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[mudra]

A mudrā (Sanskrit: मुद्रा, lit. "seal") is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. A mudrā is a spiritual gesture and an energetic seal of authenticity employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions and traditions of Dharma and Taoism.
A brain research paper published in the National Academy of Sciences in November, 2009 demonstrated that hand gestures stimulate the same regions of the brain as language.

One hundred and eight mudras are used in regular Tantric rituals.
Mudras are also used in Indian Classical Dance. There are over 200 mudras in bharatanatyam, and over 250 in mohiniattam.

Common Buddhist mudrās

Abhaya Mudrā



The Abhaya mudrā ("mudrā of no-fear") represents protection, peace, benevolence, and dispelling of fear. In the Theravāda, it is usually made with the right hand raised to shoulder height, the arm bent and the palm facing outward with the fingers upright and joined and the left hand hanging down while standing. In Thailand and Laos, this mudrā is associated with the walking Buddha, often shown having both hands making a double Abhaya mudrā that is uniform. The mudrā was probably used before the onset of Buddhism as a symbol of good intentions proposing friendship when approaching strangers. In Gandhāra art, it is seen when showing the action of preaching and also seen in China during the Wei and Sui eras of the 4th and 7th centuries. The gesture was used by the Buddha when attacked by an elephant, subduing it as shown in several frescoes and scripts. In Mahāyāna, the northern schools' deities often used it with another mudrā paired with the other hand. In Japan, when the Abhaya mudrā is used with the middle finger slightly projected forward, it is a symbol of the Shingon sect. (Japanese: Semui-in; Chinese: Shiwuwei Yin)

Bhumisparsha Mudrā



This gesture calls upon the earth to witness Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. A seated figure's right hand reaches toward the ground, palm inward.


Dharmachakra Mudrā


The Dharmacakra mudrā represents a central moment in the life of Buddha when he preached his first sermon after his Enlightenment, in Deer Park in Sarnath. Gautama Buddha is generally only shown making this mudrā, save Maitreya as the dispenser of the Law. This mudrā position represents the turning of the wheel of the Dharma. Dharmacakra mudrā is formed when two hands close together in front of the chest in Vitarka, having the right palm forward and the left palm upward, sometimes facing the chest. There are several variants such as in the frescoes of Ajanta, India the two hands are separated, and the fingers do not touch. In the Indo-Greek style of Gandhāra the clenched fist of the right hand seemingly overlie the fingers joined to the thumb on the left hand. In pictorials of Hōryū-ji in Japan the right hand is superimposed on the left. Certain figures of Amitābha, Japan are seen using this mudrā before the 9th century. (Japanese: Tenbōrin-in, Chikichi-jō, Hoshin-seppō-in; Chinese: Juanfalun Yin)

Dhyāna Mudrā

Hands of Amitābha statue at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura

The Dhyāna mudrā ("meditation mudrā") is the gesture of meditation, of the concentration of the Good Law and the saṅgha. The two hands are placed on the lap, right hand on left with fingers fully stretched and the palms facing upwards, forming a triangle, symbolic of the spiritual fire or the Triratna, the three jewels. This mudrā is used in representations of the Śākyamuni Buddha and Amitābha Buddha. Sometimes the Dhyāna mudrā is used in certain representations of Bhaiṣajyaguru as the Medicine Buddha, with a medicine bowl placed on the hands. It originated in India most likely in the Gandhāra and in China during the Wei period. This mudrā was used long before the Buddha as yogis have used it during their concentration, healing, and meditation exercises. It is heavily used in Southeast Asia in Theravāda Buddhism; however, the thumbs are placed against the palms. (Dhyāna mudrā is also known as Samādhi mudrā or Yoga mudrā; Japanese: Jō-in, Jōkai Jō-in; Chinese: Ding Yin.)

Varada Mudrā



The Varada mudrā ("favourable mudrā") signifies offering, welcome, charity, giving, compassion and sincerity. It is nearly always used with the left hand for those whom devote oneself to human salvation. It can be made with the arm crooked the palm offered slightly turned up or in the case of the arm facing down the palm presented with the fingers upright or slightly bent. The Varada mudrā is rarely seen without using another mudrā used by the right hand, typically with the Abhaya mudrā. It is often confused with the Vitarka mudrā, which it closely resembles. In China and Japan during the Wei and Asuka periods respectively the fingers are stiff and then gradually begin to loosen as it developed through time, eventually leading to the Tang Dynasty were the fingers are naturally curved. In India the mudrā is used in images of Avalokiteśvara from the Gupta Period of the 4th and 5th centuries. The Varada mudrā is extensively used in the statues of Southeast Asia. (Japanese: Yogan-in, Segan-in, Seyo-in; Chinese: Shiynan Yin.)


Vajra Mudrā



The Vajra mudrā ("thunder mudrā") is the gesture of knowledge. It is made making a fist with the right hand, index extending upward, and the left hand also making a fist and enclosing the index.[clarification needed] A good example of the application of the Vajra mudrā is the seventh technique (out of nine) of the Nine Syllable Seals, using the mudrā with mantras in a ritual application. Here[citation needed] is a video of a Sanskrit prayer to set the mind in a sacred state, followed by a quick version of the kuji-in ritual, using the Japanese kanji pronunciation (Sanskrit mantras are usually offered to the serious seeker).


Vitarka Mudrā


Vitarka mudrā, Tarim Basin, 9th century

The Vitarka mudrā ("mudrā of discussion") is the gesture of discussion and transmission of Buddhist teaching. It is done by joining the tips of the thumb and the index together, and keeping the other fingers straight very much like Abhaya and Varada mudrās but with the thumbs touching the index fingers. This mudrā has a great number of variants in Mahāyāna Buddhism in East Asia. In Tibet it is the mystic gesture of Tārās and Bodhisattvas with some differences by the deities in Yab-yum. (Vitarka mudrā is also known as Prajñāliṅganabhinaya, Vyākhyāna mudrā ("mudrā of explanation"); Japanese: Seppō-in, An-i-in; Chinese: Anwei Yin.)


Jnana Mudrā



The Jñana mudrā ("mudrā of knowledge") is done by touching the tips of the thumb and the index together, forming a circle, and the hand is held with the palm inward toward the heart.


Karana Mudrā



The Karana mudrā is the mudrā which expels demons and removes obstacles such as sickness or negative thoughts. It is made by raising the index and the little finger, and folding the other fingers. It is the same as the rude gesture known as corna in many western countries. (This mudrā is also known as Tarjanī mudrā; Japanese: Funnu-in, Fudō-in). This mudra is made with the hand that holds a phurba in some rites of exorcism where the nails of the index and little finger are not visible to the outer orientation of the rite. The mudra and tool together form a simulacrum of a scorpion where the index and little fingers are the pincers and the phurba blade is the transfixing tail and sting the adamant tip.

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mudra

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Originally Posted by mudra

A mudrā (Sanskrit: मुद्रा, lit. "seal") is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism...

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