur]. A massive Indonesian Buddhist monument located in a volcanic area west of Yogyakarta, in the south-central region of the island of Java. Although there are no written records concerning the monument's dating, archaeological and art-historical evidence suggests that construction started around 790 CE during the sailendra dynasty and continued for at least another three-quarters of a century. The derivation of its name remains controversial. The anglicized name Borobudur was given to the site by the colonial governor Sir Thomas Raffles, when Java was under British colonial rule. The name "budur" occurs in an old Javanese text referring to a Buddhist site and Raffles may have added the "boro" to refer to the nearby village of Bore. Borobudur is a pyramid-shaped MAndALA with a large central STuPA, which is surrounded by three concentric circular tiers that include a total of seventy-two individual stupas, and four square terraces, giving the monument the appearance of a towering mountain. The mandala may have been associated with the pilgrimage of the lad SUDHANA described in the GAndAVYuHA (and its embedded version in the "Entering the DharmadhAtu" chapter of the AVATAMSAKASuTRA). This structure is without analogue anywhere else in the Buddhist world, but seems to have influenced Khmer (Cambodian) architectural traditions. The central stupa houses a buddha image, and originally may have also enshrined a relic (sARĪRA). Each of the seventy-two smaller stupas also enshrines an image of a BODHISATTVA, of whom MANJUsRĪ and SAMANTABHADRA are most popular. The walls of Borobudur are carved with some 1,350 bas-reliefs that illustrate tales of the Buddha's past and present lives from the JATAKA and AVADANA literature, as well as events from such texts as the LALITAVISTARA, Gandavyuha, and the BHADRACARĪPRAnIDHANA. There are also niches at the upper parts of the walls that are enshrined with buddha images employing different hand gestures (MUDRA). The three circular tiers of Borobudur are presumed to correspond to the three realms of Buddhist cosmology (TRAIDHATUKA); thus, when pilgrims circumambulated the central stupa, they may have also been traveling symbolically through the sensuous realm (KAMADHATU), the subtle-materiality realm (RuPADHATU) and the immaterial realm (ARuPYADHATU). There are also ten series of bas-reliefs, which suggest that pilgrims making their way through the monument were also ritually reenacting a bodhisattva's progression through the ten stages (DAsABHuMI) of the bodhisattva path (MARGA). The monument is constructed on hilly terrain rather than flat land, and there is also some geological evidence that it may have originally been built on a lakeshore, as if it were a lotus flower floating in a lake. Borobudur is aligned with two other Buddhist temples in the area, Pawon and Mendu, an orientation that may well have had intentional ritual significance. By at least the fifteenth century, Borobudur was abandoned. There are two main theories regarding its fate. Since Borobudur was buried under several layers of volcanic ash at the time of its rediscovery, one theory is that a famine resulting from a volcanic eruption prompted the depopulation of the region and the monument's abandonment. A second explanation is that the rise of Islam hastened the downfall of Buddhism in Java and the neglect of the monument.
'Brug pa kun legs. (Drukpa Kunlek) (1455-1529). Also known as 'Brug smyon pa, "the Drukpa madman"; stories about his exploits, similar to the exploits of A khu ston pa (Aku Tonpa), are much beloved in Tibetan society; they draw on Tibetan folk narratives, the Indian SIDDHA tradition, and the Tibetan holy madman (smyon pa) tradition, poking fun at powerful interests and figures of religious authority, particularly monks, and often referring obliquely to esoteric tantric practices; the stories often suggest he engages in profane sexual and scatological activities in order to awaken people from ignorance to an understanding of Buddhist truths. The historical 'Brug pa kun leg (his given name was Kun dga' legs pa; 'Brug pa is short for 'BRUG PA BKA' BRGYUD, a BKA' BRYUD subsect) was born into the noble Rgya (Gya) lineage of RWA LUNG; he was a student of Lha btsun Kun dga' chos kyi rgya mtsho and possibly the Bhutanese saint and RNYING MA treasure revealer (GTER STON) PADMA GLING PA. His lineage was carried on after his death by his son. In his autobiography he describes himself as a difficult and contrary person from an early age; he was an adept at the practice of MAHAMUDRA. Later biographies of Kun dga' legs pa give anachronistic accounts of him making fun of SA SKYA PAndITA and TSONG KHA PA, iconic figures in Tibetan Buddhism, describe his appetite for barley beer and his fantastic love life; some accounts say he was the paramour of over five thousand women whom he enlightened by his teaching and practice. There is a small monastery of 'Brug pa kun legs with a phallic symbol in Bhutan where he is especially revered.
