Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche traces the same four mudras — karma, dharma, samaya, and Mahāmudrā itself — through three vehicles in this 50-minute session, showing how each takes on progressively subtler meaning. In the lesser vehicle they cover ethical restraint and the selflessness of persons; in the bodhisattva path, the six perfections, direct realization of emptiness, and compassion; in tantra, the dissolution of winds at the heart and blissful wisdom realizing emptiness. He unpacks the Tibetan etymology of Mahāmudrā syllable by syllable. A Q&A addresses whether sūtra Mahāmudrā must precede entry into tantra and distinguishes two types of bodhisattvas by their point of entry into the tantric path. The session closes with a quotation: practice can bring liberation in a city; without it, a mountain will not help.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 MR 1990 04 13.mp3
UUID: 1548f6c1-7f79-4f82-9dd2-5de33cd40d6f
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Mahāmudrā Retreat (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1990-04-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 49.7 minutes
Words: ~1,755
So according to this master, there were four sections of Mahāmudrā in accordance with each of the three vehicles. First was in accordance with the lesser vehicle. The lesser vehicle is made up of hearers and solitary realizers. And the first Mahāmudrā is called karma mudra — karma mudra or action mudra.
And this is the abandonment of the activities of the three doors of unskillful actions — the abandonment of unskillful actions by way of the three doors — and concomitant with that, the commitment to restrain from these actions. And this is termed karma mudra. So this is in accordance with the hearers: the abandonment of unskillful and the commitment to skillful actions, and this is the first of the mudras called karma mudra. The second is in terms of ethics: realizing the selflessness of persons, and this is termed dharma mudra. These coupled together — that is to say, the abandonment of unskillful actions, the commitment to skillful actions, and the realization of selflessness of persons — as a means to abandon the afflictive emotions, are the third mudra, which is termed samaya mudra or commitment mudra. By the power of abandoning the afflictive emotions, we sever the continuum of the contaminated aggregates. When this continuum of the contaminated aggregates is severed, there arises the uncontaminated aggregate. Having severed the continuum of the contaminated aggregates, there arises the continuum of the non-contaminated aggregates. The way this is spoken of in the scriptures and philosophical texts is that one achieves a beyond-sorrow, a liberation which is without remainder. Previously there was liberation with remainder — that is, contaminated suffering aggregates. Then one goes beyond that and achieves a liberation without remainder.
This liberation without remainder is the fourth of these mudras, called Mahāmudrā. So these four were explained in terms of the lesser vehicle. Now we’re going to explain them in terms of the great vehicle, that is the practice of the bodhisattva. He has these four same mudras: karma mudra, Dharma mudra, samaya mudra, Mahāmudrā. And what we mean by karma mudra is, in terms of the perfections:
First, the perfection of generosity, the perfection of ethics, the perfection of, for example, abandoning harm, that is the perfection of patience, the perfection of effort, the perfection of meditative stabilizations, and finally, the perfection of wisdom. The non-separation from the six activities of perfections is karma mudra. All phenomena are not truly existent. They are like a magician’s illusion — such as the illusory horses and elephants that a magician can conjure up. These have no true existence. The direct realization of the emptiness of all phenomena is Dharma mudra. The foregoing of mainly bringing about one’s own welfare, but practicing mainly for the sake of others, is the third of these mudras, samaya mudra. And then the fourth of the mudras is the realization of emptiness accompanied by love and compassion, and bliss. So then with respect to the secret mantra, it’s somewhat difficult to explain this, but we can explain it in a superficial way.
And first, there are four mudras. And there are two levels of tantra: the developmental stage and the completion stage. In the developmental stage, there is the karma mudra. Then in the completion stage, the coarse winds are dissolved at the heart from above and below, dissolving at the heart. This bringing together of the coarse winds at the heart is the dharma mudra.
The tantric vows are the samaya mudra. In dependence upon these previous three mudras, there arises a great bliss, and this bliss is made use of in realizing emptiness. When the blissful wisdom combined with this great bliss realizes emptiness, this is Mahāmudrā. Explaining this word Mahāmudrā — which in Tibetan is chag gya chenpo — what does chag gya chenpo mean? Taking the two syllables: chag means the blissful consciousness. The syllable gya means sealed.
By means of pursuing that practice, by the great blissful consciousness realizing emptiness, one abandons the afflictive emotions and achieves a liberation. So we have chag, which is the blissful wisdom directly realizing emptiness; gya, which is the abandonment of cyclic existence, a liberation. When these two are coupled together, this is chenpo.
Chenpo is maha, or great. This is the meaning of chenpo — the union of these two. So within tantra, this would involve an empowerment of highest yoga tantra. Then one would practice at the level of the developmental stage, making use of the deity practice. Having completed that, one would go on to the completion stage practice.
So as was explained previously, there there have been many great spiritual masters explaining the what Mahāmudrā means by using different terminology, using different names. This what has just been presented is the essential meaning of what they’re talking about. So if we’re in actual renunciation, the awakening heart, and the correct view of emptiness. in dependence upon this, we would then take the four empowerments of highest yoga tantra and begin to put in observing all the various commitments, samayas, and then practice the development stage. When we had consummated the development stage, we would then go on to the completion stage in which we would, at that point, practice mahamudra.
Once once Mahāmudrā is generated with anyone’s mind, you will achieve. Yeah. Pretty good. Alright. Very good.
This explanation of Mahāmudrā in terms of tantra is very precious. And we should try to appreciate it and understand it, and try to make prayers — heartfelt prayers — that we might be able to practice such a method of Mahāmudrā in terms of tantra. Just thinking: this is really a wonderful method that I hope — I want very much to be able to practice this — and that this is a great opportunity. Just hearing about the order of practice has unimaginable benefits.
It it develops a great positive potential. And and though and making prayers that though perhaps wishing to put it into practice in this very life, generate Mahāmudrā. But even if I can’t do that, may I be able to practice in a future life. So when a practitioner is engaged in the first three mudras of vajrayana, does that mean they’ve they’ve realized the end? So in order to engage in the practice of Mahāmudrā according to the secret mantra, one does not have to have completed those four mudras in terms of the bodhisattva vehicle.
One would, you know, initially develop compassion, the awakening heart, and independence. Then would one would take the four empowerment of secret mantra and begin to practice in that in that vehicle. But one would still have would couple one’s practice with the practice, for example, of the six perfections that came from the bodhisattva vehicle, the understanding of non true existence that came from the bodhisattva vehicle. One would not simply set those aside, but this would accompany one’s practice, but it would not necessarily have had to complete the four mudras of the bodhisattva vehicle. So there are two types of practices carried on by by there are two two types of there are two types of tantric practices.
There are two ways in which the a bodhisattva practice comes into the practice of Tantra. There are two ways in which the bodhisattva comes into the practice of tantra. One is that having developed the renunciation, the awakening heart, the correct view of emptiness, entering into the path — the first of the five paths of the great vehicle — the path of accumulation, then moves on to the path of preparation. Having completed the path of preparation, he or she would then enter into the tantric path, practicing the methods of tantra. This would be the most intelligent type of bodhisattva.
Those of mediocre intelligence would, again, enter into the great vehicle, practice the path of accumulation and preparation, and go on to the first ground, and would move all the way through all the ten grounds until he or she got to the tenth ground. At that point, he or she would then enter into the tantric vehicle. So the difference is in when they enter into the tantric vehicle — the two different types. So the former, the one who having completed the path of accumulation and path of preparation then goes directly into the tantric practices, would have completed these four mudras of the bodhisattva vehicle. It just seems that because of the qualities explained in tantra as opposed to the sutrayana procedure, there’d be a point before the person realizes Mahāmudrā in tantra where they realize Mahāmudrā in sūtra.
Yeah. Because in vajrayana, Mahāmudrā is emptiness conjoined with bliss. Whereas in the sūtra vehicle, it’s emptiness and the practice of love and compassion practiced equally but not fused together. What is your question? My question was, still following on from the first thing I asked, that it seemed to me just by the explanation that there’d be a point before the person realized Mahāmudrā in vajrayana where they would be qualified, or already realized it in sūtra.
I guess what Rinpoche has answered that question. Maybe by realizing Mahāmudrā according to tantra, preliminary to that, you would realize it according to sūtra. That it comes naturally in the course of it. So as was explained, the most intelligent bodhisattva would go from the path of preparation into the practice of tantra, and he would as a preliminary have obtained Mahāmudrā according to the sūtra vehicle, and go on to obtain it according to the tantric vehicle. But the lesser intelligence bodhisattva is working through the tenth ground.
So they both attain Mahāmudrā according to sūtra. The one attains it having completed the preparation and enters into the tantric path. The other attains it at the tenth ground and then enters into the tantric vehicle. So there is nothing making it necessary to achieve Mahāmudrā according to the sūtra vehicle first before entering tantra. Now as far as the easiest way for us ordinary people to achieve Mahāmudrā, As was explained today, according to Tantra, it’s extremely difficult.
And tomorrow we’re going to explain Mahāmudrā according to sūtra. There’s a saying that if one practices, one can attain liberation in a city. If one doesn’t practice, one will only attain suffering and not liberation even on a mountain.
If you actually practice, it’s all dependent upon one’s practice, what arises. If you practice, then even living in a city, there is no reason you cannot attain liberation.