THE COMPLETION OF MAHAMUDRA

The term ‘Mahamudra’ is Sanskrit. ‘Maha’ means ‘great’ and refers to great bliss, and ‘mudra’ here means ‘non-deceptive’ and refers to emptiness. Mahamudra is the union of great bliss and emptiness. Mahamudra Tantra is defined as a mind of fully qualified clear light that experiences great bliss and realizes emptiness directly. Because emptiness is explained in detail in Buddha’s Sutra teachings and is a part of Mahamudra, some texts say that it is Sutra Mahamudra; but actual Mahamudra is necessarily a realization of Highest Yoga Tantra.

The nature of Mahamudra is a fully qualified clear light. As mentioned previously there are many different levels of the experience of clear light depending upon the degree of dissolu- tion of the inner winds into the central channel. The realization of great bliss developed in dependence upon the inner winds entering, abiding and dissolving within the central channel, prior to attaining the fully qualified clear light, is the first of the five stages of completion stage. It is called ‘isolated body and speech of completion stage’, which means that at this stage the practitioner is free, or isolated, from gross ordinary appear- ances and conceptions of body and speech. A fully qualified clear light mind experiencing great bliss that realizes emptiness with a generic image is called ‘ulti- mate example clear light’. This realization is called ‘ultimate’ because it is a fully qualified clear light. It is called ‘example’ because by using this realization as an example, practitioners understand that they can accomplish a fully qualified clear light mind experiencing great bliss that realizes emptiness directly, which is called ‘meaning clear light’. The realization of ultimate example clear light is the second of the five stages of completion stage. It is also called ‘isolated mind’ because at this stage practitioners are free, or isolated, from gross ordinary appearances and conceptions of mind. When practitioners arise from the concentration of ultimate example clear light, their indestructible wind – their continuously residing body – transforms into the illusory body. This is a divine body, which in nature is wisdom light having the aspect of the divine body of an enlightened Deity such as Heruka. The colour of the illusory body is white.