Tantra
Tantra (Sanskrit: तन्त्र "weave" meaning continuity[1]), tantricism or tantrism is the name for a number of traditions from Indian religions. Tantra began to blossom as a movement within both Buddhism and Hinduism around A.D. 500, reaching its fullest flowering 500 to 700 years later. These traditions are usually esoteric in their nature. Tantra exists in Hindu, Bönpo, Buddhist, and Jain forms. Tantra in its various forms has existed in South Asia, China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia.[2] In the west, today, traditional Tantric practices can be found within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and via the Kundalini and Kriya yoga schools, all of which are right-handed paths.
Tantra is derived from 2 words - "Tanoti" (Liberation of energy) and "Trayati" (Expansion of consciousness).
Tantra Media
A Buddhist dhāraṇī (incantation), the Nilaṇṭhanāmahṛdaya dhāraṇī, in Siddham Script with Chinese transliteration
Dancing Bhairava in the Indian Museum, Kolkata
Dancing Vajravārāhī, a Buddhist tantric deity, Nepal, 11th–12th century
Illustration of a yogi and their chakras
Twelve-Armed Chakrasamvara and His Consort Vajravarahi, c. 12th century, India (Bengal) or Bangladesh
Yogini, East India, 11th–12th century CE. Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
A stone Kālacakra Mandala at the Hiraṇyavarṇa Mahāvihāra, a Buddhist temple in Patan, Nepal, built in the 12th century
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Notes
References
- Avalon, Arthur (1918). Sakti and Sakta. Ganesh and Co.
- Avalon, Arthur (1972). Tantra of the great liberation - Mahanirvana Tantra. New York: Dover publications. ISBN 0-486-20150-3.
- Bhattacharyya, N.N. (1999). History of the Tantric Religion. New Delhi: Manohar. ISBN 81-7304-025-7. Second Revised Edition
- Bühnemann, Gudrun (1988). The Worship of Mahāgaṇapati According to the Nityotsava. Institut für Indologie. ISBN 81-86218-12-2. First Indian Edition, Kant Publications, 2003.
- The Roots of Tantra. State University of New York Press. 2002. ISBN 0-7914-5306-5.
- Nikhilananda, Swami (1982). Hinduism: Its meaning for the Liberation of the Spirit (2nd ed.). Sri Ramakrishna Math. ISBN 9788171200825.
- Norbu, Chögyal Namkhai (1999). The Crystal and The Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1559391359.
- Saraswati, Swami Satyananda (2000). Sure Ways to Self Realization. Yoga Publications Trust. ISBN 8185787417.
- Urban, Hugh (2003). Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics, and Power in the Study of Religions. University of California Press. ISBN 0520236564.
- Wangyal Rinpoche, Tenzin; Dahlby, Mark (1998). The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep. N.Y.: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1559391014.
- White, David Gordon, ed. (2000). Tantra in Practice. Princeton University PressPress. ISBN 0-691-05779-6.
- Winternitz, Maurice (1972). History of Indian Literature. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. Second revised reprint edition. Two volumes. First published 1927 by the University of Calcutta.
