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= Tantra =
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Introduction
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Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the
Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards
in Shaivism and subsequently Buddhism.
The term 'tantra', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic
broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument,
technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use
of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga
("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and
Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism.
In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and
practices, which are based on Indian Buddhist Tantras. They include
Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese Shingon
Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism. Although Southern Esoteric
Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and
ideas parallel them. In Buddhism, tantra has influenced the art and
iconography of Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism, as well as historic
cave temples of India and the art of Southeast Asia.
Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions have also influenced other
Eastern religious traditions such as Jainism, the Tibetan Bön
tradition, Daoism, and the Japanese Shintō tradition. Certain modes of
non-Vedic worship such as Puja are considered tantric in their
conception and rituals. Hindu temple building also generally conforms
to the iconography of tantra. Hindu texts describing these topics are
called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās.
Etymology
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Tantra () literally means "loom, warp, weave". According to Padoux,
the verbal root Tan means: "to extend", "to spread", "to spin out",
"weave", "display", "put forth", and "compose". Therefore, by
extension, it can also mean "system", "doctrine", or "work".
The connotation of the word 'tantra' to mean an esoteric practice or
religious ritualism is a colonial era European invention. This term is
based on the metaphor of weaving, states Ron Barrett, where the
Sanskrit root 'tan' means the warping of threads on a loom. It implies
"interweaving of traditions and teachings as threads" into a text,
technique or practice.
The word appears in the hymns of the 'Rigveda' such as in 10.71, with
the meaning of "warp (weaving)". It is found in many other Vedic era
texts, such as in section 10.7.42 of the 'Atharvaveda' and many
Brahmanas. In these and post-Vedic texts, the contextual meaning of
'Tantra' is that which is "principal or essential part, main point,
model, framework, feature". In the Smritis and epics of Hinduism (and
Jainism), the term means "doctrine, rule, theory, method, technique or
chapter" and the word appears both as a separate word and as a common
suffix, such as 'atma-tantra' meaning "doctrine or theory of Atman
(Self)".
The term "Tantra" after about 500 BCE, in Buddhism, Hinduism and
Jainism is a bibliographic category, just like the word Sutra (which
means "sewing together", mirroring the metaphor of "weaving together"
in 'Tantra'). The same Buddhist texts are sometimes referred to as
tantra or sutra; for example, 'Vairocabhisambodhi-tantra' is also
referred to as 'Vairocabhisambodhi-sutra'. The various contextual
meanings of the word Tantra vary with the Indian text and are
summarized in the appended table.
Appearance of the term "Tantra" in Indian texts
Period !! Text or author !! Contextual meaning of tantra
1500-1100 BCE 'Ṛigveda' X, 71.9 Loom (or weaving device)
1200-1000 BCE Sāmaveda, 'Tandya Brahmana' Essence (or "main
part", perhaps denoting the quintessence of the 'Śāstras')
|1200-900 BCE 'Atharvaveda' X, 7.42 Loom (or weaving)
|1200-800 BCE Yajurveda, 'Taittiriya Brahmana' 11.5.5.3 Loom (or
weaving)
|800-600 BCE 'Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa' Essence (or main part; see
above)
|600-500 BCE Pāṇini in 'Aṣṭādhyāyī' 1.4.54 and 5.2.70 Warp
(weaving), loom
|350-283 BCE Chanakya on 'Arthaśāstra' Science; system or shastra
300 CE Īśvarakṛṣṇa author of 'Sānkhya Kārikā' ('kārikā' 70)
Doctrine (identifies 'Sankhya' as a 'tantra')
320 CE 'Viṣṇu Purāṇa' Practices and rituals
320-400 CE Poet Kālidāsa on 'Abhijñānaśākuntalam' Deep
understanding or mastery of a topic
423 Gangdhar stone inscription in Rajasthan Worship techniques
('Tantrodbhuta') Dubious link to Tantric practices.
500 Hindu Agamas A set of esoteric doctrines and practices,
featuring archaic prosody and linguistic evidence dating back to
500 BCE. Tantra here implies "Extensive knowledge of principles of
reality".
550 Sabarasvamin's commentary on Mimamsa Sutra 11.1.1, 11.4.1 etc.
Thread, text; beneficial action or thing
606-647 Sanskrit scholar and poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa (in 'Harṣacarita' and
in 'Kādambari'), in Bhāsa's 'Cārudatta' and in Śūdraka's
'Mṛcchakatika' Set of sites and worship methods to goddesses or
Matrikas.
650 Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra The first evidence of Buddhist
esoteric doctrines or practices, known as Vajrayāna and sometimes also
as Tantrayāna.
post-650 Buddhist tantric literature Various Vajrayāna esoteric
doctrines or practices.
975-1025 Philosopher Abhinavagupta in his 'Tantrāloka' Set of
doctrines or practices, teachings, texts, system (synthesis of the 64
monistic āgamas and based on Kashmir Shaivism)
1150-1200 Jayaratha, Abhinavagupta's commentator on 'Tantrāloka'
Set of doctrines or practices, teachings
1690-1785 Bhaskararaya (philosopher) System of thought or set of
doctrines or practices, a canon
Ancient and medieval era
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The 5th-century BCE scholar Pāṇini in his Sutra 1.4.54-55 of Sanskrit
grammar, cryptically explains tantra through the example of
"Sva-tantra" (Sanskrit: स्वतन्त्र), which he states means
"independent" or a person who is his own "warp, cloth, weaver,
promoter, karta (actor)". Patanjali in his 'Mahābhāṣya' quotes and
accepts Panini's definition, then discusses or mentions it at a
greater length, in 18 instances, stating that its metaphorical
definition of "warp (weaving), extended cloth" is relevant to many
contexts. The word 'tantra', states Patanjali, means "principal,
main".
He uses the same example of 'svatantra' as a composite word of "sva"
(self) and tantra, then stating "svatantra" means "one who is
self-dependent, one who is his own master, the principal thing for
whom is himself", thereby interpreting the definition of tantra.
Patanjali also offers a semantic definition of Tantra, stating that it
is structural rules, standard procedures, centralized guide or
knowledge in any field that applies to many elements.
Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed
Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are
tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the
Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Shri Vidya, the Kaula,
and Kashmir Shaivism.
The ancient Mimamsa school of Hinduism uses the term tantra
extensively, and its scholars offer various definitions. For example:
Medieval texts present their own definitions of Tantra. ', for
example, gives the following explanation of the term 'tantra':
Modern era
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The occultist and businessman Pierre Bernard (1875-1955) is widely
credited with introducing the philosophy and practices of tantra to
the American people, at the same time creating a somewhat misleading
impression of its connection to sex. That popular sexualization is
more accurately regarded as the western 'Neo-Tantra' movement.
While hugely influential on Hindu practices and ritual, the Tantric
traditions are poorly understood by contemporary Hindus. Likewise,
western scholarship has often ignored this important aspect of Indian
and Hindu-culture.
Many definitions of Tantra have been proposed since, and there is no
universally accepted definition. André Padoux, in his review of Tantra
definitions offers two, then rejects both. One definition, according
to Padoux, is found among Tantra practitioners - it is any "system of
observances" about the vision of man and the cosmos where
correspondences between the inner world of the person and the
macrocosmic reality play an essential role. Another definition, more
common among observers and non-practitioners, is some "set of
mechanistic rituals, omitting entirely the ideological side".
Tantric traditions have been studied mostly from textual and
historical perspectives. Anthropological work on living Tantric
tradition is scarce, and ethnography has rarely engaged with the study
of Tantra. This is arguably a result of the modern construction of
Tantrism as occult, esoteric and secret. Some scholars have tried to
demystify the myth of secrecy in contemporary Tantric traditions,
suggesting new methodological avenues to overcome the ethical and
epistemological problems in the study of living Tantric traditions.
According to David N. Lorenzen, two different kinds of definitions of
Tantra exist, narrow and broad. According to the narrow definition,
Tantrism, or "Tantric religion", is the elite traditions directly
based on the Sanskrit texts called the Tantras, Samhitas, and Agamas.
Lorenzen's "broad definition" extends this by including a broad range
of "magical beliefs and practices" such as Yoga and Shaktism.
The term "yoga" is broadly attributed to many traditions and
practices, including the western assumption that yoga is synonymous
with physical stretching and little more. The 'Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali' define yoga as "the stilling of the disturbances of the
mind". Richard Payne states that Tantra has been commonly but
incorrectly associated with sex, given popular culture's prurient
obsession with intimacy. Tantra has been labelled as the "yoga of
ecstasy", driven by senseless ritualistic libertinism. This is far
from the diverse and complex understanding of what Tantra means to
those Buddhists, Hindu and Jains who practice it.
David Gray disagrees with broad generalizations and states that
defining Tantra is a difficult task because "Tantra traditions are
manifold, spanning several religious traditions and cultural worlds.
As a result they are also diverse, which makes it a significant
challenge to come up with an adequate definition". The challenge of
defining Tantra is compounded by the fact that it has been a
historically significant part of major Indian religions, including
Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, both in and outside South Asia and
East Asia. To its practitioners, Tantra is defined as a combination of
texts, techniques, rituals, monastic practices, meditation, yoga, and
ideology.
According to Georg Feuerstein,
Hindu puja, temples and iconography all show tantric influence. These
texts, states Gavin Flood, contain representation of "the body in
philosophy, in ritual and in art", which are linked to "techniques of
the body, methods or technologies developed within the tantric
traditions intended to transform body and self".
Tantrism
==========
The term 'tantrism' is a 19th-century European invention not present
in any Asian language; compare "Sufism", of similar Orientalist
origin. According to Padoux, 'Tantrism' is a Western term and notion,
not a category that is used by Tantrikas themselves. The term was
introduced by 19th-century Indologists, with limited knowledge of
India and in whose view Tantrism was a particular, unusual and
minority practice in contrast to Indian traditions they believed to be
mainstream.
Robert Brown similarly notes that "tantrism" is a construct of Western
scholarship, not a concept of the religious system itself. He defines
Tantrism as an apologetic label of Westerners for a system that they
little understand that is "not coherent" and which is "an accumulated
set of practices and ideas from various sources, that has varied
between its practitioners within a group, varied across groups, across
geography and over its history". It is a system, adds Brown, that
gives each follower the freedom to mix Tantric elements with
non-Tantric aspects, to challenge and transgress any and all norms,
experiment with "the mundane to reach the supramundane".
Teun Goudriaan in his 1981 review of Hindu Tantrism, states that
Tantrism usually means a "systematic quest for salvation or spiritual
excellence" by realizing and fostering the divine within one's own
body, one that is simultaneous union of the masculine-feminine and
spirit-matter, and has the ultimate goal of realizing the "primal
blissful state of non-duality". It is typically a methodically striven
system, consisting of voluntarily chosen specific practices which may
include Tantric items such as mantras ('bijas'), geometric patterns
and symbols ('mandala'), gestures ('mudra'), mapping of the microcosm
within one's body to the macrocosmic elements outside as the subtle
body ('kundalini yoga'), assignments of icons and sounds ('nyasa'),
meditation ('dhyana'), ritual worship ('puja'), initiation ('diksha')
and others. Tantrism, adds Goudriaan, is a living system that is
decidedly monistic, but with wide variations, and it is impossible to
be dogmatic about a simple or fixed definition.
Tantrism is an overarching term for "Tantric traditions", states David
Gray in a 2016 review, that combine Vedic, yogic and meditative
traditions from 5th-century Hinduism as well as rival Buddhist and
Jain traditions. it is a neologism of western scholars and does not
reflect the self-understanding of any particular tantric tradition.
While Goudriaan's description is useful, adds Gray, there is no single
defining universal characteristic common to all Tantra traditions,
being an open evolving system. Tantrism, whether Buddhist or Hindu,
can best be characterized as practices, a set of techniques, with a
strong focus on rituals and meditation, by those who believe that it
is a path to liberation that is characterized by both knowledge and
freedom.
Tantrika
==========
According to Padoux, the term "Tantrika" is based on a comment by
Kulluka Bhatta on 'Manava Dharmasastra 2.1', who contrasted 'vaidika'
and 'tantrika' forms of Śruti (canonical texts). The Tantrika, to
Bhatta, is that literature which forms a parallel part of the Hindu
tradition, independent of the Vedic corpus. The Vedic and non-Vedic
(Tantric) paths are seen as two different approaches to ultimate
reality, the Vedic approach based on Brahman, and Tantrika being based
on the non-Vedic Āgama texts. Despite Bhatta attempt to clarify,
states Padoux, in reality Hindus and Buddhists have historically felt
free to borrow and blend ideas from all sources, Vedic, non-Vedic and
in the case of Buddhism, its own canonical works.
One of the key differences between the Tantric and non-Tantric
traditions - whether it be orthodox Buddhism, Hinduism or Jainism - is
their assumptions about the need for monastic or ascetic life.
Non-Tantrika, or orthodox traditions in all three major ancient Indian
religions, hold that the worldly life of a householder is one driven
by desires and greeds which are a serious impediment to spiritual
liberation ('moksha', 'nirvana', 'kaivalya'). These orthodox
traditions teach renunciation of householder life, a mendicant's life
of simplicity and leaving all attachments to become a monk or nun. In
contrast, the Tantrika traditions hold, states Robert Brown, that
"both enlightenment and worldly success" are achievable, and that
"this world need not be shunned to achieve enlightenment". Yet, even
this supposed categorical divergence is debatable, e.g. Bhagavad Gita
v.2:48-53, including: "Yoga is skill in [the performance of] actions."
Proto-tantric elements in Indian religions
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While Tantra arose in the 5th century CE in Shaivite religions,
practices and ideas can be found in Indian religion and history which
may have been formative to Tantric practices and ideas.
Rig Veda
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The Keśin hymn of the 'Rig Veda' (10.136) describes the "wild loner"
who, states Karel Werner, "carrying within oneself fire and poison,
heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity to depression
and agony, from the heights of spiritual bliss to the heaviness of
earth-bound labor". The Rigveda uses words of admiration for these
loners, and whether it is related to Tantra or not, has been variously
interpreted. According to David Lorenzen, it describes 'munis' (sages)
experiencing Tantra-like "ecstatic, altered states of consciousness"
and gaining the ability "to fly on the wind". In contrast, Werner
suggests that these are early Yoga pioneers and accomplished yogis of
the ancient pre-Buddhist Indian tradition, and that this Vedic hymn is
speaking of those "lost in thoughts" whose "personalities are not
bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind".
However, Patrick Olivelle suggests that in the early Vedic-Brahmanical
texts, some of which predate the 3rd-century BCE ruler Ashoka,
Brahmana and Śramaṇa (ascetics) were neither distinct nor opposed. The
later distinctions were semantic developments possibly influenced by
the appropriation of the term Śramaṇa by Buddhism and Jainism.
Upanishads
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The two oldest Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism, the 'Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad' in section 4.2 and 'Chandogya Upanishad' in section 8.6,
refer to nadis ('hati') in presenting their theory on how the Atman
(Self) and the body are connected and interdependent through energy
carrying arteries when one is awake or sleeping, but they do not
mention anything related to Tantric practices. The 'Shvetashvatara
Upanishad' describes breath control that became a standard part of
Yoga, but Tantric practices do not appear in it. Likewise, the
'Taittiriya Upanishad' discusses a central channel running through the
body and various Vedic texts mention the bodily pranas (vital breaths)
that move around in the body and animate it. However, the idea of
consciously moving the bodily pranas through yoga is not found in
these sources. According to Lorenzen, Vedic ideas related to the body
later diversified into the "mystical anatomy" of 'nadis' and 'chakras'
found in Tantra. The yogic component of Tantrism appears clearly in
Bāṇabhaṭṭa's 'Harshacharita' and Daṇḍin's 'Dashakumaracharita'. In
contrast to this theory of Lorenzen, other scholars such as Mircea
Eliade consider Yoga and the evolution of Yogic practices to be
separate and distinct from the evolution of Tantra and Tantric
practices.
Tapas and spiritualized sexual energy
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According to Geoffrey Samuel, the inner development of a spiritual
energy called tapas becomes a central element of Vedic religion in the
Brahmanas and Srauta texts. In these texts, ascetic practices allow a
holy man to build up tapas, a kind of magical inner heat, which allows
them to perform all sorts of magical feats as well as granting visions
and divine revelations. Samuel also notes that in the 'Mahabharata',
one of the commonest use of the term "yoga" refers to "a dying warrior
transferring himself at death to the sphere of the sun through yoga, a
practice that links up with Upanisadic references to the channel to
the crown of the head as the pathway by which one can travel through
the solar orb to the World of Brahman." This practice of transferring
one's consciousness at death is still an important practice in Tibetan
Buddhism. Samuel also notes that sexual rituals and a spiritualized
sexuality are mentioned in the late Upanishads. According to Samuel,
"late Vedic texts treat sexual intercourse as symbolically equivalent
to the Vedic sacrifice, and ejaculation of semen as the offering."
This theme can be found in the 'Jaiminiya Brahmana', the 'Chandogya
Upanisad', and the 'Brhadaranyaka Upanisad'. The 'Brhadaranyaka'
contains various sexual rituals and practices which are mostly aimed
at obtaining a child which are concerned with the loss of male
virility and power.
Yogini cults
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David Gordon White views Yogini cults as foundational to early tantra
but disagrees with scholars who maintain that the roots of such cults
lie in an "autochthonous non-Vedic source" such as indigenous tribes
or the Indus Valley civilization. Instead, White suggests Vedic Srauta
texts mention offerings to goddesses Rākā, Sinīvālī, and Kuhū in a
manner similar to a tantric ritual.
Atharvaveda
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Frederick Smith - a professor of Sanskrit and Classical Indian
Religions, considers Tantra to be a religious movement parallel to the
Bhakti movement of the 1st millennium CE. Tantra along with Ayurveda,
states Smith, has traditionally been attributed to 'Atharvaveda', but
this attribution is one of respect not of historicity. Ayurveda has
primarily been an empirical practice with Vedic roots, but Tantra has
been an esoteric, folk movement without grounding that cannot be
traced to anything in 'Atharvaveda' or any other vedic text.
Proto-Tantric elements in Buddhism
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Pre-tantric Buddhism contains elements which could be seen as
proto-tantric, and which may have influenced the development of the
Buddhist Tantric tradition. The use of magical chants or incantations
can be found in the early Buddhist texts as well as in some Mahayana
sutras. These magical spells or chants were used for various reasons,
such as for protection, and for the generation of auspiciousness.
Mahayana incantations are called dhāraṇīs. Some Mahayana sutras
incorporate the use of mantras, a central feature of tantric practice.
According to Geoffrey Samuel, sramana groups like the Buddhists and
Jains were associated with the dead. Samuel notes that they
"frequently settled at sites associated with the dead and seem to have
taken over a significant role in relation to the spirits of the dead."
To step into this realm required entering a dangerous and impure
supernatural realm from the Indian perspective. This association with
death remains a feature of modern Buddhism, and in Buddhist countries
today, Buddhist monks and other ritual specialists are in charge of
the dead. Thus, the association of tantric practitioners with charnel
grounds and death imagery is preceded by early Buddhist contact with
these sites of the dead.
Some scholars think that the development of tantra may have been
influenced by the cults of nature spirit-deities like Yakṣas and
Nagas. Yakṣa cults were an important part of early Buddhism. Yakṣas
are powerful nature spirits which were sometimes seen as guardians or
protectors. Yakṣas like Kubera are also associated with magical
incantations. Kubera is said to have provided the Buddhist sangha with
protection spells in the 'Āṭānāṭiya Sutta'. These spirit deities also
included numerous female deities (yakṣiṇī) that can be found depicted
in major Buddhist sites like Sanchi and Bharhut. In early Buddhist
texts there is also mention of fierce demon like deities called
rākṣasa and rākṣasī, like the children-eating Hārītī. They are also
present in Mahayana texts, such as in Chapter 26 of the 'Lotus Sutra'
which includes a dialogue between the Buddha and a group of rākṣasīs,
who swear to uphold and protect the sutra. These figures also teach
magical dhāraṇīs to protect followers of the 'Lotus Sutra'.
A key element of Buddhist Tantric practice is the visualization of
deities in meditation. This practice is actually found in pre-tantric
Buddhist texts as well. In Mahayana sutras like the 'Pratyutpanna
Samādhi' and the three Amitabha Pure land sutras. There are other
Mahāyāna sutras which contain what may be called "proto-tantric"
material such as the 'Gandavyuha' and the 'Dasabhumika' which might
have served as a source for the imagery found in later Tantric texts.
According to Samuel, the 'Golden Light Sutra' (c. 5th century at the
latest) contains what could be seen as a proto-mandala. In the second
chapter, a bodhisattva has a vision of "a vast building made of beryl
and with divine jewels and celestial perfumes. Four lotus-seats appear
in the four directions, with four Buddhas seated upon them: Aksobhya
in the East, Ratnaketu in the South, Amitayus in the West and
Dundubhīśvara in the North."
A series of artwork discovered in Gandhara, in modern-day Pakistan,
dating from about the 1st century CE, show Buddhist and Hindu monks
holding skulls. The legend corresponding to these artworks is found in
Buddhist texts, and describes monks "who tap skulls and forecast the
future rebirths of the person to whom that skull belonged". According
to Robert Brown, these Buddhist skull-tapping reliefs suggest that
tantric practices may have been in vogue by the 1st century CE.
Proto-Tantric elements in Shaktism and Shaivism
=================================================
The 'Mahabharata', the 'Harivamsa', and the 'Devi Mahatmya' in the
'Markandeya Purana' all mention the fierce, demon-killing
manifestations of the Great Goddess, Mahishamardini, identified with
Durga-Parvati. These suggest that Shaktism, reverence and worship for
the Goddess in Indian culture, was an established tradition by the
early centuries of the 1st millennium. Padoux mentions an inscription
from 423 to 424 CE which mentions the founding of a temple to
terrifying deities called "the mothers". However, this does not mean
Tantric rituals and practices were as yet a part of either Hindu or
Buddhist traditions. "Apart from the somewhat dubious reference to
Tantra in the Gangadhar inscription of 423 CE", states David Lorenzen,
it is only 7th-century Banabhatta's 'Kadambari' which provide
convincing proof of Tantra and Tantric texts.
Shaivite ascetics seem to have been involved in the initial
development of Tantra, particularly the transgressive elements dealing
with the charnel ground. According to Samuel, one group of Shaiva
ascetics, the Pasupatas, practiced a form of spirituality that made
use of shocking and disreputable behavior later found in a tantric
context, such as dancing, singing, and smearing themselves with ashes.
Early Tantric practices are sometimes attributed to Shaiva ascetics
associated with Bhairava, the Kapalikas ("skull men", also called
'Somasiddhatins' or 'Mahavartins'). Besides the shocking fact that
they frequented cremation grounds and carried human skulls, little is
known about them, and there is a paucity of primary sources on the
Kapalikas. Samuel also states that the sources depict them as using
alcohol and sex freely, that they were associated with terrfying
female spirit-deities called yoginis and dakinis, and that they were
believed to possess magical powers, such as flight.
Kapalikas are depicted in fictional works and also widely disparaged
in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts of the 1st millennium CE. In Hāla's
'Gatha-saptasati' (composed by the 5th century AD), for example, the
story calls a female character Kapalika, whose lover dies, he is
cremated, she takes his cremation ashes and smears her body with it.
The 6th-century Varāhamihira mentions Kapalikas in his literary works.
Some of the Kāpālika practices mentioned in these texts are those
found in Shaiva Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism, and scholars disagree
on who influenced whom.
These early historical mentions are in passing and appear to be
Tantra-like practices, they are not detailed nor comprehensive
presentation of Tantric beliefs and practices. Epigraphic references
to the 'Kaulas' Tantric practices are rare. Reference is made in the
early 9th century to 'vama' (left-hand) Tantras of the Kaulas.
Literary evidence suggests Tantric Buddhism was probably flourishing
by the 7th century. Matrikas, or fierce mother goddesses that later
are closely linked to Tantra practices, appear both in Buddhist and
Hindu arts and literature between the 7th and 10th centuries.
Rise and development
======================
According to Peter C. Bisschop, the expansion of the Pāśupata Śaivite
movement (early CE) throughout North India gave rise to different
forms of Śaivism, eventually leading to the emergence of various
tantric traditions.
According to David B. Gray, Vajrayana originated from pre-existing
Tantric traditions, also known as 'Tantrism', which emerged within
Hinduism during the first millennium CE. These early Hindu tantric
practices had a profound influence on South Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism,
leading to the emergence of distinct Buddhist tantric traditions in
the 7th century CE. These traditions quickly spread across Southeast,
East, and Central Asia, giving rise to unique forms in East Asia and
Tibet.
According to Gavin Flood, the earliest date for the Tantra texts
related to Tantric practices is 600 CE, though most of them were
probably composed after the 8th century onwards. According to Flood,
very little is known about who created the Tantras, nor much is known
about the social status of these and medieval era Tantrikas.
Flood states that the pioneers of Tantra may have been ascetics who
lived at the cremation grounds, possibly from "above low-caste
groups", and were probably non-Brahmanical and possibly part of an
ancient tradition. By the early medieval times, their practices may
have included the imitation of deities such as Kali and Bhairava, with
offerings of non-vegetarian food, alcohol and sexual substances.
According to this theory, these practitioners would have invited their
deities to enter them, then reverted the role in order to control that
deity and gain its power. These ascetics would have been supported by
low castes living at the cremation places.
Samuel states that transgressive and antinomian tantric practices
developed in both Buddhist and Brahmanical (mainly Śaiva ascetics like
the Kapalikas) contexts and that "Śaivas and Buddhists borrowed
extensively from each other, with varying degrees of acknowledgement."
According to Samuel, these deliberately transgressive practices
included, "night time orgies in charnel grounds, involving the eating
of human flesh, the use of ornaments, bowls and musical instruments
made from human bones, sexual relations while seated on corpses, and
the like."
According to Samuel, another key element of in the development of
tantra was "the gradual transformation of local and regional deity
cults through which fierce male and, particularly, female deities came
to take a leading role in the place of the yaksa deities." Samuel
states that this took place between the fifth to eighth centuries CE.
According to Samuel, there are two main scholarly opinions on these
terrifying goddesses which became incorporated into Śaiva and Buddhist
Tantra. The first view is that they originate out of a pan-Indian
religious substrate that was not Vedic. Another opinion is to see
these fierce goddesses as developing out of the Vedic religion.
Alexis Sanderson has argued that tantric practices originally
developed in a Śaiva milieu and was later adopted by Buddhists. He
cites numerous elements that are found in the Śaiva 'Vidyapitha'
literature, including whole passages and lists of pithas, that seem to
have been directly borrowed by Vajrayana texts. This has been
criticized by Ronald M. Davidson however, due to the uncertain date of
the 'Vidyapitha' texts. Davidson argues that the pithas seem to have
been neither uniquely Buddhist nor Śaiva, but frequented by both
groups. He also states that the Śaiva tradition was also involved in
the appropriation of local deities and that tantra may have been
influenced by tribal Indian religions and their deities. Samuel writes
that "the female divinities may well best be understood in terms of a
distinct Śākta milieu from which both Śaivas and Buddhists were
borrowing", but that other elements, like the Kapalika style
practices, are more clearly derived from a Śaiva tradition.
Samuel writes that the Saiva Tantra tradition appears to have
originated as ritual sorcery carried out by hereditary caste groups
(kulas) and associated with sex, death and fierce goddesses. The
initiation rituals involved the consumption of the mixed sexual
secretions (the clan essence) of a male guru and his consort. These
practices were adopted by Kapalika styled ascetics and influenced the
early Nath siddhas. Over time, the more extreme external elements were
replaced by internalized yogas that make use of the subtle body.
Sexual ritual became a way to reach the liberating wisdom taught in
the tradition.
The Buddhists developed their own corpus of Tantras, which also drew
on various Mahayana doctrines and practices, as well as on elements of
the fierce goddess tradition and also on elements from the Śaiva
traditions (such as deities like Bhairava, which were seen as having
been subjugated and converted to Buddhism). Some Buddhist tantras
(sometimes called "lower" or "outer" tantras) which are earlier works,
do not make use of transgression, sex and fierce deities. These
earlier Buddhist tantras mainly reflect a development of Mahayana
theory and practice (like deity visualization) and a focus on ritual
and purity. Between the eighth and tenth centuries, new tantras
emerged which included fierce deities, kula style sexual initiations,
subtle body practices and sexual yoga. The later Buddhist tantras are
known as the "inner" or "unsurpassed yoga" ('Anuttarayoga' or
"Yogini") tantras. According to Samuel, it seems that these sexual
practices were not initially practiced by Buddhist monastics and
instead developed outside of the monastic establishments among
traveling siddhas.
Tantric practices also included secret initiation ceremonies in which
individuals would enter the tantric family (kula) and receive the
secret mantras of the tantric deities. These initiations included the
consumption of the sexual substances (semen and female sexual
secretions) produced through ritual sex between the guru and his
consort. These substances were seen as spiritually powerful and were
also used as offerings for tantric deities. For both Śaivas and
Buddhists, tantric practices often took place at important sacred
sites (pithas) associated with fierce goddesses. Samuel writes that
"we do not have a clear picture of how this network of pilgrimage
sites arose." Whatever the case, it seems that it was in these ritual
spaces visited by both Buddhists and Śaivas that the practice of Kaula
and Anuttarayoga Tantra developed during the eighth and ninth
centuries. Besides the practices outlined above, these sites also saw
the practice of animal sacrifice as blood offerings to Śākta goddesses
like Kamakhya. This practice is mentioned in Śākta texts like the
'Kālikāpurāṇa' and the 'Yoginītantra.' In some of these sites, such as
Kamakhya Pitha, animal sacrifice is still widely practiced by Śāktas.
Another key and innovative feature of medieval tantric systems was the
development of internal yogas based on elements of the subtle body
('sūkṣma śarīra'). This subtle anatomy held that there were channels
in the body ('nadis') through which certain substances or energies
(such as vayu, prana, kundalini, and shakti) flowed. These yogas
involved moving these energies through the body to clear out certain
knots or blockages ('granthi') and to direct the energies to the
central channel ('avadhuti, sushumna'). These yogic practices are also
closely related to the practice of sexual yoga, since sexual
intercourse was seen as being involved in the stimulation of the flow
of these energies. Samuel thinks that these subtle body practices may
have been influenced by Chinese Daoist practices.
One of the earliest mentions of sexual yoga practice is in the
Buddhist 'Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra' of Asanga (c. 5th century), which
states "Supreme self-control is achieved in the reversal of sexual
intercourse in the blissful Buddha-poise and the untrammelled vision
of one's spouse." According to David Snellgrove, the text's mention of
a 'reversal of sexual intercourse' might indicate the practice of
withholding ejaculation. Snellgrove states that it is possible that
sexual yoga was already being practiced in Buddhist circles at this
time, and that Asanga saw it as a valid practice. Likewise, Samuel
thinks that there is a possibility that sexual yoga existed in the
fourth or fifth centuries (though not in the same transgressive
tantric contexts where it was later practiced).
It is only in the seventh and eighth centuries however that we find
substantial evidence for these sexual yogas. Unlike previous
Upanishadic sexual rituals however, which seem to have been associated
with Vedic sacrifice and mundane ends like childbirth, these sexual
yogas were associated with the movement of subtle body energies (like
Kundalini and Chandali, which were also seen as goddesses), and also
with spiritual ends. These practices seemed to have developed at
around the same time in both Saiva and Buddhist circles, and are
associated with figures such as Tirumülar, Gorakhnath, Virupa, Naropa.
The tantric mahasiddhas developed yogic systems with subtle body and
sexual elements which could lead to magical powers (siddhis),
immortality, as well as spiritual liberation (moksha, nirvana). Sexual
yoga was seen as one way of producing a blissful expansion of
consciousness that could lead to liberation.
According to Jacob Dalton, ritualized sexual yoga (along with the
sexual elements of the tantric initiation ritual, like the consumption
of sexual fluids) first appears in Buddhist works called Mahayoga
tantras (which include the 'Guhyagarbha' and 'Guhyasamaja'). These
texts "focused on the body's interior, on the anatomical details of
the male and female sexual organs and the pleasure generated through
sexual union." In these texts, sexual energy was also seen as a
powerful force that could be harnessed for spiritual practice and
according to Samuel "perhaps create the state of bliss and loss of
personal identity which is homologised with liberating insight." These
sexual yogas continued to develop further into more complex systems
which are found in texts dating from about the ninth or tenth century,
including the Saiva 'Kaulajñānanirṇaya' and 'Kubjikātantra' as well as
the Buddhist 'Hevajra', and 'Cakrasamvara' tantras which make use of
charnel ground symbolism and fierce goddesses. Samuel writes that
these later texts also combine the sexual yoga with a system of
controlling the energies of the subtle body.
There is considerable evidence that the 'Hevajra' and 'Cakrasamvara'
tantras borrow significant portions from Saiva sources. The text
'Cakrasamvara' and its commentaries have revealed numerous attempts by
the Buddhists to enlarge and modify it, both to remove references to
Saiva deities and to add more Buddhist technical terminology.
