Tantra

Tantra (Sanskrit: loom), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. It exists in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Bönpo, and New Age forms. Tantra has persisted and often thrived throughout Asian history since the middle of the first millennium CE. Its practitioners have lived in India, China, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia. No form of medieval Hinduism, Buddhism, or Jainism has been without a Tantric component. Some South-Asian Islamic traditions have also borne a tantric stamp.

Related Topics:
Sanskrit - Loom - Yoga - Esoteric - India - Hindu - Buddhist - Jain - Bön - New Age

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David Gordon White while cautioning us about attempting a rigorous definition of what for centuries has defied such attempts, offers the following working definition

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: " is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy,within the human microcosm in creative and emancipatory ways."

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In its Indian forms, tantra can be summarized as a family of voluntary rituals modeled on those of the Vedas, together with their attendant texts and lineages. These rituals typically involve the visualization of a deity, offerings (real or visualized), and the chanting of his or her mantra. These practices are usually said to require permission from a qualified teacher or guru who belongs to a legitimate guruparampara or teacher-student lineage. Thus tantra shares some similarities with yoga.

Related Topics:
Vedas - Mantra - Guru - Yoga

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Common variations include visualizing the deity in the act of sexual union with a consort; visualizing oneself as the deity; and/or "transgressive" acts such as token consumption of meat or alcohol. Occasionally ritualized sex may be undertaken in imitation of the divine model. This accounts for tantra's mixed reputation, and its reception in the West primarily as a collection of sexual practices.

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