Tilopa’s Mahāmūdra Upadeśa contains the Mahāmūdra pointing-out instructions transmitted on the banks of the Ganges River by the Indian master Tilopa to his primary disciple, the mahasiddha and pandit Naropa, sometime in the eleventh century. It is said that it was because of these teachings that Naropa achieved realization. his paper aims to explore how to actually practice Mahāmūdra according to Tilopa’s presentation of the Mahāmūdra practice. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter gives a brief account of the introduction. The second chapter is an analysis of Mahāmūdra Upadeśa text. The third chapter brings to light the role symbol plays in religion, sources of Mahāmūdra teaching, Mahāmūdra lineage, brief introduction of Tilopa, Narope and symbolic meanings of guru. The fourth chapter discusses ground Mahāmūdra, path Mahāmūdra, Mahāmūdra preparatory practices, fruition Mahāmūdra, ,and some useful techniques of meditation. Chapter five is the conclusion. The English translation of Tilopa’s Mahāmūdra Upadeśa is placed in the appendix for reference.
目次
ABSTRACT I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 BACKGROUND 1 1.2 MOTIVATION 3 1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 3 1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT 3 1.5 RESEARCH SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS 4 1.6 CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS 5 1.7 METHODOLOGY 6 1.8 THESIS STRUCTURE 7 1.9 LITERATURE REVIEW 8 CHAPTER 2 ANALYSIS OF THE MAHĀMŪDRA UPADEŚA TEXT 13 2.1 DEFINITION OF THE TITLE 13 2.2 ORIGINS OF THE TEXT 13 2.3 STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT 15 2.4 DIVERSE VERSIONS OF ENGLISH TRANSLATION 16 2.5 TRANSLATOR 18 CHAPTER 3 BACKGROUND OF THE MAHĀMŪDRA UPADEŚA 19 3.1 “SYMBOLISM IS THE VERY LIFE'S BREATH OF RELIGION” 19 3.1.1 Meaning of the Symbols Does Exist 19 3.1.2 The Most Important Feature of a Symbol Is Its Innate Power 20 3.1.3 Symbol Is Socially Rooted and Socially Supported 20 3.1.4 An Example of Religious Symbol 21 3.2 THE SOURCES OF MAHĀMŪDRA TEACHING 22 3.2.1 Tantras (Tib. rgyud) 22 3.2.2 Texts Written by Eminent Indian Siddhas (Tib. rgya gshung) 23 3.2.3 Precious Instructions Transmitted from Masters to Disciples (Tib. man ngag) and Commentaries Pertinent to Mahāmūdra 23 3.3 MAHĀMŪDRA LINEAGE 25 3.3.1 The Direct Lineage 25 3.3.2 The Indirect Lineage 26 3.4 TILOPA (988-1069) - HUMAN FOUNDER OF THE KAGYU LINEAGE 26 3.4.1 Tilopa’s Accomplishments 27 3.5 NAROPA（1016-1100）- TILOPA’S PRIMARY DISCIPLE, GURU OF MARPA 28 3.5.1 Naropa’s Accomplishments 29 3.6 SYMBOLIC MEANINGS OF GURU 30 3.6.1 Tilopa Disclosed the Most Profound Level of Naropa’s Being 30 3.6.2 Guru Is Symbolic to One’s Own Primordial Purity 31 3.6.3 Devotion is a Symbol of Naropa’s Spiritual Practice 32 CHAPTER 4 MAHĀMŪDRA PRACTICE BASED ON MAHĀMŪDRA UPADEŚA 34 4.1 ANALOGIES OF GROUND, PATH AND FRUITION MAHĀMŪDRA 34 4.1.1 Three-Fold Sequence of Mahāmūdra Practice 34 4.1.2 The Poor Man and the Hidden Gold 35 4.2 GROUND MAHĀMŪDRA 36 4.2.1 The Common View and the Uncommon View 37 4.2.2 Emptiness Based on an Understanding of Interdependent Origination 39 4.2.3 Acknowledging Things as They Are 40 4.2.4 Complete Liberation from All Conceptual Extremes Is the Supreme Monarch of Views 41 4.3 PATH MAHĀMŪDRA 43 4.3.1 Boundless Vastness Is the Supreme Monarch of Meditations 43 4.3.2 Decide on One Thing, and One Thing Only 44 4.4 PREPARATORY PRACTICES 45 4.4.1 Refuge in the Three Jewels 45 4.4.2 Various Comtemplations 45 4.4.3 Meditation on Vajrasattva and Repetition of the Purification Mantras 47 4.4.4 Mandala Practices 48 4.4.5 Guru Yoga and a Variety of Yidam Practices 48 4.4.6 Compassion 49 4.4.7 Bodhichitta 50 4.5 MAHĀMŪDRA ŚAMATHA AND MAHĀMŪDRA VIPAŚYANĀ 52 4.5.1 How to Sit Properly in Meditation Posture 52 4.5.2 Muscles and Limbs Should Be as Relaxed as Possible 53 4.5.3 The Quintessence Of Mahāmūdra Śamatha and Mahāmūdra Vipaśyanā 54 4.5.4 A Symbolic Elephant Herding Spiritual Journey-Nine Stages of Śamatha Tranquility 55 4.5.5 Four Kinds of Vipaśyanā 59 4.5.6 A Symbolic Ox Herding Spiritual Journery--from Mahāmūdra’s Perspectives 63 4.5.7 The Results of Mahāmūdra Śamatha and Mahāmūdra Vipaśyanā 68 4.6 USEFUL TECHNIQUES OF MEDITATION 68 4.6.1 Expediency of Various Skillful Methods 68 4.6.2 Breathing Meditation 70 4.6.3 The Inner Power of the Dharmakāya King 71 4.6.4 The Power of Belief 72 4.6.5 The Four Yogas of Mahāmūdra 72 4.6.6 Postmeditation Suggestion 73 4.7 FRUITION MAHĀMŪDRA 74 4.7.1 Self-Liberation Beyond Hope Is the Supreme Fruition 74 4.7.2 Mahāmūdra as Vigorousness and Freshness 75 4.7.3 Relation of Fruition Mahāmūdra to Ground and Path Mahāmūdra 78 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 80 5.1 REASONS BEHIND THE APPEARANCE OF NUMEROUS ENGLISH MAHĀMŪDRA COMMENTARIES WRITTEN BY CONTEMPORARY TIBETAN MASTERS 80 5.2 SUGGESTIONS REGARDING TIBETAN BUDDHISM IN THE WEST 91 5.3 FURTHER RESEARCH SUGGESTIONS 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY 98 APPENDIX 110 APPENDIX A: ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF
