Bob Schwartz

There are dozens of hand gestures used in the world, some with universal meaning, many with different meanings in different cultures.

Among those well-known in America and elsewhere are the peace gesture, the V of index and middle finger, and the power gesture, the raised fist.

I’ve been thinking that in troubling times, a common gesture might be a way to express shared resistance to that trouble and a positive attitude toward that trouble. In past crisis, that is a role played by the peace gesture.

My suggestion for this moment is the abhaya mudrā. As the descriptions below explain, its meanings include fearlessness, protection, refuge, benevolence, peace and more. All things we need now.

abhayamudrā. (Tibetan mi ’jigs pa’i phyag rgya; Chinese shiwuwei yin; Japanese semuiin; Korean simuoe in). In Sanskrit, “the gesture of fearlessness” or “gesture of protection”; also sometimes called the gesture of granting refuge. This gesture (mudrā) is typically formed with the palm of the right hand facing outward at shoulder height and the fingers pointing up, although both hands may simultaneously be raised in this posture in a double abhayamudrā. This gesture is associated with Śākyamuni Buddha immediately following his enlightenment, and standing buddha images will often be depicted with this mudrā, portraying a sense of the security, serenity, and compassion that derive from enlightenment.
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism

abhaya-mudrā (Sanskrit, gesture of fearlessness). Iconographic hand gesture (mudrā) whose purpose is to dispel fear and communicate protection, benevolence, and peace. Commonly found in representations of the Buddha and celestial Bodhisattvas, where the figure is usually depicted standing with the right arm bent, the palm raised and facing forwards, and the fingers joined.
A Dictionary of Buddhism (Oxford)

THE PROTECTION GESTURE
(Sanskrit abhaya-mudra; Tibetan mi-’jigs-pa’i phyag-rgya)
The gesture of protection or fearlessness is also identified with the gesture of giving refuge, described below. The right ‘method’ hand usually makes this gesture, with the palm held outwards and the fingers extending upwards.
Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols