Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia

6. MUDRĀ, MANTRA, MANDALA

Charles D. Orzech and Henrik H. Sørensen

Introduction
Buddhist practice involving the use of mudrā, mantra and mandala are
often regarded as the primary hallmarks of esoteric Buddhism. These
practices originated in different stages and contexts in the history of
Buddhism, but are nonetheless central to the formation of esoteric
Buddhism as a historical phenomena.^1 In the more developed phase
of esoteric Buddhism (sixth cent. onwards) mudrā, mantra and man-
dala became inextricably bound to the Three Mysteries (sanmi ),
the unified “mysteries” or “secrets” of body (shen ), speech (kou ),
and mind (yi ) respectively.^2 This essay provides a brief overview of
the role of mudrā, mantra, and mandala prior to their integration as
a keystone of esoteric ritual and then discusses their use in that inte-
grated system.^3

Mudrā

The origin of ritual hand-gestures in the context of Indian religion is

obscure, but certain formalized gestures were used in the Vedic ritu-

als long before the advent of Buddhism.^4 The term found its way into

the Buddhist tradition, probably in the Buddha’s own lifetime, where

“mudrā” or rather mudda, according to the Pali tradition, appears in

various meanings as “counting on one’s fingers,” “gesticulating,” and

(^1) See Davidson, “Sources and Inspirations: Esoteric Buddhism in South Asia,” in
this volume. 2
The terms have a long history in Buddhism and broad semantic and religious
range. They are often referred to as the “tri-karma” or “three modes of action” (sanye
). For a discussion see McBride, 2006, 305–55.
(^3) More detailed treatments—particularly of mandala—can be found in several
articles in this volume, including those by Sørensen, Winfield, Mack, and Bogel. A
good discussion of mudrā is found in BDJ (1974) 1: 176c–178a, and an indispensible
resource is Hatta’s Shingon jiten, 1985, which pairs mantras and mudrās. Both of these
treatments are from the perspective of Japanese esoterism. Saunders 1960 is similarly
keyed to Japan and iconography. Strickmann 1996 treats developments in China.
(^4) On the use of hand gestures in Vedic rites see Gonda 1997, esp. 65–70.