Editing Mahamudra (section)

==Tibetan traditions==
[[File:Bhutanese painted thanka of Milarepa (1052-1135), Late 19th-early 20th Century, Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan.jpg|upright|thumb|Painted thanka of [[Milarepa]] (1052-1135), Late 19th-early 20th Century, Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan]]
Mahāmudrā is most well known as a teaching within the [[Kagyu]] school of Tibetan Buddhism. However the [[Gelug]] and [[Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school)|Sakya]] schools also practice mahāmudrā. The [[Nyingma]] school and [[Bon]] practise [[Dzogchen]], a cognate but distinct method of direct introduction to the principle of [[śūnyatā]]. Nyingma students may also receive supplemental training in mahāmudrā, and the [[Palyul]] Nyingma lineage preserves a lineage of the "Union of mahāmudrā and Ati Yoga" originated by [[Karma Chagme]].

===Kagyu tradition===
[[File:Gampopa portrait.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Gampopa]] (1079–1153), Kagyu founder]]

[[Gampopa]] Sönam Rinchen (1079-1153), a Kadam monk who was a student of the lay tantric yogi Milarepa, is a key figure in the Kagyu tradition. He is responsible for much of the development of Kagyu monastic institutions and for recording the teachings of the lineage in writing.{{sfnp|Duff|2008|pp=v-vii}} He synthesized the Mahayana Kadam teachings with the tantric teachings he received from Milarepa and developed a unique system of mahāmudrā which he often taught without tantric [[Empowerment (Vajrayana)|empowerment]], relying instead on [[Guru Yoga|guru yoga]].{{sfnp|Kragh|2015|pp=163-164}}

Mahāmudrā is defined by [[Gampopa]] as "the realization of the natural state as awareness-emptiness, absolutely clear and transparent, without root". Gampopa also states that mahāmudrā is "the [[Prajnaparamita|paramita of wisdom]], beyond thought and expression."{{sfnp|Stenzel|2014}} Gampopa taught mahāmudrā in a five part system to his disciples, one of his most well known disciples, [[Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo|Phagmo Drupa]] (1110-1170) became a very successful teacher who continued to teach this five part system and eight "junior" kagyu lineages are traced to him.{{sfnp|Duff|2008|pp=v-vii}} This "Five-Part Mahāmudrā" system became one of the main ways that Mahāmudrā was transmitted in Kagyu lineages after Gampopa.{{sfnp|Duff|2008|pp=v-vii}}

The tradition which follows Gampopa is called [[Dagpo Kagyu|Dakpo Kagyu]]. A key Mahāmudrā author of this tradition is [[Dagpo Tashi Namgyal|Dakpo Tashi Namgyal]], well known for his ''Mahāmudrā: The Moonlight.'' [[Karma Kagyu]] [[Karmapa]]s like the ninth Karmapa [[Wangchuk Dorje, 9th Karmapa Lama|Wangchuk Dorje]] also composed important Mahāmudrā texts. A development of these later mahāmudrā writers is the integration of the common Mahayana teachings on [[samatha]] and [[Vipaśyanā|vipasyana]] as preliminaries to the practice of mahāmudrā.{{sfnp|Kragh|2015|p=165}}

====Three types of teaching====
The Kagyu lineage divides the mahāmudrā teachings into three types, "sutra mahāmudrā," "tantra mahāmudrā," and "essence mahāmudrā," in a formulation that appears to originate with [[Jamgon Kongtrul]].{{sfnp|Mathes|2003|p=201}} Sutra mahāmudrā, as the name suggests, draws its philosophical view and meditation techniques from the sutrayana tradition. Tantric mahāmudrā employs such [[tantra techniques (Vajrayana)|tantric techniques]] as [[tummo]], [[dream yoga]], and [[ösel (yoga)|ösel]], three of the [[Six Yogas of Naropa]]. Essence mahāmudrā is based on the direct instruction of a qualified lama, known as [[pointing-out instruction]].

