A Completed and Detailed Exposition on the True Buddha Tantric Dharma

By Living Buddha Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by Janny Chow

Handclapping: "Wake-up Call and Dismissal"

       In the past, when I sat down to do a practice, I first began by clapping my hands twice. In group practice, this step is omitted.
       Clapping the hands twice has two functions. At the beginning of meditation, it serves as a "wake-up call." It signifies that one is about to do the practice and requests all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the shrine and the spirit realm to pay attention. At the end of the practice, when one is ready to get up to leave the shrine, the clapping of hands twice serves as a signal of "dismissal." It means that one has completed the practice and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can disengage and rest. This is the meaning behind clapping the hands twice at the beginning and end of each practice session.
       There are some practitioners who, after clapping their hands, employ an additional mudra by crossing their hands and snapping the thumb against the middle finger [Grand Master illustrates with a demonstration]. Actually this mudra serves exactly the same purpose as the clapping of hands. In Tantra, many rites appear enigmatic. For example, people may wonder why the clapping of hands is necessary for individual and not group practice. This is due to the fact that, when a group of people gathers to do meditation, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas automatically become aware of their combined intent, whereas a single individual entering the shrine to do the practice might escape their notice. So, to attract the Buddha's and Bodhisattva's attention, one claps one's hands to signify a kind of beginning or wake-up call. The same gesture also serves as notice of completion at the end of the meditation practice. It is a ritual with esoteric meaning.