Buddhist Vocabulary: Mahamudra

Written By Lama Döndrup

Sanskrit: Mahamudra

Tibetan: Chak Gya Chenpo (Wylie: phyag rgya chen po)

Maha: Great Mudra: Seal

Chak refers to emptiness and the realization that in the experience of the inseparability of samsara and nirvana, all phenomena are the coemergence of appearance and emptiness.

Gya means seal, vast and refers to the true nature of phenomena, the emptiness of all phenomena, as being vast and unfathomable.

Chenpo: Great, all-pervading

Mahamudra is a practice of relaxing directly into our present experience and recognizing its true nature. The essential nature of mahamudra is like all-encompassing space. Everything in our human experience is an expression of the emptiness of the vast, open nature of mind. Because all experience is coemergent appearance and emptiness, it has the potential to be a gateway to recognizing the nature of mind. The totality of our experience is the Great Symbol for the nature of reality.

Lama Döndrup

Lama Döndrup has been practicing and studying in the Buddhist tradition since the mid-1990’s. After five years of Theravadin Buddhist training, she immersed herself in the teachings and practices of the Shangpa and Kagyu Vajrayana lineages. In 2005, she completed a traditional three-year retreat under the guidance of Lama Palden and Lama Drupgyu with the blessing of her root guru, Bokar Rinpoche and was authorized as a lama. Upon her return to Marin County, she began teaching at Sukhasiddhi Foundation. In January 2020, as Lama Palden’s successor, she stepped into the role of Resident Lama, guiding the Center’s ministerial work. Lama Döndrup’s teaching style is thorough and clear yet with light touch as she supports the natural unfolding of each student’s innate wisdom and compassion. She aims to preserve the authenticity of the tradition while making the teachings and practices relevant and accessible to the lives of 21st century Westerners. In addition to her Buddhist practice, Lama Döndrup trained the Ridhwan School’s Diamond Approach for seven years and has a Masters of Fine Arts degree in piano performance. She is an active classical pianist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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