Mahamudra — The Great Seal
Mahamudra (great seal) is the highest teaching of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism — the direct recognition of the nature of mind as luminous, empty, and aware, beyond all conceptual elaboration.
Mahamudra (Sanskrit: maha = great, mudra = seal) is the pinnacle teaching of the Kagyu lineage, transmitted through Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa. The 'seal' refers to the fact that the nature of mind (sems nyid) is the seal or stamp of all phenomena — everything that appears arises from it and returns to it. Mahamudra points to the nature of mind directly: luminous (clear, knowing), empty (without inherent existence), and aware (cognizing its own nature). The four yogas of Mahamudra (One-pointedness, Simplicity, One-Taste, Non-meditation) describe the progressive deepening of this recognition. Tilopa's Song of Mahamudra ('Do not imagine, do not think, do not analyze, do not meditate, do not reflect. Keep the mind in its natural state') is one of the most direct and radical spiritual instructions ever given. The Mahamudra tradition strongly influenced Zen and may have been transmitted both ways between Tibet and China.
Do not imagine, do not think, do not analyze, do not meditate, do not reflect. Keep the mind in its natural state.
Psychologist Martin Seligman's concept of 'authentic happiness' — states that arise not from striving but from recognizing what is already present and naturally rewarding — provides a psychological parallel to the Mahamudra teaching that the nature of mind is naturally blissful when its constructions are seen through.
Song of Mahamudra