The Chapter of Seals
Part 6 carries this sūtra's ninth chapter alone — its longest single chapter, and the third of the "three secrets" (三密) of body, speech, and mind this sūtra has referred to since its opening pages. More than eighty mudrās are described in sequence, each hand position built from the same five-finger, five-element correspondence — earth, water, fire, wind, and space — already introduced as a body-wide visualization in Part 5, here worked instead into the architecture of the hand itself.
The Great Seal of Every Buddha
Throughout this chapter, the left hand is called the "meditation-hand" (定手, associated with samādhi) and the right the "wisdom-hand" (慧手, associated with prajñā); each hand's five fingers are, in turn, the earth-finger (little finger), water-finger (ring finger), fire-finger (middle finger), wind-finger (index finger), and space-finger (thumb) — the same five-element correspondence given to the whole body in Part 5, now built into the architecture of a single hand.
爾時薄伽梵毘盧遮那觀察諸大眾會，告執金剛祕密主言：「祕密主！有同如來莊嚴具、同法界趣幖幟，菩薩由是嚴身故，處生死中巡歷諸趣，於一切如來大會以此大菩提幢而幖幟之，諸天、龍、夜叉、乾達婆、阿蘇囉、揭嚕茶、緊那囉、摩睺羅伽、人非人等敬而遶之受教而行。汝今諦聽，極善思念，吾當演說。」如是說已，金剛手白言：「世尊！今正是時。世尊！今正是時。」
爾時薄伽梵即便住於身無害力三昧。住斯定故，說一切如來入三昧耶遍一切無能障礙力無等三昧力明妃曰：「南麼三曼多勃馱喃(一) 阿三迷(二) 呾履三迷(三) 三麼曳(四) 莎訶(五)」祕密主！如是明妃示現一切如來地，不越三法道界圓滿地波羅蜜。是密印相，當用定慧手作空心合掌，以定慧二虛空輪並合而建立之。頌曰：「此一切諸佛， 救世之大印，正覺三昧耶， 於此印而住。」
At that time the Bhagavān Mahāvairocana, surveying the whole great assembly, said to Vajrapāṇi, Lord of Secrets: "Lord of Secrets, there are ornaments identical to the Tathāgata's own adornment, emblems identical to the very destination of the dharma-realm; by adorning themselves with these, a bodhisattva, even while passing through birth-and-death across every destiny, marks themselves with this great banner of bodhi in the presence of every Tathāgata's assembly, so that gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and non-humans revere and circle them, receiving the teaching and following it. Listen closely now, and reflect on this well — I shall now proclaim it." Having said this, Vajrapāṇi said: "World-Honored One, now is exactly the time. World-Honored One, now is exactly the time."
At that time the Bhagavān abided in the samādhi of the body's power to harm no one. Abiding in this absorption, he spoke the vidyā of every Tathāgata's entry into samaya, the unequaled power of samādhi that nothing can obstruct: Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ asame trisame samaye svāhā. Lord of Secrets, this vidyā manifests the very ground of every Tathāgata, never passing beyond the boundary of the threefold path of Dharma, the pāramitā of the ground brought to its own fulfillment. Its secret seal is this: with the meditation- and wisdom-hands, form a hollow-centered joined palm, and, joining the two space-fingers, raise them upright together. The verse: "This is the great seal of every buddha, savior of the world; the samaya of perfect awakening abides within this very seal."
Twenty Foundational Seals
淨法界印（以定慧手為拳，虛空輪入於掌中，而舒風輪）：「南麼三曼多勃陀喃 達摩馱睹 薩嚩婆嚩句痕」
吉祥法輪印（五輪皆等，迭翻相鉤，二虛空輪首俱相向）：頌曰「是名為勝願，吉祥法輪印，世依救世者，悉皆轉此輪」。「南麼三曼多勃馱喃 伐折囉呾麼句痕」
大慧刀印（歸命合掌，風輪相捻，以二空輪加於上，形如朅伽）：頌曰「此大慧刀印，一切佛所說，能斷於諸見，謂俱生身見」
吉祥法螺印（虛心合掌，屈二風輪，以二空輪絞之，形如商佉）：頌曰「此名為勝願，吉祥法螺印，諸佛世之師，菩薩救世者，皆說無垢法，至寂靜涅槃」。「南麼三曼多勃馱喃 暗」
吉祥願蓮華印（定慧手相合普舒散之，猶如健吒，二地輪二空輪相持，令火風輪和合）：頌曰「吉祥願蓮華，諸佛救世者，不壞金剛座，覺悟名為佛，菩提與佛子，悉皆從是生」。「南麼三曼多勃馱喃 阿」
金剛大慧印（五輪外向為拳，建立火輪，舒二風輪屈為鉤形）：頌曰「金剛大慧印，能壞無智城，曉寤睡眠者，天人不能壞」。「南麼三曼多伐折羅赧 [合*牛]」
如來頂印（摩訶印）（五輪內向為拳，建立火輪，以二風輪置傍，屈二虛空相並）：頌曰「此印摩訶印，所謂如來頂，適纔結作之，即同於世尊」。「南麼三曼多勃馱喃 [合*牛][合*牛]」
毫相藏印（智慧手為拳，置於眉間）：頌曰「此名毫相藏，佛常滿願印，以纔作此故，即同仁中勝」
釋迦牟尼大鉢印（住瑜伽座，持鉢相應，定慧手俱在臍間）：「南麼三曼多勃馱喃 婆」
施無畏印（智慧手上向而作施無畏形）：頌曰「能施與一切，眾生類無畏，若結此大印，名施無畏者」
施願印（智慧手下垂作施願形）：頌曰「如是與願印，世依之所說，適纔結此者，諸佛滿其願」
佛眼印（智慧手為拳，而舒火輪水輪，以虛空輪而在其下）：頌曰「此名一切佛，世依悲生眼，想置於眼界，智者成佛眼」
勝願索印（定慧手，五輪內向為拳，而舒風輪，圓屈相合）：頌曰「此勝願索印，壞諸造惡者，真言者結之，能縛諸不善」
鉤印（定慧手一合為拳，舒智慧手，風輪屈第三節，猶如環相）：頌曰「如是名鉤印，諸佛救世者，招集於一切，住於十地位，菩提大心者，及惡思眾生」
如來心印・臍印・腰印（自鉤印遞次變化，舒火輪、舒水輪、直舒水輪）：三印各有真言，皆以此鉤印為基礎
如來藏印（定慧手空心合掌，二風輪屈入於內，二水輪亦然，二地輪令少屈，而伸火輪）：「南麼薩婆怛他蘗帝弊 㘕㘕落落 莎嚩訶」
大界印（如來藏印，散其水輪向上置之）：「南麼三曼多勃馱喃 麗魯補履微矩麗 莎訶」
無堪忍大護印（二火輪鉤屈相合，散舒風輪）：「南麼薩婆怛他蘗帝弊 薩婆佩也微蘗帝弊……阿鉢囉底訶諦 莎訶」
普光印（風輪而散舒之，空輪並入其中）：「南麼三曼多勃馱喃 入嚩囉摩履儞 怛他蘗多㗚旨 莎訶」
The seal of the pure dharma-realm (both hands form a fist, the space-fingers folded into the palms, the wind-fingers extended): Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ dharma-dhātu-svabhāvako haṃ
The auspicious dharma-wheel seal (all ten fingers evenly interlocked, hooked one over the next, the two space-fingers pointing toward each other): "This is called the seal of the supreme vow, the auspicious dharma-wheel; the World-Honored One, savior of the world, turns this very wheel." Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ vajrātma-kūṃ
The great wisdom-sword seal (palms joined in homage, the wind-fingers interlaced, the two space-fingers placed above them, in the shape of a sword): "This great wisdom-sword seal, taught by every buddha, is able to cut through every view — namely, the innate view of a self."
