mudra/mudda

[Dhammarakkhito]

is there support for mudras in early buddhism, you know the hand gestures that are on buddha statues like vitarka mudra where he is having a discourse or hands folded in lap or one raised palm
to me personally i believe they are real because i find myself naturally doing them; they're very specific. but that's me just would like to know if there is anything in early sutta or vinaya

[dylanj]

[Kim OHara]

is there support for mudras in early buddhism, you know the hand gestures that are on buddha statues like vitarka mudra where he is having a discourse or hands folded in lap or one raised palm
to me personally i believe they are real because i find myself naturally doing them; they're very specific

Some of them are stylisations of natural gestures of welcome, etc, common across all cultures. That's one reason they may feel natural and specific.

would like to know if there is anything in early sutta or vinaya

I can't recall anything in scriptures, but that's not where I would look, anyway, because I think they are more likely to show up in pictures and statuary. I know they appear in Gandharan art which dates back to the first century BCE. I don't know about anything earlier than that, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.


Kim

[SarathW]

I wonder whether earth witness symbol is coming from EBT.

https://www.burmese-art.com/about-buddh ... rsha-mudra

[SarathW]

Buddha's hand guetures
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=20150&hilit=

[dylanj]

añjali

[Dhammarakkhito]

yes

[LG2V]

I think that they're real as well. I don't recall having read much about them in the pali canon, though. It seems to be more heavily focused on in Hindu practices.

[Coëmgenu]

is there support for mudras in early buddhism, you know the hand gestures that are on buddha statues like vitarka mudra where he is having a discourse or hands folded in lap or one raised palm
to me personally i believe they are real because i find myself naturally doing them; they're very specific. but that's me just would like to know if there is anything in early sutta or vinaya

Mudras, AFAIK, belong to and originate in Buddhist esoterica. As opposed to the literature this subforum specializes in.

I think the Dharmaguptaka Dīrghāgama might have some very old/seminal examples of dhāraṇī, though. Related in that they are both associated with esotericism, but not mudras.

[2600htz]

Hello:

Mudras in buddha statues usually are a symbol for the 4 noble truths (depending on what finger is it touching).
Someone experiencing the noble truth of the cessation of suffering might have a tendency to touch with his thumb the third finger, but its not like its some kind of practice or something to be developed.

Regards.