maitripa described mahāmudrā as follows:"mahāmudrā, that which is unified and beyond the mind, is clear yet thoughtless, pervasive, and vast like space. its aspect of great compassion is apparent yet devoid of any nature. manifesting clearly like the moon in water; it is beyond all terms, boundaries or center. polluted by nothing, it is stainless and beyond hope and fear. it cannot be described, like the dream of a mute."one of maitripa's students was the kadam scholar atisha, who taught mahāmudrā to his pupil dromton (1004-63) who decided not to make mahāmudrā a part of the kadam tradition. another pupil of maitripa, marpa lotsawa, also introduced mahāmudrā to tibet and his disciple milarepa is also a central figure of this lineage. another important figure in the introduction of mahāmudrā to the area is vajrapani, yet another student of maitripa. his student, asu, also was a teacher of rechungpa (1084-1161), one of milarepa's pupils.