The auspicious dharma-conch seal (a hollow-centered joined palm, the two wind-fingers bent, twisted together by the two space-fingers, in the shape of a conch): "This is called the seal of the supreme vow, the auspicious dharma-conch; every buddha, teacher of the world, every bodhisattva, savior of the world, all teach the stainless Dharma, reaching tranquil nirvāṇa." Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ aṃ
The auspicious wish-lotus seal (the two hands joined and spread wide open, like a water-jar, the two earth-fingers and two space-fingers held together, the fire- and wind-fingers joined): "The auspicious, wished-for lotus, every buddha, savior of the world, the indestructible vajra seat, awakening called buddhahood — bodhi, and every child of the Buddha, are all born from this." Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ a
The great vajra-wisdom seal (all ten fingers turned outward in a fist, the fire-fingers raised, the two wind-fingers extended and bent into hooks): "This great vajra-wisdom seal is able to destroy the city of ignorance; it wakens those asleep, and neither gods nor humans can destroy it." Namaḥ samanta-vajrāṇāṃ hūṃ
The Tathāgata's uṣṇīṣa seal, the "great seal" (all ten fingers turned inward in a fist, the fire-fingers raised, the two wind-fingers placed at the side, the two space-fingers joined together): "This seal, the great seal, is called the Tathāgata's own crown — the instant it is formed, one becomes identical with the World-Honored One." Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ hūṃ hūṃ
The seal of the treasury of the ūrṇā (the wisdom-hand forms a fist, placed at the space between the eyebrows): "This is called the treasury of the ūrṇā-mark, the buddha's own seal that ever fulfills every wish — the instant it is formed, one becomes identical with the most excellent among the benevolent."
Śākyamuni's great alms-bowl seal (seated in the yogic posture, holding the shape of a bowl, both hands together at the navel): Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ bha
The seal of fearlessness given (the wisdom-hand raised, forming the gesture of fearlessness): "Able to bestow fearlessness on every kind of being — should one form this great seal, it is called the Giver of Fearlessness."
The seal of a wish granted (the wisdom-hand lowered, forming the gesture of granting a wish): "This is the seal of wish-granting, as the World-Honored One himself has taught — the instant it is formed, every buddha's wish is fulfilled."
The seal of the Buddha's eye (the wisdom-hand forming a fist, the fire- and water-fingers extended, the space-finger placed beneath them): "This is called the eye of compassion, born of every buddha, the World-Honored One — visualized and placed at the very field of the eye, the wise thereby accomplish the Buddha's own eye."
The seal of the noble vow's lasso (both hands, all ten fingers turned inward in a fist, the wind-fingers extended and curled round to meet): "This lasso-seal of the noble vow destroys every doer of evil — the mantra practitioner who forms it can thereby bind every unwholesome thing."
The hook seal (both hands joined as one fist, the wisdom-hand's wind-finger extended and bent at its third joint, forming a ring): "This is called the hook seal, by which every buddha, savior of the world, summons and gathers in everyone — those abiding in the ten grounds, those of great bodhi-mind, and beings of ill intent alike."
The Tathāgata's heart-, navel-, and waist-seals (each formed by a small further variation on the hook seal above — extending the fire-finger, then the water-finger, then holding the water-finger fully upright): each with its own mantra, all built from this same hook-seal foundation
The tathāgatagarbha seal (a hollow-centered joined palm, the two wind-fingers and two water-fingers bent inward, the two earth-fingers slightly bent, the fire-fingers extended): Namaḥ sarva-tathāgatebhyaḥ raṃ raṃ raḥ raḥ svāhā
The great boundary seal (from the tathāgatagarbha seal, spreading the water-fingers upward): Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ relu pūri vikule svāhā
The seal of the great, unbearable protection (the two fire-fingers hooked and joined, the wind-fingers spread wide): the same great protective vidyā, the Mahābala dhāraṇī, already given in Part 3
The seal of universal light (the wind-fingers spread wide, the space-fingers entering between them): Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ jvalā-māline tathāgatārciḥ svāhā
The great wisdom-sword seal's target — "the innate view of a self" (俱生身見, sahaja-satkāyadṛṣṭi) — names a specific technical distinction in Buddhist psychology worth making explicit: not the philosophically constructed self-views a person might argue themselves into or out of, but the far more stubborn, pre-reflective sense of "I" that arises automatically, prior to any argument, in every unawakened being — precisely the kind of self-grasping Part 1's search through twelve locations was built to dissolve, now given a specific hand-gesture as its counter-technique rather than only a philosophical argument. The Tathāgata's heart-, navel-, and waist-seals, formed as successive small modifications of a single hook-seal rather than as three unrelated gestures, exemplify this chapter's overall method: rather than eighty independent hand shapes to be memorized in isolation, the majority are described as transformations of a small number of base positions, so that a practitioner who has genuinely learned the underlying five-finger, five-element logic can, in principle, derive a great many of the specific seals rather than rote-memorizing each one as an arbitrary shape.
The Seals of Every Buddha and Bodhisattva
The chapter continues with further Tathāgata seals — the armor, the tongue-mark, the gate of speech, the teeth, eloquence, the ten powers, the foundations of mindfulness, and the equal awakening of all dharmas — followed by the seal of every bodhisattva and deity named across this collection so far, largely in the same order as the maṇḍala of Part 2 and the mantra treasury of Part 4: a working reference, hand position by hand position, for everyone a practitioner has already met by name.
普賢如意珠印（定慧手合為一，以二風輪加火輪上）
慈氏印（虛心合掌，以二風輪屈在二火輪下）
虛空藏印（如前印，以二虛空輪入中）
除一切蓋障印（二水輪二地輪屈入掌中，二風輪火輪相合）
觀自在印（散舒五輪猶如鈴鐸，以虛空地輪和合相持作蓮華形）
得大勢印（空心合掌，猶如未開敷蓮）
多羅尊印（五輪內向為拳，舉二風輪猶如針鋒，二虛空輪加之）
毘俱胝印（舉二風輪參差相押）
白處尊印（空心合掌，水輪空輪皆入於中）
何耶揭哩嚩印（屈二風輪置虛空輪下，相去猶如穬麥）
地藏菩薩印（申二水輪風輪，餘如拳）
文殊師利印（空中合掌，火輪水輪交結相持，以二風輪置二虛空輪上猶如鉤形）
光網童子印・無垢光印・繼室尼刀印・優波髻室尼戟印・地慧幢印・請召童子印（文殊眷屬，各以小異之拳、鉤、刀、戟形分別為印）
執金剛印（二手相合，屈水輪相交入掌中，火輪地輪向上相持，舒風輪屈第三節）：「南麼三曼多伐折囉赧 戰拏摩訶路灑拏[合*牛]」
忙莽雞印・金剛鎖印・忿怒月黶印・金剛針印・金剛拳印・無能勝印・阿毘目佉印（金剛部眷屬各印，皆有真言）
不動尊印・降三世印（如前所建立諸尊之印，此二印用金剛慧印及鉤印變化而成）
如來頂印（佛菩薩母）・白傘佛頂印・勝佛頂印・最勝佛頂印・除業佛頂印・火聚佛頂印・發生佛頂印・無量音聲佛頂印（諸佛頂印，皆從如來頂印變化）
真多摩尼毫相印・佛眼印（少異，金剛標相）・無能勝印（釋迦眷屬）・無能勝明妃印
自在天印・普華天子印・光鬘天子印・滿意天子印・遍音聲天印・地神印・請召火天印・一切諸仙印（第二院諸天印）
焰摩但荼印・焰摩妃鐸印・暗夜天印・嚕達羅戟印・梵天明妃印・嬌末離爍底印・那羅延后輪印・焰魔七母鎚印・遮文荼印・涅哩底刀印・那羅延輪印・難徒拔難陀二雲印・商羯羅三戟印・商羯羅后印・商羯羅妃印・梵天印・月天印・日天輿輅印・社耶毘社耶印・風天印・妙音天費拏印（外金剛部諸天印，各依其本形而立）
諸龍印・一切阿脩羅印・乾闥婆印・一切藥叉印・藥叉女印・諸毘舍遮印・諸毘舍支印・一切執曜印・一切宿印・諸羅剎娑印・諸荼吉尼印（八部眾印，各有真言）
Samantabhadra's wish-fulfilling jewel seal (both hands joined as one, the two wind-fingers placed above the fire-fingers)
Maitreya's seal (a hollow-centered joined palm, the two wind-fingers bent beneath the two fire-fingers)
Ākāśagarbha's seal (as above, with the two space-fingers entering between)
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin's seal (the two water- and two earth-fingers bent into the palms, the wind- and fire-fingers joined)
Avalokiteśvara's seal (all ten fingers spread wide like a bell, the space- and earth-fingers joined and held together, forming a lotus)
Mahāsthāmaprāpta's seal (a hollow-centered joined palm, like a lotus not yet in bloom)
Tārā's seal (all ten fingers turned inward in a fist, the two wind-fingers raised like needle-points, the two space-fingers added)
Bhṛkuṭī's seal (the two wind-fingers raised, crossed unevenly)
Pāṇḍaravāsinī's seal (a hollow-centered joined palm, the water- and space-fingers entering within)
Hayagrīva's seal (the two wind-fingers bent, placed beneath the space-fingers, kept apart the width of a grain of barley)
Kṣitigarbha's seal (the two water- and wind-fingers extended, the rest as a fist)
Mañjuśrī's seal (a hollow joined palm, the fire- and water-fingers interlocked and held, the two wind-fingers placed on the two space-fingers, in the shape of a hook)
The seals of Mañjuśrī's retinue — the youth of the net of light, the stainless-light seal, Keśinī's blade-seal, Upakeśinī's spear-seal, the earth-wisdom banner-seal, and the summoning-youth seal — each a small variation of a fist, a hook, a blade, or a spear
Vajrapāṇi's seal (both hands joined, the water-fingers crossed and folded into the palms, the fire- and earth-fingers held upright together, the wind-fingers extended and bent at the third joint): Namaḥ samanta-vajrāṇāṃ caṇḍa-mahā-roṣaṇa hūṃ
The seals of the vajra family's retinue — Māmakī, Vajra-Śṛṅkhalā, the wrathful Moon-Marked One, Vajra Needle, the vajra-fist seal, Aparājita, and Aparājitā-facing — each with its own mantra
The seals of Acala and Trailokyavijaya (built as variations on the vajra-wisdom seal and the hook seal already given above)
The seal of the Tathāgata's uṣṇīṣa (mother of every buddha and bodhisattva), and the seals of the White Parasol, Victorious, Supreme, Removal-of-Karma, Fiery-Mass, Arising, and Boundless-Sound buddha-crowns (each a variation on the Tathāgata's own crown-seal)
The seal of the true cintāmaṇi ūrṇā, a slightly varied Buddha-eye seal marked with the vajra emblem, Aparājita's own seal (in Śākyamuni's retinue), and the seal of Aparājitā's vidyā
The seals of the second court's deva figures — Īśvara, Samantapuṣpa, Mālādhara, Manojava, the deity of universal sound, the earth deity, the summoned fire-god, and every sage
The seals of the outer vajra family's devas — Yama's staff, Yama's queen's bell, Kālarātrī, Rudra's trident, Brahmā's consort, Kaumārī, Nārāyaṇa's queen's discus, the seven mothers' mace, Cāmuṇḍā, Nirṛti's blade, Nārāyaṇa's discus, the twin clouds of Nanda and Upananda, Śaṃkara's trident, Śaṃkara's queen, Śaṃkara's consort, Brahmā, the moon-god, the sun-god's chariot, Vijayā and Ajitā, the wind-god, and Sarasvatī's vīṇā — each formed according to its own figure's implement
The seals of the eight classes of being — every nāga, every asura, the gandharvas, every yakṣa, the yakṣiṇīs, every piśāca, every vetāla, every planetary deity, every lunar mansion, every rākṣasa, and every ḍākinī — each with its own mantra
This chapter closes by naming what every one of these eighty-odd hand positions actually is, beyond ritual instruction: "Lord of Secrets, these foremost seals of the Tathāgatas arise from the Tathāgata's own confident understanding, and are identical with the very emblems of the bodhisattvas — their number is without limit. Further, Lord of Secrets, every movement and every stillness of the body, down to the smallest gesture, should be known as itself a secret seal; and every word the tongue turns to speak should be known as itself a mantra." This closing line reframes everything catalogued above: the mudrās described in such technical detail are not a separate, specialized vocabulary set apart from ordinary movement, but this chapter's own explicit claim that any bodily gesture at all, performed by a practitioner who has genuinely realized what this whole sūtra has been teaching since Part 1, is already a secret seal — the elaborate catalogue exists to train recognition of something the text insists was never actually confined to it.
Part 6 Complete
This closes Part 6, the third of the sūtra's "three secrets": more than eighty mudrās, from the great seal shared by every buddha down to the specific hand position of every deity named in this collection so far, built throughout from a single five-finger, five-element grammar — and closing with the claim that this entire catalogue only makes explicit what was true of every gesture all along. Part 7 turns to three shorter chapters: 字輪品第十, on a further letter-wheel teaching; 祕密漫荼羅品第十一, on the maṇḍala's deepest secret aspect; and 入祕密漫荼羅法品第十二, its shortest chapter.
Continue to Part 7 — The Secret Maṇḍala →