(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
Mudras are historically an important part of the Hindu tradition of worship. As the practice evolved, it became one of the six principle iconographic themes in Buddhism, particularly in esoteric Buddhism. The other principle thematic elements are mandalas, asanas, thrones, aureoles, and implements and accessories of the deities. In Buddhist iconography every Buddha is depicted with a characteristic gesture of the hands. Such gestures correspond to natural gestures (of teaching, protecting, and so on) and also to certain aspects of the Buddhist teaching or of the particular Buddha depicted.
Mudra is a Sanskrit word, a language with its origins from India. Beyond that, the origins of the word mudra are uncertain, as is the precise evolution of its meaning. At a very early period in the post-Vedic literature of India the term mudra designated the idea of a seal or the imprint left by a seal. Somewhat later usage takes on the meaning of “way of holding the fingers,” designating a precise ritualistic gesture. The Pali word for mudra, muddika, derives from mudda, meaning authority. The inter-relationship of these meanings imply gestures that enhance and authenticate the spoken word with mystic and magical values. The gesture is a sign, a ritual seal that implies authenticity. As Buddhism spread to China a further usage of the term came to identify mudras as “marks of identity” of the specific deity being personified.
The language surrounding the evolution of this Yogic tradition, called Mudra Vigyan, had evolved to connect the practitioner’s divine and cosmic energies. In time they became a key part of the facilitation of divine communication in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Their ritualistic use developed as companion actions for the chanting of mantras. The symbolic meanings were developed further by Buddhist priests to close prayer rituals—a practice still carried on to this day.
The earliest representations of the Buddha in human form did not appear until approximately the second century of the Common Era. At that time, the mudras of the first Buddhist statues in India had no precise iconographic meaning. The few symbolic gestures that initially were employed developed over time, acquiring a more specific nomenclature and a more exact iconographic significance. The mid-7th Century C.E. Mahavairocana-sutra makes note of over 130 separate mudras: 31 for the Great Buddhas, 57 for the great deities, and 45 for others.
The spread of Buddhism throughout Asia naturally imposed on the mudra considerable modifications of form and of meaning. These became more and more apparent as mudras moved further from the country of their origin. The purpose of the mudra remained the same, to indicate to the faithful in a simple way the nature and function of the deities represented. In viewing any Buddhist representational art it is important to keep in mind that there will likely be variations in the exact form or position in the elements of any given mudra, depending on the historical and cultural context of the artifact’s creation.
The symbolic hand gestures called mudras are of two general types. First, the most ancient form of mudras, dating from pre-Buddhist times, are those presented with the purpose of being symbolic signs of the metaphysical aspect of Esoteric ceremonies. Mudras used in this sense are of significant importance in the rites of Tibetan Tantrism, Chinese Chen-yen and Japanese Shingon Buddhism. This, of course, is within the larger context of Tantric meditation where the Three Mysteries, or the forces of the spirit, speech, and the body are directed at the one and only goal: enlightenment.
The alphabet of the hand, as mudras are, form a complete vocabulary of more than 500 words which most commonly occur in a dance story and which describe concrete objects, or express an emotional situation or relate an incident in simple words. For example, Christ's image normally shows the hand pointing to the cave of the heart. Likewise, one of the popular images of Lord Buddha show's the fingers of the left hand holding a pot of nectar, while palm of the right hand is resting on the lap, with fingers folded and pointing straight down. Another image shows the fingers of the right hand near the chest region and folded in a specific pose. In Italian paintings from both before and after the Renaissance era, the Christian figures are typically shown with a connected thumb and index finger. The hand posture symbolized the ego—the index finger—bowing to God, the thumb in love and unity. This mudra is, interestingly, the same as the A-Ok sign common in America.
Another common hand posture in Christian paintings is that of the palm turned upward. This is to symbolize openness and inquiry, and is evolved from the mudra that signifies the asking of guidance.
While there are a large number of esoteric mudras, over time Buddhist art has retained only five of them for the representations of the Buddha. Images of the Buddha which exhibit mudras other than these are extremely rare. The significance of these mudras can be gauged from the fact that each of the five transcendental (Dhyani) Buddhas is assigned one of these mudras, and they are invariably depicted in visual arts with this particular mudra only.
Mudra
Vigyan in Buddhist iconography can be seen in the symbolic gesture of
Tibetan Tantra, Chen Yen, Shingon, and other Buddhist and Hindu traditions
and art. Muddika iconographic meaning can further be explored in the Mahavairocana
Sutra.