buddhapAtramudrA. (T. sangs rgyas kyi lhung bzed phyag rgya; C. foboyin; J. buppatsuin; K. pulbarin 佛鉢印). In Sanskrit, "the gesture of the Buddha's begging bowl." In this symbolic posture or gesture (MUDRA), the Buddha holds a begging bowl (PATRA) that sits in his lap. In some variations, the hands hold a jewel, or ornate treasure box, instead. In esoteric rituals, variations of this mudrA may be used for a number of different outcomes. For example, one Chinese indigenous SuTRA (see APOCRYPHA) suggests that forming and holding this gesture will cure stomach ailments. In another Japanese ritual, this mudrA is used to invite autochthonous deities to join the audience in attendance. The buddhapAtramudrA is typically associated with images of the Buddha AMITABHA, whose begging bowl is filled with the nectar of immortality (AMṚTA).
*Caturasītisiddhapravṛtti. (T. Grub thob brgyad bcu rtsa bzhi'i lo rgyus). In Sanskrit, "The Lives of the Eighty-four Siddhas"; a tantric doxography ascribed to the early twelfth-century Indian author ABHAYADATTAsRĪ. The original Sanskrit version has been lost, but the text is preserved in Tibetan translation. The work records brief vitae for the great SIDDHAs (or mahAsiddhas) of Indian tantric Buddhism, who are commonly enumerated in a list of eighty-four. While the list varies, according to Abhayadattasrī's work, the eighty-four siddhas include Luyipa, Līlapa, VIRuPA, dombipa, savaripa, SARAHA, Kankaripa, Mīnapa, Goraksa, CaurAngi, Vīnapa, sAntipa, Tantipa, Camaripa, Khadgapa, NAGARJUNA, KAnḥapa, Karnaripa, Thaganapa, NAROPA, salipa, TILOPA, Catrapa, Bhadrapa, Dhukhandi, Ajokipa, Kalapa, Dhombipa, Kankana, Kambala, tengipa, Bhandhepa, Tandhepa, Kukkuripa, Kucipa, Dharmapa, Mahipa, Acinta, Babhahi, Nalina, Bhusuku, INDRABHuTI, Mekopa, Kotali, KaMparipa, JAlandhari, RAHULA, Dharmapa, Dhokaripa, Medhina, Pankaja, Ghandhapa, Yogipa, Caluki, Gorura, Lucika, Niguna, JayAnanda, Pacari, Campaka, Bhiksana, Telopa, Kumaripa, Caparipa, ManibhadrA, MekhalA, KanakhalA, Kalakala, Kantali, Dhahuli, Udheli, Kapalapa, Kirava, Sakara, Sarvabhaksa, NAgabodhi, DArika, Putali, Panaha, Kokali, Ananga, LaksmīnkarA, Samudra, and Vyali. See MAHASIDDHA.
caturlaksana. (T. mtshan nyid bzhi; C. sixiang; J. shiso; K. sasang 四相). In Sanskrit, "four marks of existence"; also known as the four "conditioned marks" (SAMSKṚTALAKsAnA. These four characteristics governing all conditioned objects are "origination" or birth (JATI), "maturation" or continuance (STHITI), "senescence" or decay (JARA), and "desinence" or extinction, viz., death (ANITYA). In the SARVASTIVADA school, these four were treated as "forces dissociated from thought" (CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAMSKARA), which exerted real power over compounded objects, escorting an object along from one force to another, until the force "desinence" extinguishes it; this explanation was necessary in order to explain how factors that the school presumed continued to exist in all three time periods of past, present, and future nevertheless still appeared to undergo change. Some SarvAstivAda ABHIDHARMA texts, however, accept only three characteristics, omitting continuance. See also DHARMAMUDRA; LAKsAnA.
caturmudrA. (T. phyag rgya bzhi; C. siyin; J. shiin; K. sain 四印). In Sanskrit, lit. "four seals" or "four assertions"; the Tibetan translation lta ba bkar btags kyi phyag rgya bzhi literally means "the four seals that mark a view as the word [of the Buddha]," i.e., that mark a philosophical system or certify a doctrine as being Buddhist. The four seals are: all compounded factors (SAMSKṚTADHARMA) are impermanent (ANITYATA), all contaminated things are suffering (DUḤKHA), all things are devoid of any perduring self (ANATMAN), and NIRVAnA is peace (sAnta). In the MAHAYANASuTRALAMKARA, the four seals are connected with the three "gates to deliverance" (VIMOKsAMUKHA), which mark the transition from the compounded (SAMSKṚTA) realm of SAMSARA to the uncompounded (ASAMSKṚTA) realm of NIRVAnA. "All compounded factors are impermanent" and "all contaminated things are suffering" are the cause of the SAMADHI of wishlessness (APRAnIHITA). "All phenomena are selfless" is the cause of the samAdhi of emptiness (suNYATA). "NirvAna is peace" is the cause of the samAdhi of signlessness (ANIMITTA).
chinmudra. ::: the hand-pose indicating illumination
cit samudra (chit samudra) ::: ocean of consciousness.
Cundī. (T. Skul byed ma; C. Zhunti; J. Juntei; K. Chunje 准提). In Sanskrit, the name Cundī (with many orthographic variations) probably connotes a prostitute or other woman of low caste but specifically denotes a prominent local ogress (YAKsInĪ), whose divinized form becomes the subject of an important Buddhist cult starting in the eighth century. Her worship began in the Bengal and Orissa regions of the Indian subcontinent, where she became the patron goddess of the PAla dynasty, and soon spread throughout India, and into Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and Tibet, eventually making its way to East Asia. Cundī was originally an independent focus of cultic worship, who only later (as in the Japanese SHINGONSHu) was incorporated into such broader cultic practices as those focused on the "womb MAndALA" (see TAIZoKAI). Several scriptures related to her cult were translated into Chinese starting in the early eighth century, and she lends her name to both a MUDRA as well as an influential DHARAnĪ: namaḥ saptAnAM samyaksaMbuddhakotīnAM tadyathA: oM cale cule cunde svAhA. The dhAranī attributed to Cundī is said to convey infinite power because it is in continuous recitation by myriads of buddhas; hence, an adept who participates in this ongoing recitation will accrue manifold benefits and purify himself from unwholesome actions. The efficacy of the dhAranī is said to be particularly pronounced when it is recited before an image of Cundī while the accompanying Cundī mudrA is also being performed. This dhAranī also gives Cundī her common epithet of "Goddess of the Seventy Million [Buddhas]," which is sometimes mistakenly interpreted (based on a misreading of the Chinese) as the "Mother of the Seventy Million Buddhas." The texts also provide elaborate directions on how to portray her and paint her image. In Cundī's most common depiction, she has eighteen arms (each holding specific implements) and is sitting atop a lotus flower (PADMA) while being worshipped by two ophidian deities.
Dorje (Tibetan) rdo rje. Equivalent to the Sanskrit vajra, meaning both thunderbolt and diamond. As a thunderbolt, it is represented in the hands of some of the Tibetan gods, especially the dragshed — deities who protect human beings — and is thus equivalent to the weapons of Indra and Zeus. Dorje is the scepter of power, whether spiritual or temporal, and appears on the altars of the Gelukpas together with the bell and cymbals: “It is also a Mudra, a gesture and posture used in sitting for meditation. It is, in short, a symbol of power over invisible evil influences, whether as a posture or a talisman. The Bhons or Dugpas, however, having appropriated the symbol, misuse it for purposes of Black Magic. . . . With the Dugpas, it is like the double triangle reversed, the sign of sorcery” (VS 90).
Dus gsum mkhyen pa. (Dusum Kyenpa) (1110-1193). A renowned Tibetan master recognized as the first in the lineage of KARMA PA incarnations and early founder of the KARMA BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in the Tre shod region of eastern Tibet and at the age of sixteen was ordained by a monk of the BKA' GDAMS sect and received tantric instruction from a disciple of ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNĀNA. He went on to study MADHYAMAKA and the KĀLACAKRATANTRA with some of the leading scholars of the day. At the age of thirty, Dus gsum mkhyen pa met his principal GURU, SGAM PO PA BSOD NAMS RIN CHEN, from whom he received many teachings, including so-called "heat yoga" (gtum mo; see CAndĀLĪ). He also studied with MI LA RAS PA's renowned disciple RAS CHUNG PA. He devoted himself to the teachings that would become the hallmark of the Bka' brgyud, such as the six yogas of NĀROPA and MAHĀMUDRA, but he also received teachings from a number of Bka' gdams and SA SKYA masters. He went on to found three important Bka' brgyud monasteries: Kam po gnas nang in 1164, KARMA DGON in 1184, both in eastern Tibet, and MTSHUR PHU northwest of LHA SA in 1187. The latter became a powerful central-Tibetan institution as the primary seat of the Karma pas up to 1959. It is said that at the age of sixteen Dus gsum mkhyen pa received a hat woven from the hair of one hundred thousand dĀKINĪs. This hat has been passed down to subsequent Karma pas, and seen in the so-called "black hat ceremony" (zhwa nag).
Hathayoga: A system of Yoga, for gaining control over the physical body and Prana; system of Asanas, Pranayama Bandhas, Mudras and Kriyas.
hatha yogi. ::: the one who uses relaxation and other practices such as yamas, niyamas, mudras, bandhas etc.. to gain control of the physical body and the subtle life force &
hrdya samudra ::: Ocean of the Heart. [cf. RV 4.58.5]
jnana mudra. ::: the joining of the thumb and the forefinger of a raised right hand signifying the union of the Paramatman and the jivatman, hereby showing their identity
karana samudra ::: [the causal ocean].
Khecharimudra: The Hatha Yogic pose whereby a person is able to fly in the sky.
Kshira-samudra (Sanskrit) Kṣīra-samudra The ocean of milk, which was churned by the gods, according to Puranic legend. The sea of milk and curds is the Milky Way and the various congeries of nebulae. The allegory of the churning of the ocean of milk refers to a time before the kosmos was evolved. Vishnu, who here stands for aeonic preservation of karmically developed kosmic stuff or matter, is its intelligent preserver, and churns out of the primitive ocean (the chaos of a universe in pralaya) the amrita or immortal essence which is reserved only for the gods. See also KURMA-AVATARA
mudra ::: a position of the hands; the use of the hands to shut the ears mudra to outward sounds.
Phyag chen nges don rgya mtsho. (Chakchen Ngedon Gyatso). In Tibetan, "MAHĀMUDRĀ: Ocean of Definitive Meaning"; the most extensive of three major texts composed by the ninth KARMA PA DBANG PHYUG RDO RJE on the doctrine and practice of the great seal (mahāmudrā). See also PHYAG CHEN CHOS SKU MDZUB TSHUGS ("Mahāmudrā: Pointing out the DHARMAKĀYA") and PHYAG CHEN MA RIG MUN GSAL ("Mahāmudra: Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance").
prati samudram syandamanah ::: [flowing towards the ocean].
Sambhavimudra: The vacant externalised gaze of a Hatha Yogi where the mind is directed inwards; the Yogi appears to be looking at external objects but is not actually perceiving them as his mind is indrawn.
samudra ::: ocean.
samudra&
Sapta-sindhavas (Sanskrit) Sapta-sindhavas [from sapta seven + sindhu river from the verbal root syand to flow, trickle, pour forth] The seven sacred rivers spoken of in the Vedas, connected with the sapta-samudra (seven oceans). From the standpoint of the planetary chain, the oceans or seas of space which surround the different globes are intimately interconnected by similar lines of communication, which likewise can be called circulations. In Avestic works these sacred streams are called Hapta Heando. See also CIRCULATIONS OF THE COSMOS
sat samudra (chit samudra) ::: ocean of existence.
simuoe in 施無畏印. See ABHAYAMuDRA
Sthirata: Steadiness or firmness either of mind through concentration or of body through Asanas, Mudras, etc.
Ullambana (Mongolian) [from Sanskrit ud up, completion + the verbal root labh to reach, attain] Attainment or recovery of spiritual status; the festival of all souls, “held in China on the seventh moon annually, when both ‘Buddhist and Tauist priests read masses, to release the souls of those who died on land or sea from purgatory, scatter rice to feed Pretas [thirty-six classes of demons ever hungry and thirsty], consecrate domestic ancestral shrines, . . . recite Tantras . . . accompanied by magic finger-play (mudra) to comfort the ancestral spirits of seven generations in Naraka’ (a kind of purgatory or Kama Loka)” (TG 351).
Yogamudra: The symbol of Yoga. The word Mudra means 'symbol'. This exercise awakens the spiritual forces dormant in man. It is specially useful in liberating the serpent power called Kundalini.
Yonimudra: That Mudra in which one closes the ears, eyes, nose and mouth with the thumbs and fingers of the hands to enable one hear the Anahata sounds.
KEYS (10k)
1 Sri Aurobindo
NEW FULL DB (2.4M)
1:Gesture (Mudra)
I have drunk the Infinite like a giant's wine.
Time is my drama or my pageant dream. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Transformation,#KEYS
*** WISDOM TROVE ***
*** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***
1:Gabriel flashed him the one-fingered Mudra of Contempt. ~ Walter Jon Williams, #NFDB
2:Gesture (Mudra)
I have drunk the Infinite like a giant’s wine.
Time is my drama or my pageant dream. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Transformation,#NFDB
3:Raja yoga is the mental practice and incorporates meditation, pranayama, and mudra. What are the benefits of having a raja yoga practice? The benefit is spirituality. ~ Rajashree Choudhury, #NFDB
4:We may overindulge at times, but we then control ourselves and go back to a more moderate diet. There is a mudra that illustrates this situation quite well: “If the animal leaves the flock, I take it back to the flock. If it leaves again, I take it back again.” Spiritual ~ Alejandro Jodorowsky, #NFDB
5:Bearing in his right paw the shovel that digs to the truth beneath appearances, cut the roots of useless attachments, and flings damp sand on the fires of greed and war; His left paw in the Mudra of Comradely Display - indicating that all creatures have the full right to live to their limits and that deer, rabbits, chipmunks, snakes, dandelions, and lizards all grow in the realm of the Dharma. ~ Gary Snyder, #NFDB
6:Because Shingon is Vajrayana, the main meditation practice involves working with visualizations, mantras, and mudra gestures. You replace your self-image with that of an archetype, you replace your usual mental talk with the mantra of that archetype, and you take on the physical and emotional body experience of that archetype through making mudras—ritual hand gestures. If your concentration is good enough, your identity briefly shifts. You become that archetype. ~ Shinzen Young, #NFDB
7:Mala faced her wall of faded cereus blooms. She was content. Oblivious to the dew that drizzled from the mudra, she rocked and dozed lightly. Scent, as though too shy for light, no longer trickled from the blossoms but Mala was not yet ready to leave the yard. Her eyes would flicker open and catch a glimpse of the day that was beginning to split the black sky apart. In that first orange light the flowers hung limp, battered and bruised, each one worn out from the frenzied carnival of moths. (140) ~ Shani Mootoo, #NFDB
8:Just as a hug is the only way to express yourself when words are inadequate,mudras, or gestures, convey profound spiritual experiences that cannot adequately be expressed verbally. The most powerful,universal and healing mudra is a smile. When we overflow with joy, we cannot help but smile spontaneously. And when we are mired in doubt, fear, anxiety, and depression, a smile creates a map in the mind that leads us home to that joy that is hidden in even the darkest moments of our life. It is one thing to know that joy is possible in any moment—in any situation. It is another
skill entirely to know when to find that joy when your world is crumbling around you. The map is with you always—just smile! ~ Darren Main,#NFDB
4 Buddhism
3 Yoga
3 Integral Yoga
4 Bokar Rinpoche
3 Swami Sivananda Saraswati
2 Sri Aurobindo
4 Tara - The Feminine Divine
3 Amrita Gita
0 1963-05-11, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Such is the case, for example, of Anandamayi-M, who was said to be hysterical because of the strange gestures she made during her meditations, until it turned out that they were ritual asanas and Mudras which she performed spontaneously.
As long as Nature lasts, he too is there; For this is sure that he and she are one.
1.01 - Hatha Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
7. Learn the Asanas, Pranayama, Bandhas, Mudras and the Shad Kriyas under an expert Hatha Yogi.
8. Ida, Pingala and Sushumna are the three important Nadis in the body.
--
30. Maha Mudra is an important Mudra. This removes piles, enlargement of spleen, indigestion, constipation.
31. Practise Yoga- Mudra daily. This is a good exercise for the abdominal organs.
1.01 - Tara the Divine, #Tara - The Feminine Divine, #unset, #Zen
making certain Mudras, legs in a definite position,
adorned with various attributes, and so on. In a
--
mind). Her left hand accomplishes the refuge Mudra,
thumb and ring finger are joined to symbolize the
1.03 - Invocation of Tara, #Tara - The Feminine Divine, #unset, #Zen
and is put to use in doing the Mudras (hand gestures
symbolizing offerings, inviting deities, and so on). It is
--
of .us with her right hand in the Mudra of sublime
giving. We think then that she bestows on us the
--
protection Mudra. We think that she protects us
against all fears and dangers.
--
Tara, accomplishing the Mudra of giving with the
right hand and holding a lotus on which there are
--
threatening Mudra with her right hand and holds a
bell in her left
--
who, as in the inner practice, perform the Mudra of
giving with their right hand and hold in the left hand
--
the accomplishment of Mudras, and the use of various
objects.
1.03 - Meeting the Master - Meeting with others, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
In the meantime it was brought to Sri Aurobindo's notice that this man had tried to practise Hatha Yoga without a Guru and had begun with Khechari Mudra, Trataka and Uddiyana accompanied by Kapalabhati Pranayama and ended by being sick. Raghunath was all along thinking that Sri Aurobindo was a great Hathayogi, because he meditated with open eyes and was able to do Utthapana, levitation.
Disciple: Raghunath says that he has made up his mind.
--
Disciple: In Khechari Mudra the lower connecting link of the tongue is to be cut.
Sri Aurobindo: I think Keshavananda at Chandod also had his tongue freed by cutting it for Khechari.
Disciple: What is, after all, the result of Khechari Mudra?
Sri Aurobindo: I believe it leads to a kind of trance which may give a certain Ananda.
Disciple: The idea seems to be to invert the freed tongue so as to close the passage of breathing. The two nostrils are called the Ida and Pingala currents of Prana. The third current is Sushumna on the crown of the head. When these two are stopped, by inverting the tongue and blocking the passage of breathing, then Sushumna begins to function. The theory is that Amrita, nectar, is dropping from the Sushumna even now but as the tongue does not taste it, man does not enjoy the nectar. There is also a tradition that in Khechari Mudra one is able to fly.
Sri Aurobindo: It only gives a kind of trance and a consequent Ananda: I do not know what else it does.
1.04 - Nada Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
4. Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana or Sukhasana. Close the ears with the thumb. This is Shanmukhi Mudra or Vaishnavi Mudra.
5. Now hear the music of Anahata sounds. You will have wonderful concentration.
1.04 - The Praise, #Tara - The Feminine Divine, #unset, #Zen
Homage to her whose fingers in the Mudra symbol
Of the Three Jewels adorn the heart,
--
HOMAGE TO HER WHOSE FINGERS IN THE Mudra SYMBOL
OF THE THREE JEWELS ADORN THE HEART,
--
Mudra SYMBOL OF THE THREE JEWELS: Tara, as she
is usually represented, with the left hand holding a
lotus stem accomplishes a Mudra called " Mudra of the
Three Jewels" (The Three Jewels being the Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha). The Mudra symbol of the Three
Jewels mentioned here, according to Taranatha, is
--
"lotus Mudra."
- 108-
The previously described Mudra
requires,that the hands be placed in front of the heart.
--
Tara places her hands in the lotus Mudra, her entire
body radiates infinite rays of light.
--
lotus Mudra, consecrated it with her mantra, and
declared that anyone who accomplishes it will
--
of the armor provided by Tara's mantras and Mudras.
Stanza 20
1.06 - Iconography, #Tara - The Feminine Divine, #unset, #Zen
her head in the Mudra of
great bliss holding a
--
the giving Mudra.
In her left hands:
--
hand : protecting Mudra.
With her left hand:
--
threatening Mudra.
- 148-
--
threatening Mudra
and holding a rope.
--
her head in the Mudra of
joy, holding a vajra and a
--
her head in the Mudra of
joy (palms joined) other
--
giving Mudra, and a
stick, in her left
--
head in the Mudra of joy
and holding hooks. Other
1.09 - Kundalini Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
7. Asanas, Bandhas, Mudras, Pranayama help in awakening Kundalini.
8. Neti, Dhauti, Nauli, Bhasti, Kapalabhati and Trataka are the Shat-Kriyas or six Yoga Kriyas.
--
10. Maha- Mudra, Yoni- Mudra, Sambhavi- Mudra, Khechari Mudra, Sakti-Chalani Mudra and Vipareeta-Karani Mudra are the important Mudras.
11. Sarvangasana, Sirshasana, Paschimottanasana are the important Asanas.
12. Learn the Asanas, Pranayama, Bandhas and Mudras under an expert, Siddha Yogi Guru.
13. A Guru is one who has full illumination, who is endowed with all divine virtues, who is able to remove the doubts of his disciples and guide them in the path of Yoga.
--
25. You can change the flow of breath in Ida and Pingala Nadis through concentration on the left and right nostril, through Khechari Mudra, etc.
26. When you practise Pranayama vigorously, take butter and sugarcandy. Live on a small quantity of milk.
r1914 10 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Sukshmagandha, intense & varied, is again active, but infrequentlySparsha, as before, but slight & momentary in those contacts which suggest the human touch.There is occasionally sparsha & rasa in the mouth, but after smarana. Shabda comes only by Mudra or by concentration. Drishti is not active.
***
Talks With Sri Aurobindo 1, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
SRI AUROBINDO: Oh, that is Khechari Mudra. He perhaps got the wrong flow.
Barin was approached by some of these Sadhus who promised all sorts of
--
PURANI: They do that in Khechari Mudra.
SRI AUROBINDO: Yes, he simply refused. They said, "You Bengali coward!"
--
PURANI: But this Mudra is very dangerous unless one's vital being is pure.
SRI AUROBINDO: I am afraid Barin's wasn't quite pure! (Laughter)
Verses of Vemana, #is Book, #unset, #Zen
All those who comprehending in their mind the scheme (or knack) of gazing at the sky (the khechari Mudra) and who dispute not vainly these have subdued delusion. Can it other-wise be subdued?
239
--
(Mystic) By gazing at the blight Mudras, happiness or sorrow is produced. Looking at the blessing of the Mudras and enjoying it, thou shalt shine as a beatified saint.
245
--- Overview of noun mudra
The noun mudra has 1 sense (no senses from tagged texts)
1. mudra ::: (ritual hand movement in Hindu religious dancing)
--- Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun mudra
1 sense of mudra
Sense 1
mudra
=> gesture
=> motion, movement, move, motility
=> change
=> action
=> act, deed, human action, human activity
=> event
=> psychological feature
=> abstraction, abstract entity
=> entity
--- Hyponyms of noun mudra
--- Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun mudra
1 sense of mudra
Sense 1
mudra
=> gesture
--- Coordinate Terms (sisters) of noun mudra
1 sense of mudra
Sense 1
mudra
-> gesture
=> jab, jabbing, poke, poking, thrust, thrusting
=> mudra
--- Grep of noun mudra
mudra
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