My, oh, my how this thread has grown. . .not much time as I've gotta scamper off to a gig, butlet me address the "mudra" thing-- Tacked to the wall in front of me as I sit here is a copy of the Smokey the bear sutra by Gary Snyder; early in the poem, Smokey is depicted as standing with his left paw in the mudra of comradly display--that is to say, open, palm out, indicating generosity and friendlieness. . . if it's good enough for Smokey Bear in his aspect of Great Sun Buddah, it's good enough for me. The curious person will type "Smokey the Bear Sutra" in the search engine of his or her choice, and regard the results. . . . thus we have heard NS