Mahamudra

Mahamudra ( skt .; Tib . : phyag rgya chen po ; also: Chag Chen ; German: Large Seal or Large Symbol ) is a central term in the schools of the "New Translations" ( Sarma ) of Tibetan Buddhism .

Basic, Path and Fruit Mahamudra

In these schools (which include the Kagyu , Sakya , and Gelug schools ), mahamudra designates the highest Buddhist teachings as the "foundation" on which meditation practice rests; the practice based on these teachings itself as the "path"; and the experience of enlightenment attained through this practice as the "fruit" ultimately attained. One therefore speaks of the “basic, path and fruit mahamudra”.

Essence of the Buddha's teachings

The Mahamudra approach is often referred to as the essence of the Buddha's teachings ( Dharma ) and, under the most favorable circumstances, may lead to enlightenment in its three levels of meaning within a single life span. The knowledge that arises with this is also referred to as “knowledge of the highest reality”, “knowledge of the nature of the mind” or simply as “knowledge of the Buddha nature ”. In this perfect state, all dualistic mental concepts are overcome, the permanent experience of an “absolute reality”, synonymous with “highest wisdom” occurs.

In the classical Tibetan literature one finds the paraphrase, "when attaining mahamudra, everything bears the seal of absolute nature" or "all phenomena appear as elements of the wisdom mandala of the mind". This insight is no different from the knowledge of the Prajnaparamita described in the Heart Sutra of Mahayana Buddhism , the so-called perfect wisdom, the highest knowledge of all Buddhas .

Four Yogas of Mahamudra

The teaching of Mahamudra is based on different levels of meditative practice, the so-called "Four Yogas of Mahamudra":

1. The development of a one-pointed mind
2. The transcendence of conceptual ideas
3. Cultivating the view that all phenomena are of a fundamentally nondual nature, "a taste"
4. The fruit of the path that lies beyond the effort of meditation.

It is said that through these four stages the practitioner attains the full realization of mahamudra.

See also

• Diamond way
• Dzogchen

literature

• Djamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye , Tilmann Borghard (translator): Mahāmudrā - the light of the true sense: Explanations of the preparatory exercises and the main practice of Mahāmudrā. Norbu-Verlag, Badenweiler, 2014.
• Garma CC Chang : Mahamudra primer. An introduction to Tibetan Zen Buddhism. Octopus Verlag, Vienna, 1979.
• Geshe Rabten : Mahamudra. The way to the knowledge of reality. Edition Rabten, 2008, ISBN 3905497425 ( content ).
• Künzig Shamar Rinpoche : The Mahamudra Way. In: Buddhism Today. 18/1995. ( Full text )
• Karmapa Wangtchug Dordje , Henrik Havlat (transl.): Mahamudra - The ocean of true sense . Monsenstein and Vannerdat , 2009, ISBN 9783865828828 .
• Lama Ole Nydahl : The great seal. The Mahamudra view of the Diamond Way Buddhism , Droemer / Knaur, Munich July 2006, ISBN 3-426-87292-7
• Geshe Kelsang Gyatso : Mahamudra Tantra. Tharpa, 2006, ISBN 3-908543-26-6 .
• Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche : Three Classifications of Mahamudra. (PDF; 79 kB)
• Peter Alan Roberts (Translator): Mahamudra and Related Instructions. Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools. Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2011, ISBN 978-086171-444-5 . (764 p.)
• Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche: "As It Is" - Essence of Dzogchen and Mahamudra. Volume 1 . Joy-Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-928554-76-3 .
• Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche: "As It Is" - Essence of Dzogchen and Mahamudra. Volume 2 . Joy-Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-928554-77-0 .
• Garchen Rinpoche : Mahamudra on the Ganges river. Otter Verlag, Munich, 2010. ISBN 978-3933529336

Web links

• Study Buddhism: Mahamudra - Translations and Commentaries.
• Tilopa: Mahāmudrā Instruction to Naropa . Translation Kunzang Tenzin, 1977.
• Naropa / Maitripa: Mahāmudrā in brief . Translation by MB Schiekel, 2011.