Tantric age
=============
From the 8th to the 14th century, Tantric traditions rose to
prominence and flourished throughout India and beyond. By the 10th
century, the main elements of tantric practice had reached maturity
and were being practiced in Saiva and Buddhist contexts. This period
has been referred to as the 'Tantric Age' by some scholars due to
prevalence of Tantra. Also by the 10th century, numerous tantric texts
(variously called Agamas, Samhitas and Tantras) had been written,
particularly in Kashmir, Nepal and Bengal. By this time, Tantric texts
had also been translated into regional languages such as Tamil, and
Tantric practices had spread across South Asia. Tantra also spread
into Tibet, Indonesia and China. Gavin Flood describes the Tantric age
as follows:
Though the whole northern and Himalayan part of India was involved in
the development of tantra, Kashmir was a particularly important
center, both Saiva and Buddhist and numerous key tantric texts were
written there according to Padoux. According to Alexis Sanderson, the
Śaiva Tantra traditions of medieval Kashmir were mainly divided
between the dualistic Śaiva Siddhanta and the non-dualist theology
found in Śakta lineages like the Trika, Krama and Kaula. The
non-dualists generally accepted and made use of sexual and
transgressive practices, while the dualists mostly rejected them.
Saiva tantra was especially successful because it managed to forge
strong ties with South Asian kings who valued the power (shakti) of
fierce deities like the warrior goddess Durga as a way to increase
their own royal power. These kings took part in royal rituals led by
Saiva "royal gurus" in which they were symbolically married to tantric
deities and thus became the earthly representative of male gods like
Shiva. Saiva tantra could also employ a variety of protection and
destruction rituals which could be used for the benefit of the kingdom
and the king. Tantric Shaivism was adopted by the kings of Kashmir, as
well as by the Somavamshis of Odisha, the Kalachuris, and the
Chandelas of Jejakabhukti (in Bundelkhand). There is also evidence of
state support from the Cambodian Khmer Empire. As noted by Samuel, in
spite of the increased depiction of female goddesses, these tantric
traditions all seemed to have been mostly "male-directed and
male-controlled."
During the Tantric Age, Buddhist Tantra was embraced by the Mahayana
Buddhist mainstream and was studied at the great universities such as
Nalanda and Vikramashila, from which it spread to Tibet and to the
East Asian states of China, Korea, and Japan. This new Tantric
Buddhism was supported by the Pala Dynasty (8th-12th century) which
supported these centers of learning and also built grand tantric
temples and monasteries such as Somapura Mahavihara and Odantapuri
while establishing good relations with the Tibetan Empire and
Srivijaya Empire where the Buddhist Mahasiddhas of the Vajrayana
tradition spread their influence via songs of realization like those
collected in the Charyapada which were orally transmitted in various
lineages and translated into many different languages over time. The
later Khmer kings and the Indonesian Srivijaya kingdom also supported
tantric Buddhism. According to Samuel, while the sexual and
transgressive practices were mostly undertaken in symbolic form (or
through visualization) in later Tibetan Buddhist monastic contexts, it
seems that in the eighth to tenth century Indian context, they were
actually performed.
In the 10th and 11th centuries, both Shaiva and Buddhist tantra
evolved into more tame, philosophical, and liberation-oriented
religions. This transformation saw a move from external and
transgressive rituals towards a more internalized yogic practice
focused on attaining spiritual insight. This recasting also made
tantric religions much less open to attack by other groups. In
Shaivism, this development is often associated with the Kashmiri
master Abhinavagupta (c. 950 - 1016 CE) and his followers, as well the
movements which were influenced by their work, like the Sri Vidya
tradition (which spread as far as South India, and has been referred
to as "high" tantra).
In Buddhism, this taming of tantra is associated with the adoption of
tantra by Buddhist monastics who sought to incorporate it within the
Buddhist Mahayana scholastic framework. Buddhist tantras were written
down and scholars like Abhayakaragupta wrote commentaries on them.
Another important figure, the Bengali teacher Atisha, wrote a treatise
which placed tantra as the culmination of a graduated Mahayana path to
awakening, the 'Bodhipathapradīpa'. In his view, one needed to first
begin practicing non-tantric Mahayana, and then later one might be
ready for tantra. This system became the model for tantric practice
among some Tibetan Buddhist schools, like the Gelug. In Tibet, the
transgressive and sexual practices of tantra became much less central
and tantric practice was seen as suitable only for a small elite
group. New tantras continued to be composed during this later period
as well, such as the Kalachakra (c. 11th century), which seems to be
concerned with converting Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, and
uniting them together against Islam. The Kalachakra teaches sexual
yoga, but also warns not to introduce the practice of ingesting impure
substances to beginners, since this is only for advanced yogis. This
tantra also seems to want to minimize the impact of the transgressive
practices, since it advises tantrikas to outwardly follow the customs
of their country.
Another influential development during this period was the
codification of tantric yogic techniques that would later become the
separate movement known as Hatha Yoga. According to James Mallinson,
the original "source text" for Hatha Yoga is the Vajrayana Buddhist
'Amṛtasiddhi' (11th century CE) attributed to the mahasiddha Virupa.
This text was later adopted by Saiva yogic traditions (such as the
Naths) and is quoted in their texts.
Another tradition of Hindu Tantra developed among the Vaishnavas, this
was called the Pāñcarātra Agama tradition. This tradition avoided the
transgressive and sexual elements that were embraced by the Saivas and
the Buddhists. There is also a smaller tantric tradition associated
with Surya, the sun god. Jainism also seems to have developed a
substantial Tantra corpus based on the Saura tradition, with rituals
based on yakshas and yakshinis. However, this Jain tantrism was mainly
used for pragmatic purposes like protection, and was not used to
attain liberation. Complete manuscripts of these Jain tantras have not
survived. The Jains also seem to have adopted some of the subtle body
practices of tantra, but not sexual yoga. The Svetambara thinker
Hemacandra (c. 1089-1172) discusses tantric practices extensively,
such as internal meditations on chakras, which betray Kaula and Nath
influences.
Reception and later developments
==================================
There seems to have been some debate regarding the appropriateness of
tantra. Among the Hindus, those belonging to the more orthodox Vedic
traditions rejected the Tantras. Meanwhile, tantrikas incorporated
Vedic ideas within their own systems, while considering the Tantras as
the higher, more refined understanding. Meanwhile, some Tantrikas
considered the Tantras to be superior to the Vedas, while others
considered them complementary such as Umapati, who is quoted as
stating: "The Veda is the cow, the true Agama its milk."
According to Samuel, the great Advaita philosopher Shankara (9th
century) "is portrayed in his biography, the 'Sankaravijaya', as
condemning the approaches of various kinds of Tantric practitioners
and defeating them through argument or spiritual power." He also is
said to have encouraged the replacement of fierce goddesses with
benign female deities, and thus to have promoted the Sri Vidya
tradition (which worships a peaceful and sweet goddess, Tripura
Sundari). Though it is far from certain that Shankara actually
campaigned against tantra, he is traditionally seen as someone who
purified Hinduism from transgressive and antinomian tantric practices.
The 14th-century Indian scholar Mādhavācārya (in
Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha) wrote copious commentaries on then existing
major schools of Indian philosophies and practices, and cited the
works of the 10th century Abhinavagupta, who was considered a major
and influential Tantra scholar. However, Madhavacarya does not mention
Tantra as a separate, distinct religious or ritual-driven practice.
The early 20th-century Indian scholar Pandurang Vaman Kane conjectured
that Madhavacharya ignored Tantra because it may have been considered
scandalous. In contrast, Padoux suggests that Tantra may have been so
pervasive by the 13th century that "it was not regarded as being a
distinct system."
Hindu tantra, while practiced by some of the general lay population,
was eventually overshadowed by the more popular Bhakti movements that
swept throughout India from the 15th century onwards. According to
Samuel, "these new devotional styles of religion, with their emphasis
on emotional submission to a supreme saviour-deity, whether Saivite or
Vaisnavite, were better adapted, perhaps, to the subaltern role of
non-Muslim groups under Muslim rule." Saiva tantra did remain an
important practice among most Saiva ascetics however. Tantric
traditions also survived in certain regions, such as among the Naths
of Rajasthan, in the Sri Vidya tradition of South India and in the
Bengali Bauls.
In Buddhism, while tantra became accepted in the great Mahayana
establishments of Nalanda and Vikramashila and spread to the Himalayan
regions, it also experienced serious setbacks in other regions,
particularly Southeast Asia. In Burma, for example, King Anawratha
(1044-1077) is said to have disbanded tantric "Ari" monks. As
Theravada Buddhism became dominant in South East Asian states, tantric
religions became marginalised in those regions. In Sri Lanka, tantric
Buddhism also suffered debilitating setbacks. Initially the large
Abhayagiri Monastery was a place where the practice of Vajrayana seems
to have flourished during the 8th century. However, Abhayagiri was
disbanded and forced to convert to the orthodox Mahāvihāra sect during
the reign of Parakramabahu I (1153-1186).
Regarding the reception of tantra during the period of Hindu modernism
in the 19th and 20th centuries, Samuel writes that this period saw "a
radical reframing of yogic practices away from the Tantric context."
Samuel notes that while Hindu Hatha yoga had its origins in a Saiva
tantric context,
Given the extremely negative views of Tantra and its sexual and
magical practices which prevailed in middle-class India in the late
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and still largely prevail today,
this was an embarrassing heritage. Much effort was given by people
such as Swami Vivekananda into reconstructing yoga, generally in terms
of a selective Vedantic reading of Patañjali's Yogasutra (de Michelis
2004). The effort was largely successful, and many modern Western
practitioners of yoga for health and relaxation have little or no
knowledge of its original function as a preparation for the internal
sexual practices of the Nath tradition.
Buddhist tantra has survived in modern Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, in
various Japanese traditions such as Shingon, and in the Newar Buddhism
of the Kathmandu Valley. There are also magical quasi-tantric
traditions in Southeast Asia, sometimes termed Esoteric Southern
Buddhism, though they are not called "tantric" and have been
marginalised by state supported modernist forms of Theravada Buddhism.
Hindu tantra
==============
Within Hinduism, the word tantra often refers to a text, which may or
may not be "tantric." Conversely, various tantric texts are actually
not always called tantras (instead they may be called 'āgama, jñāna',
'saṃhitā, siddhānta, vidyā'). There are also tantric Upanishads, which
are late Upanishads as well as tantric Puranas (and Puranas influenced
by tantric ideas). Besides these types of texts, there are also
various types of tantric "śastras" (treatises) which may be
"commentaries, digests, compilations, monographs, collections of hymns
or of names of deities, and mantras and works on mantras." Though much
of this vast body of tantric literature is in Sanskrit, others have
also been written in Indian vernacular languages. As noted by Padoux,
the largest portion of these tantric works are Shaiva texts.
Tantric texts and practitioners ("tantrikas" and "tantrinis") are
often contrasted with Vedic texts and those who practice Vedic
religion ("Vaidikas"). This non-Vedic path was often termed
Mantramarga ("The way of mantras") or Tantrasastra ("Tantra
teaching"). One of the most well known comments on this dichotomy is
Kulluka Bhatta's statement in his 15th-century commentary to the
Manusmriti which states that revelation (sruti) is twofold - Vedic and
Tantric. Hindu tantric teachings are generally seen as revelations
from a divine being (such as Śiva, or the Goddess) which are
considered by tantrikas to be superior to the Vedas in leading beings
to liberation. They are also considered to be more effective during
the Kali Yuga, a time of much passion (kama). However, tantric
thinkers like Abhinavagupta, while considering tantra as superior, do
not totally reject Vedic teachings, and instead consider them valid on
a lower level since they also derive from the same source, the supreme
Godhead.
There are various Hindu tantric traditions within Shaivism, Shaktism
and Vaishnavism. There are numerous tantric texts for these different
traditions with different philosophical points of view, ranging from
theistic dualism to absolute monism. According to David B. Gray, "one
of the most important tropes in the history of the dissemination of
tantric traditions is that of lineage, the transmission of teachings
along an uninterrupted lineage, from master to disciple, the so-called
'guruparaṃparā'." These various traditions also differ among
themselves on how heterodox and transgressive they are (vis a vis the
Vedic tradition). Since tantric rituals became so widespread, certain
forms of tantra were eventually accepted by many orthodox Vedic
thinkers such as Jayanta Bhatta and Yamunacarya as long as they did
not contradict Vedic teaching and social rules. Tantric scriptures
such as the Kali centered 'Jayadrathayamala' also state that tantrikas
can follow the Vedic social rules out of convenience and for the
benefit of their clan and guru. However, not all Vedic thinkers
accepted tantra. For example, Kumarila Bhatta wrote that one should
have no contact with tantrikas nor speak to them.
Śaiva and Śākta tantra
========================
Śaiva Tantra is called the Mantramārga, and is often seen as being a
separate teaching than the ascetic "Atimārga" tradition (which
includes the Pāśupatas and Kāpālikas). There are various doctrines,
textual classes and schools of Shaiva Tantra, which often overlap with
the Shakta tradition in different ways.
The Śaiva Siddhānta tradition is the earliest Śaiva Tantra school and
was characterized by public rituals performed by priests. Some of
their texts, like the 'Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā' have been dated to the
fifth century. Their scriptures (the Śaiva Agamas) and basic doctrines
are also shared by the other traditions as a common Śaiva doctrine and
many of their rites are also used in other schools of Shaiva Tantra.
The prescriptions and rituals of the Śaiva Siddhānta Agamas are
generally followed by Śaiva temples in South India and they are mostly
compatible with orthodox Brahmanism, lacking terrifying deities and
animal sacrifice.
The Mantrapīṭha tradition on the other hand, worships Svacchanda
Bhairava, a terrifying form of Shiva also known as "Aghora" ("not
fearsome"). This tradition promotes the Skull observance
('Kapalavrata'), that is, carrying a skull, a skull staff (khatavanga)
and worshipping in cremation grounds. One contemporary group of
Kapalika ascetics are the Aghoris.
There are also various traditions who are classified as "Vidyāpīṭha".
The texts of this tradition focus on worshipping goddesses known as
Yoginīs or Ḍākinīs and include antinomian practices dealing with
charnel grounds and sexuality. These goddess centered traditions of
the Śākta tantras are mostly of the "left" current (vamachara) and are
thus considered more heterodox.
There are various Vidyāpīṭha traditions, which focus on a bipolar,
bisexual divinity that is equal parts male and female, Śaiva and
Śākta. The 'Yamalatantras' worship Bhairava along with Kapalini, the
goddess of the skull. The Goddess centered traditions are known as the
Kulamārga (Path of the Clans), referring to the clans of the goddesses
and their 'Shakti tantras', which may have been established around the
9th century. It includes sexual rituals, sanguinary practices, the
ritual consumption of liquor and the importance of spirit possession.
It includes various sub-traditions the developed in different regions
of India, such as the Trika lineage (which worships a trio of deities:
Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā), the tradition of the fierce goddess
Guhyakālī, Krama tradition, focusing on the goddess Kālī, the Kubjikā
cult, and the southern tradition which worships the beautiful goddess
Kāmeśvarī or Tripurasundarī.
During the 10th century, the syncretic nondual tradition of Kashmir
Śaivism developed. According to Alexis Sanderson, this tradition arose
out of the confrontation between the dualistic and more orthodox Śaiva
Siddhānta and the nondual transgressive traditions of the Trika and
Krama. According to David B. Gray, this school integrated elements
from both of these traditions, "the end result was a nondualistic
system in which the transgressive elements were internalized and hence
rendered less offensive to the orthodox."
The philosophers of Kashmir Śaivism, especially Abhinavagupta ('c'.
975-1025 ce) and his student Jayaratha, are some of the most
influential philosophers who wrote on Hindu tantra. These thinkers
synthesized the various goddess and Śaiva lineages and philosophies
into a comprehensive and influential religious system. According to
David White, Abhinavagupta "sublimates, cosmeticizes, and semanticizes
many of its practices into a type of meditative asceticism whose aim
is to realize a transcendent subjectivity". Thus, his work
domesticated the radically antinomian practices of Vidyāpīṭha lineages
into meditative exercises.
In Nepal, the Sarvamnaya tantra system evolved as a tantrik tradition
which drew upon the āmnāya system. Amnaya is often translated as
'transmission'. This system serves as the guiding source for the
tradition of worship of deities that emanate from the five different
aspects of Lord Śiva. At its core, the concept of Āmnāya revolves
around the idea that Śiva, with his five faces, (referred to as
Sadashiva), imparts the secret Tantric teachings to the goddess
through her corresponding five emanations. Scholarly work on
Sarvamnaya can be found in the article, "The transmission of all
powers: Sarvāmnāya Śākta Tantra and the semiotics of power in
Nepāla-maṇḍala" by Jeffrey S. Lidke.
The last major Śaiva tantric tradition is that of the Nāth or
"Split-Ear" Kānphaṭa tradition, which emerged in the 12th or 13th
century. They produced various Haṭhayoga texts which draw on tantric
yogas.
