Translates roughly to the “great sign” or “great seal”. In some of the lineages of
Tibetan Buddhism, mahamudra is a concept that alludes to a
spiritual “accomplishment” that stands above ordinary notions of
enlightenment. Here the idea is that notions of “enlightenment” exist only in relationship of one’s concept of
samsara, paradoxically making it a kind of conceptual extension of
samsara.
The idea of mahamudra points to the attaining of a state of consciousness/non-consciousness that is not dependent on any concepts whatsoever.
“…Remain in the state of non-meditation.
If you attain non-attainment, then you have attained mahamudra.”
The Mahamudra Upadesa From the Oral Instructions on Mahamudra Given by Sri Tilopa to Naropa at the Banks of the Ganges River. Translated from the Sanskrit into Tibetan by Chokyi-Lodro (Chos kyi bLo gros) Marpa the Translator as reproduced in the Myth of Freedom by Chogyam Trunpa, Rinpoche, Shambhala Press.