Avadhuti, Avadhūti, Avadhūtī: 4 definitions

Introduction:

Avadhuti means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: 84000: Sampuṭodbhava Tantra (Emergence from Sampuṭa)

Avadhūtī (अवधूती) refers to one of the primary thirty-two energy-channels in the body, according to the Sampuṭodbhavatantra chapter 1.—Accordingly, “[Vajragarbha asked, ‘What subtle energy channels are in the body?’]—The Blessed One said, ‘There are one hundred and twenty of them, corresponding to the divisions within the four cakras. The chief ones, those with bodhicitta as their innate nature, are thirty-two in number. They are: [i.e., Avadhūtī] [...]’.”.

Source: De Gruyter: Himalayan Anthropology: The Indo-Tibetan Interface

Avadhūtī (अवधूती) refers to one of the three nerves of the Vajra Deha (“Vajra Body”), according to William Stablein’s A Descriptive Analysis of the Content of Nepalese Buddhist Pujas as a Medical-Cultural System (with References to Tibetan Parallels).—The tshog shin (sacred tree) is also mentally visualized.—[...] The education and training of the hierophant (vajrācārya) may be significant for the existence and maintenance of his vajradeha [Vajra body] which is the main dynamo of the system. The Vajra body is the model system of three nerves: lalanā, rasanā, and avadhūtī, which are located in the left, right, and middle parts of the body respectively. With these nerves there are five cakra [circular arrangements within the head, throat, heart, stomach, and genitals]. The main function of this unit is the sacred procreation, i.e., the creation of the bodhicitta [sacred semen].

Source: WikiPedia: Tibetan Buddhism

Avadhūtī (अवधूती) refers to the “central channel” which is used during the Tantric practice of gtum mo (“yoga of inner heat”) which represents one of the Six Dharmas of Naropa, a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices compiled by the Indian Mahasiddhas Tilopa and Naropa (1016–1100 CE).—The practice of gtum-mo (“the yoga of inner heat”) works with the subtle body (also known as the vajra-body) system of channels, winds, drops and chakras. Through inner heat, the vital winds are caused to enter into the central channel (avadhūtī), causing the four blisses or joys which is then unified with the wisdom that understands emptiness. This practice is a kind of prāṇāyāma, that generally involves sitting with a straight back, visualizing the channels, holding the breath deep in the abdomen for extended periods (called “vase breath”, then applying visualization of a fiery short stroke AH syllable on the navel. This practice leads the vital winds into the central channel (avadhūtī), where they are said to melt the drops (which are tiny spheres of subtle energy) causing great bliss. This powerful bliss experience “is said to constitute a similitude of the actual bliss experienced in spiritual Awakening”.

Tibetan Buddhism book cover
context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Avadhūti (अवधूति).—f., name of an artery, vein, or canal (nāḍī) in the body: Sādhanamālā 366.15 °tī-randhreṇa; 383.13 °tī-mārgeṇa; 448.11 nāḍyo lalanārasanāvadhūtayaḥ; 14 avadhūtī madhyadeśe tu mahāsukhādhārarūpiṇī; 16 avadhūty amitanāthasya ādhārabhāvinī sadā. Cf. rasanā, lalanā.

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

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