While the Śākta traditions continued to develop in different ways,
sometimes in a more popular and devotional direction, many of them
retain various tantric elements today. The two most important and
popular Śākta tantra traditions today are the Southern Kaula
transmission, which focus on the beautiful goddess Śrī ('śrīkula') or
Lalitā Tripurasundarī and the Northern and Eastern transmission,
focusing on the ferocious goddess Kālī ('kālīkula'). The southern
transmission gave rise to the Śrī Vidyā tradition, an important
tantric religion in South India. Though it takes much of its
philosophical and doctrinal system from Kashmir Shaivism, it generally
avoids the transgressive elements and is orthodox or "right handed".
Bhaskararaya (18th century) is considered a key thinker of this
tradition. The Kālīkula tradition is particularly important in East
and South India and Kālī remains a popular goddess in India, a focus
of much devotion.
Vaiṣṇava
==========
The main Vaiṣṇava tradition that is associated with tantra is the
Pañcharatra. This tradition produced a number of tantric texts
including Lakshmi tantra, but most of the other tantras are lost.
However, this sect does not identify itself as "tantric". The worship
and ritual of most of the Vaiṣṇava temples in South India follow this
tradition, which is ritually similar to the Shaiva Siddhanta.
According to Padoux, "from the doctrinal point of view, they are
nearer to brahmanical orthodoxy (proudly asserted by some of their
affiliates) and their mantras are indeed often Vedic."
According to David B. Gray,
During the medieval period another tantric Vaiṣṇava tradition emerged
in Bengal. Known as the Sahajiyā tradition, it flourished in Bengal
around the 16th through 19th centuries. It taught that each individual
is a divinity, embodying the divine couple Kṛṣṇa and his consort
Rādhā. This tradition integrated earlier Hindu and Buddhist tantric
practices within a Vaiṣṇava theological framework.
Buddhist tantra
=================
There are various Buddhist tantric traditions with the goal of
attaining Enlightenment which are called by different names such as
Vajrayana, Secret Mantra, Mantrayana and so on. The Indo-Tibetan
Buddhist tradition has been dominant in Tibet and the Himalayan
regions. It first spread to Tibet in the 8th century and quickly rose
to prominence. The Tibetan Buddhist tantric teachings have recently
been spread to the Western world by the Tibetan diaspora. Nepalese
Newar Buddhism meanwhile is still practiced in the Kathmandu Valley by
the Newar people. The tradition maintains a canon of Sanskrit texts,
the only Buddhist tantric tradition to still do so.
Buddhist Tantric practices and texts which developed from the 5th to
the 8th centuries were translated into Chinese and are preserved in
the Chinese Buddhist canon as well as in the Dunhuang manuscripts.
Tantric materials involving the use of mantras and dharanis began to
appear in China during the fifth century period, and Buddhist masters
such as Zhiyi developed proto-tantric rituals based on esoteric texts.
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism became especially influential in China in
the Tang dynasty period with the arrival of esoteric masters such as
Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra to the capital city of Chang'an. The
succeeding Song dynasty saw an influx of new esoteric texts being
transmitted by monks from Central Asia. Chinese Esoteric Buddhist
rituals were also noted to be particularly popular in the Liao
dynasty, which contended with the Song for control of northern China.
Due to the highly eclectic nature of Chinese Buddhism where sectarian
denominations were not strictly drawn between the various Buddhist
schools (even during the Tang dynasty), and where most Buddhist
masters mixed practices from the different traditions, Chinese
Esoteric Buddhist practices were absorbed by lineages from the other
Buddhist traditions such as Chan and Tiantai. For example, the
Northern School of Chan even became known for its esoteric practices
of dhāraṇīs and mantras. During the Yuan and Ming dynasty periods,
certain esoteric elements from Tibetan Buddhism were also adapted and
incorporated into general Chinese Buddhist practices and rituals. In
modern Chinese Buddhism, the esoteric traditions continue to be passed
on and practiced through numerous tantric rituals such as the Shuilu
Fahui ceremony and the Yujia Yankou rite, which involve practices like
deity yoga and mandala offerings, as well as the recitation of tantric
mantras such as the Cundī Dhāraṇī, the Hundred Syllable Mantra of
Vajrasattva, the Mahācakravidyārāja Dhāraṇī and the Shurangama Mantra.
Esoteric practices also spread to Korea and to Japan, where it exists
as an independent tradition called Shingon.
Other religions
=================
The Hindu and Buddhist Tantric traditions significantly influenced
other religions such as Jainism, Sikhism, the Tibetan Bön tradition,
Daoism, Shintō, Sufi Islam, and the Western New Age movement.
In the Sikh literature, the ideas related to Shakti and goddess
reverence attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, particularly in the 'Dasam
Granth', are related to tantra ideas found in Buddhism and Hinduism.
The Jain worship methods, states Ellen Gough, were likely influenced
by Shaktism ideas, and this is attested by the tantric diagrams of the
'Rishi-mandala' where the Tirthankaras are portrayed. The Tantric
traditions within Jainism use verbal spells or mantra, and rituals
that are believed to accrue merit for rebirth realms.
Practices
======================================================================
One of the main elements of the Tantric literature is rituals. Rather
than one coherent system, Tantra is an accumulation of practices and
ideas from different sources. As Samuel writes, the tantric traditions
are "a confluence of a variety of different factors and components."
These elements include: mandalas, mantras, internal sexual yogic
practices, fierce male and female deities, cremation ground symbolism,
as well as concepts from Indian Philosophy.
André Padoux notes that there is no consensus among scholars as to
which elements are characteristic for Tantra, nor is there any text
that contains all those elements. Also, most of those elements can
also be found in non-Tantric traditions. Because of the wide range of
communities covered by the term, it is problematic to describe tantric
practices definitively. However, there are sets of practices and
elements which are shared by numerous tantric traditions, and thus a
family resemblance relationship can be established among them.
Different scholars give different main features of tantra. For
example, David N. Lorenzen writes that tantra shares various "shamanic
and yogic" practices, worship of goddesses, association with specific
schools like the Kaulas and Kapalikas, as well as tantric texts.
Christopher Wallis meanwhile, basing himself on the definition given
the tantric scholar Rāmakaṇṭha, gives four main features of tantra:
"1) concern with ritual modes of manipulation (of the environment or
one's own awareness), 2) requirement for esoteric initiation (to
receive access to the scriptural teachings and practices), 3) a
twofold goal of practice: the soteriological and supramundane one of
liberation (variously conceived) and/or the mundane one of
extraordinary power over other beings and one's environment, and 4)
the claim that these three are explicated in scriptures that are the
word of God ('āgama') or the Buddha ('buddhavacana')."
According to Anthony Tribe, a scholar of Buddhist Tantra, Tantra has
the following defining features:
# Centrality of ritual, especially the worship of deities
# Centrality of mantras
# Visualisation of and identification with a deity
# Need for initiation, esotericism and secrecy
# Importance of a teacher (guru, 'acharya')
# Ritual use of mandalas ('maṇḍala')
# Transgressive or antinomian acts
# Revaluation of the body
# Revaluation of the status and role of women
# Analogical thinking (including microcosmic or macrocosmic
correlation)
# Revaluation of negative mental states
There are a wide array of Tantric techniques or spiritual practices
(sadhana) such as:
* Dakshina: Donation or gift to one's teacher
* Diksha or Abhiseka: Initiation ritual which may include shaktipat
* Ganachakra: A ritual feast during which a sacramental meal is
offered
* Guru yoga and Guru devotion (bhakti)
* Mandalas and Yantras, symbolic diagrams of forces at work in the
universe
* Mantras: reciting syllables, words, and phrases
* Mudras, or hand gestures
* Nyasa, installing mantras on the body
* Prāyaścitta - an expiation ritual performed if a puja has been
performed wrongly
*Puja (worship ritual) and other forms of bhakti
* Ritual music and dance
* Ritual purification (of idols, of one's body, etc.)
* Ritual sacrifice, including animal sacrifice
* Singing of hymns of praise ('stava')
* Sexual yoga: ritual sexual union (with an actual physical consort or
an imagined deity)
* The acquisition and use of siddhis or supernormal powers. Associated
with 'vamachara' ('left-hand path')
* Use of taboo substances such as alcohol, cannabis, meat and other
entheogens.
* Visualization of deities and Identification these deities in
meditation (deity yoga)
* Vrata and Samaya: vows or pledges, sometimes to do ascetic practices
like fasting
* Yatra: pilgrimage, processions
* Yoga, including breathing techniques ('pranayama') and postures
('asana'), is employed to balance the energies in the body/mind.
Worship and ritual
====================
Worship or puja in Hindu Tantra differs from Vedic forms somewhat.
While in the Vedic practice of yajna there are no idols, shrines, and
symbolic art, in tantra they are important means of worship.
Rituals are particularly important in the dualistic Śaiva Siddhānta
which according to Padoux "is typically characterized by an
overabundance of rituals, which are necessarily accompanied by
mantras. These rituals are not so much a succession of actions as a
play of mentally visualized and experienced images, a situation common
to all Tantric traditions, where rites, meditation, and yoga are
exercises in creative identifying imagination." The theory behind
these rituals is the idea that all humans have a fundamental impurity
(mala) that binds them to rebirth. This impurity can be removed by
ritual action (along with proper knowledge). The initial step in this
path is the ritual of initiation (diksa), which opens to door to
future liberation at death.
In the non-dualistic and transgressive (or "left hand") traditions
like the Kali cults and the Trika school, rituals and pujas can
include certain left hand path elements that are not found in the more
orthodox traditions. These transgressive elements include the use of
skulls and other human bone implements (as part of the Kapalika vow),
fierce deities like Bhairava, Kubjika and Kali which were used as part
of meditative visualizations, ritual possession by the deities
(avesa), sexual rites and offering the deity (as well as consuming)
certain impure substances like meat, alcohol and sexual fluids. Padoux
explains the transgressive practices as follows: On the ritual and
mental plane, transgression was an essential trait by which the
nondualistic Tantric traditions set themselves apart from other
traditions - so much so that they used the term "nondualistic
practice" (advaitacara) to refer to the Kaula transgressive practices
as a rejection of the duality (dvaita) of pure and impure in
brahmanical society. Let us also note that for the nondualistic Saiva
systems, the Yoginis were not active merely in the world of spirits;
they were also powers present in humans - mistresses of their senses,
governing their affects, which acquired an intensity and super-natural
dimension through this divinization. This led adepts to an
identification of their individual consciousness with the infinite
divine Consciousness, thus also helping them transcend the sexual
plane. In both the Buddhist and Saiva contexts, the sexual practices
are often seen as a way to expand one's consciousness through the use
of bliss.
There is also a fundamental philosophical disagreement between Śaiva
Siddhānta and the non-dualistic schools like the Trika regarding
ritual. In Śaiva Siddhānta, only ritual can do away with "innate
impurities" ('anavamala') that bind individual Selfs, though the
ritual must be performed with an understanding of their nature and
purpose as well as with devotion. In the view of the Trika school
(especially in the work of Abhinavagupta), only knowledge ('jñana')
which is a "recognition" ('pratyabhijña') of our true nature, leads to
liberation. According to Padoux, "this is also, with nuances, the
position of the Pñcaratra and of other Vaisnava Tantric traditions."
Yoga, mantra, meditation
==========================
Tantric yoga is first and foremost an embodied practice, which is seen
as having a divine esoteric structure. As noted by Padoux, tantric
yoga makes use of a "mystic physiology" which includes various
psychosomatic elements known as the subtle body. This imaginary inner
structure includes chakras ("wheels"), nadis ("channels"), and
energies (like Kundalini, Chandali, different pranas and vital winds,
etc.). The tantric body is also held to be a microcosmic reflection of
the universe, and is thus seen as containing gods and goddesses.
According to Padoux, the "internalized image of the yogic body" is a
fundamental element for nearly all meditative and tantric ritual
practices.
The use of mantras is one of the most common and widespread elements
of tantric practice. They are used in rituals as well as during
various meditative and yogic practices. Mantra recitation (japa) is
often practiced along with nyasa ("depositing" the mantra), mudras
("seals", i.e. hand gestures) and complex visualizations involving
divine symbols, mandalas and deities. Nyasa involves touching various
parts of the body while reciting mantra, which is thought to connect
the deity with the yogis body and transform the body into that of the
deity.
Mantras are also often visualized as being located within the yogi's
body as part of tantric meditations. For example, in the "Yogini
Heart" tantra, a Śrī Vidyā text, the yogi is instructed to imagine the
five syllables (HA SA KA LA HRIM) of the deity's mantra in the
muladhara chakra. The next set of five syllables (HA SA KA HA LA HRIM)
is visualized in the heart chakra and the third cluster (SA KA LA
HRIM) in the cakra between the eyebrows. The yogi is further
instructed to lengthen the enunciation of the M sound at the end of
the HRIM syllable, a practice called nada (phonic vibration). This
practice goes through various increasingly subtle stages until it
dissolves into the silence of the Absolute.
Another common element found in tantric yoga is the use of visionary
meditations in which tantrikas focus on a vision or image of the deity
(or deities), and in some cases imagine themselves as being the deity
and their own body as the body of the deity. The practitioner may use
visualizations, identifying with a deity to the degree that the
aspirant becomes the 'Ishta-deva' (or meditational deity). In other
meditations, the deities are visualized as being inside the tantrika's
body. For example, in Abhinavagupta's 'Tantraloka' (chapter 15), the
Trika trinity of goddesses (Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā) are visualized
on the ends of the three prongs of a trident (located above the head).
The rest of the trident is imagined positioned along the central axis
of the yogi's body, with the blazing corpse of Shiva visualized in the
head.
Mandalas and yantras
======================
Yantra are mystical diagrams which are used in tantric meditation and
ritual. They are usually associated with specific Hindu deities such
as Shiva, Shakti, or Kali. Similarly, a 'puja' may involve focusing on
a 'yantra' or 'mandala' associated with a deity.
According to David Gordon White, geometrical mandalas are a key
element of Tantra. They are used to represent numerous tantric ideas
and concepts as well as used for meditative focus. Mandalas
symbolically communicate the correspondences between the
"transcendent-yet-immanent" macrocosm and the microcosm of mundane
human experience. The godhead (or principal Buddha) is often depicted
at the center of the mandala, while all other beings, including the
practitioner, are located at various distances from this center.
Mandalas also reflected the medieval feudal system, with the king at
its centre.
Mandalas and Yantras may be depicted in various ways, on paintings,
cloth, in three dimensional form, made out of colored sand or powders,
etc. Tantric yoga also often involves the mental visualization of a
mandala or yantra. This is usually combined with mantra recitation and
other ritual actions as part of a tantric sadhana (practice).
Sex and eroticism
===================
While tantra involves a wide range of ideas and practices which are
not always of a sexual nature, Flood and Padoux both note that in the
West, Tantra is most often thought of as a kind of ritualized sex or a
spiritualized yogic sexuality. According to Padoux, "this is a
misunderstanding, for though the place of sex in Tantra is
ideologically essential, it is not always so in action and ritual."
Padoux further notes that while sexual practices do exist and were
used by certain tantric groups, they "lost their prevalence when
Tantra spread to other larger social groups."
In the tantric traditions which do use sex as part of spiritual
practice (this refers mainly to the Kaulas, and also Tibetan
Buddhism), sex and desire are often seen as a means of transcendence
that is used to reach the Absolute. Thus, sex and desire are not seen
as ends in themselves. Because these practices transgress orthodox
Hindu ideas of ritual purity, they have often given tantra a bad image
in India, where it is often condemned by the orthodox. According to
Padoux, even among the traditions which accept these practices, they
are far from prominent and practiced only by a "few initiated and
fully qualified adepts".
John Woodroffe
================
The first Western scholar to seriously study Tantra was John Woodroffe
(1865-1936), who wrote about Tantra under the pen name Arthur Avalon
and is known as the "founding father of Tantric studies". Unlike
previous Western scholars Woodroffe advocated for Tantra, defending
and presenting it as an ethical and philosophical system in accord
with the Vedas and Vedanta. Woodroffe practised Tantra and, while
trying to maintain scholastic objectivity, was a student of Hindu
Tantra (the 'Shiva-Shakta' tradition).
Further development
=====================
Following Woodroffe, a number of scholars began investigating Tantric
teachings, including scholars of comparative religion and Indology
such as Agehananda Bharati, Mircea Eliade, Julius Evola, Carl Jung,
Alexandra David-Néel, Giuseppe Tucci and Heinrich Zimmer. According to
Hugh Urban, Zimmer, Evola and Eliade viewed Tantra as "the culmination
of all Indian thought: the most radical form of spirituality and the
archaic heart of aboriginal India", regarding it as the ideal religion
for the modern era. All three saw Tantra as "the most transgressive
and violent path to the sacred".
See also
======================================================================
* Dzogchen
* Radha Tantra
External links
======================================================================
*
[
https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/tantra-enlightenment-revolution
"Tantra: enlightenment to revolution"], British Museum, 2021
*
[
https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/tantra-enlightenment-revolution
"Tantra: enlightenment to revolution"], British Museum, 2021
*
*
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=========
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Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra
