6. Enlightenment in this very body

Abstract

What is ‘Tantric Buddhism’? ‘Enlightenment in this very body’ describes the widespread characteristics of Buddhist tantra: mantra, maṇḍala, abhiṣeka, visualization, ritual, sensual pleasures, yoga, transgression, and secrecy. The stages of tantric practice and four classes of tantras (kriyātantra, caryāantra, yogatantra, anuttara-yogatantra) and the story of Milarepa, the great yogi and poet, are then outlined in order to understand tantra as part of Tibetan religious experience. Most Tibetan Buddhist orders maintain a system of ‘tantric colleges’ complementing the dialectical colleges in which philosophical subjects are taught. The importance of oath-bound relations in tantric Buddhism had important social implications; the tantric vow bound master and disciples into a single spiritual family.