====As a path beyond sutra and tantra====
Kagyu lineage figures such as Gampopa presented a form of mahāmudrā that was said to transcend the vehicles of sutrayana and vajrayana. According to Karl Brunnholzl, Gampopa saw Mahāmudrā as a third path that was neither sutra nor tantra which he called "the path of prajña" and "the path of suchness," and which "relies on blessing and is for those who are intelligent and of sharp faculties."{{sfnp|Brunnholzl|2015|pp=192-193}} Brunnholzl adds that for Gampopa, the mahāmudrā path of "taking direct perceptions as the path" relies on introduction by a genuine guru to the luminous dharmakaya and thus:

<blockquote>Through having been taught an unmistaken instruction of definitive meaning like that, one then takes native mind as the path, without separating the triad of view, conduct, and meditation in terms of this connate mind about which one has gained certainty within oneself.{{sfnp|Brunnholzl|2015|pp=192-193}}</blockquote>

Gampopa also stated that mahāmudrā was "the highest path that actually transcends both sutra and tantra." Brunnholzl further states that "In practice, most of Gampopa's preserved teachings consist primarily of sutra-based instructions and then conclude with Mahāmudrā, either not teaching the path of mantra at all or mentioning it only in passing."{{sfnp|Brunnholzl|2015|pp=192-193}}

The Kagyu tradition bases their mahāmudrā teachings on the works of Indian mahasiddhas like Saraha and Maitripa. According to Klaus-Dieter Mathes,

{{blockquote| Later Bka´ brgyud pas defended their not specifically Tantric or sūtra mahāmudrā tradition by adducing Indian sources such as the Tattvadaśakaṭīkā or the Tattvāvatāra. These belong to a genre of literature which the Seventh Karmapa Chos grags rgya mtsho (1454–1506) called "Indian mahāmudrā-Works" (phyag chen rgya gzhung).{{sfnp|Mathes|2008}} }}

Mathes investigated the practice described in these mahāmudrā works and found that it is not necessarily Tantric. In Saraha's dohās, it is simply the realization of Mind's co-emergent nature with the help of a genuine guru. [[Maitripada|Maitrīpa]] (ca. 1007–1085) uses the term Mahāmudrā for precisely such an approach, thus employing an originally Tantric term for something that is not a specifically Tantric practice. It is thus legitimate for later Kagyupas to speak of Saraha's mahāmudrā tradition as being originally independent of the Sūtras and the Tantras. For Maitrīpa, the direct realization of emptiness (or the co-emergent) is the bridging link between the Sūtras and the Tantras, and it is thanks to this bridge that mahāmudrā can be linked to the Sūtras and the Tantras. In the Sūtras it takes the form of the practice of non-abiding and becoming mentally disengaged, while in the Tantras it occupies a special position among the four mudrās.{{sfnp|Mathes|2008}}

The Kagyu teachings of mahāmudrā became a point of controversy. The possibility of sudden liberating realization and the practice of mahāmudrā without the need for [[Empowerment (Vajrayana)|tantric initiation]] was seen as contrary to the teachings of the Buddhist tantras and as being just a form of Chinese [[Zen|Chan (Zen)]] by certain critics.{{sfnp|Namgyal|Lhalungpa|2006|p=104}} However, Dakpo Tashi Namgyal explicitly reaffirms that a tantric empowerment is not, in and of itself, a requirement for the path of liberation. He writes, "(Gampopa) did not make the esoteric empowerment a prerequisite for receiving the Mahāmudrā teachings. He spoke about the method of directly guiding the disciple toward the intrinsic reality of the mind [...] if one follows venerable Gampopa’s system in elucidating Mahāmudrā alone, it is not necessary [...]" In addition, he notes certain "[...] followers of this meditative order (who later) adapted Mahāmudrā to the practice of esoteric tantra", which typically relies on empowerments.{{sfnp|Namgyal|Lhalungpa|2006|pp=123–124}}

==== Kagyu lineages ====
[[Khedrup Gelek Pelzang, 1st Panchen Lama]] identified a number of mahāmudrā lineages, according to their main practices for achieving mahāmudrā. In his teachings on the First Panchen Lama's root text and auto-commentary the [[14th Dalai Lama]] delineated the Kagyu practice lineages as follows:{{sfnp|Dalai Lama|Berzin|1997|pp=262–271}}

* The [[Karma Kagyu]] "Simultaneously Arising as Merged" tradition - This is the tradition introduced by [[Gampopa]] with a main practice of the [[Six Yogas of Naropa]].
* The [[Shangpa Kagyu]] "Amulet Box" tradition - This tradition came from [[Khyungpo Naljor]] and its main practice is the Six yogas of [[Niguma]].
* The [[Drikung Kagyu]] "Possessing Five" tradition - [[Jigten Sumgön|Jigten Gonpo]] founded the school and mahāmudrā lineage whose main practice is known as the '''fivefold mahāmudrā''' consisting of [[Three Jewels and Three Roots|refuge]] and [[bodhicitta]], [[deity yoga]], [[guru yoga]], [[Six Dharmas of Naropa|mahamudra meditation]], and [[dedication of merit]].
* The [[Drukpa Kagyu|Drukpa lineage]] "Six Spheres of Equal Taste" tradition - [[Tsangpa Gyare]] founded this tradition which encompasses a range of practices, including the [[Six Yogas of Naropa]].
* The [[Dagpo Kagyu]] "Four Syllables" tradition - This is the tradition that derives from [[Maitripada|Maitripa]]. The four syllables are ''a-ma-na-si'' which make up the Sanskrit word meaning 'not to take to mind' and passed through the [[Dagpo Kagyu]] branches, i.e. any that descend from the teachings of [[Tilopa]] rather than those of [[Niguma]], which in practice means all but the [[Shangpa Kagyu]].

===Sakya tradition===
Following the great [[Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school)|Sakya]] exegete and philosopher [[Sakya Pandita|Sakya pandita]] (1182-1251), mahāmudrā in the Sakya school is seen as the highest [[Tantra|tantric]] realization, which means that mahāmudrā practice is only taken on after having been [[Empowerment (Vajrayana)|initiated into tantric practice]] and practicing the creation and completion stages of [[deity yoga]].{{sfnp|Berzin|2006}}{{sfnp|Stenzel|2014}} In his "A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes" (''Sdom gsum rab dbye''), Sakya Pandita criticized the non-tantric "sutra" mahamudra approaches of the Kagyu teachers such as [[Gampopa]] who taught mahāmudrā to those who had not received tantric initiations and based themselves on the [[Ratnagotravibhāga|Uttaratantrasastra]].{{sfnp|Stenzel|2014}} He argued that the term mahāmudrā does not occur in the sutras, only in the highest class of tantras and that only through tantric initiation does mahāmudrā arise: "Our own Great Seal consists of Gnosis risen from initiation."{{sfnp|Stenzel|2014}} According to Sakya Pandita, through the four empowerments or initiations given by a qualified guru, most practitioners will experience a likeness of true mahāmudrā, though a few rare individuals experience true mahāmudrā.{{sfnp|Stenzel|2014}} Through the practice of the creation and completion stages of tantra, the tantrika develops this partial understanding of bliss and emptiness into a completely non-dual gnosis, the real Mahamudra, which corresponds to the attainment of the Path of Seeing, the first Bodhisattva bhumi.{{sfnp|Stenzel|2014}}

In Sakya, this insight known as mahāmudrā is described variously as "the unity of lucidity and emptiness, the unity of awareness and emptiness, the unity of bliss and emptiness" and also "the natural reality (''chos nyid gnyug ma'') which is emptiness possessing the excellence of all aspects."{{sfnp|Stenzel|2014}}

===Gelug tradition===
[[File:4th Panchen Lama.jpg|upright|thumb|The 4th Panchen Lama, [[Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama|Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen]]]]
The Gelug school's mahamudra tradition is traditionally traced back to the school's founder [[Je Tsongkhapa]] (1357-1419), who was said to have received oral transmission from [[Manjushri]], and it is also traced to the Indian masters like Saraha through the [[Drikung]] Kagyu master Chennga Chokyi Gyalpo who transmitted Kagyu Mahamudra teachings (probably the five-fold Mahamudra) to Tsongkhapa.{{sfnp|Jackson|2001|p=155}} Jagchen Jampa Pal (1310-1391), a holder of the 'jag pa tradition of the Shangpa teachings, was also one of the teachers of Tsongkhapa.

However, a specifically "Gelug" Mahamudra system was only recorded at the time of [[Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama]] (sometimes named the "1st Panchen Lama", 1570–1662), who wrote a root Mahamudra text on the "''Highway of the Conquerors: Root Verses for the Precious Geden [Gelug] Kagyu [Oral] Transmission of Mahāmudrā''" (''dGe-ldan bka'-brgyud rin-po-che'i phyag-chen rtsa-ba rgyal-ba'i gzhung-lam'') and its auto commentary (the ''Yang gsal sgron me, "Lamp re-illuminating Mahamudra"''), which is still widely taught and commented upon.{{sfnp|Jackson|2001|p=155}}{{sfnp|Panchen Lama|n.d.}}{{sfnp|Losang Chokyi Nyima|2009|p=620}} Before this work, Gelug writings on Mahamudra tended to follow orthodox Kagyu teachings.{{sfnp|Jackson|2001|p=155}} This text and its auto commentary have become a central work on Mahamudra in the Gelug school. The current [[14th Dalai Lama]] and Lama [[Thubten Yeshe]] are some of the modern Gelug figures which have written commentaries on this key Gelug Mahamudra text.{{sfnp|Yeshe|2018}}

The Panchen Lama [[Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama|Chökyi Gyaltsen]], himself was influenced by Kagyu teachings, and wished to imitate great siddhas like [[Milarepa]] and Sabaripa.{{sfnp|Jackson|2001|p=155}}{{sfnp|Willis|1995|p=20}} He names various Mahamudra and Dzogchen lineages in his text, and comes to the conclusion that "their definitive meanings are all seen to come to the same intended point."{{sfnp|Lobsang Jampa|2013|p={{pn|date=January 2024}}}} Chökyi Gyaltsen also sides with the Kagyu school against Sakya, arguing that there is a sutra level of Mahamudra.{{sfnp|Jackson|2001|p=155}} However, in his account, sutra Mahamudra is particularly associated with a gradual path and his presentation of insight practice (''vipasyana'') is uniquely Gelug.{{sfnp|Jackson|2001|p=155}}

Yongdzin Yeshe Gyaltsen (also known as Khachen Yeshe Gyaltsen, tutor of the 8th Dalai Lama, 1713–1793) composed a commentary on [[Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama|Chökyi Gyaltsen]]'s Mahamudra text, entitled "The Lamp of the Clear and Excellent Path of the Oral Tradition Lineage" (''Yongs-'dzin ye shes rgyal mtshan'').{{sfnp|Wallace|2005|p=239}} He also comments on Mahamudra in the context of Lama Chopa Guru Yoga.{{sfnp|Yeshe Gyaltsen|2019}}

Tibetan teacher Thubten Yeshe explains: "Mahāmudrā means absolute seal, totality, unchangeability. Sealing something implies that you cannot destroy it. Mahāmudrā was not created or invented by anybody; therefore it cannot be destroyed. It is absolute reality".{{sfnp|Yeshe|2003|p=[https://archive.org/details/becomingcompassi00thub/page/21 21]}}