Buddhist Tantra Research Articles

Searching for the Body: A Contemporary Perspective on Tibetan Buddhist Tantra

Searching for the Body: A Contemporary Perspective on Tibetan Buddhist Tantra

Searching for the Body: A Contemporary Perspective on Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, By Rae Erin Dachille

Searching for the Body: A Contemporary Perspective on Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, By Rae Erin Dachille

On the Dissemination of Buddhist Tantras in Tibet. A Historical Introduction

Abstract This study outlines the phases of dissemination and development of the Buddhist tantras in Tibet. Analysing the earliest imperial catalogues, we trace, among the Buddhist scriptures that were translated from Sanskrit and Chinese into Tibetan, the first tantric texts that spread to Tibet. We then examine the doxographies and the classifications of the various categories of tantras conceived by Tibetan scholars over time, which converged in the process of formation and compilation of the different Tibetan canons of the “New” and of the “Ancient” schools. The gter ma phenomenon is analysed, considering it the way in which tantric Buddhist doctrines have been redefined over time, to adapt to various historical changes. Finally we take into consideration the creation of the Bon tantric literature, its classification and organisation in the Bon canon that, despite its development outside the mainstream schools, played an important role in the religious history of Tibet.

The ‘Fire Ritual’ in Buddhist Uyghurs: Homa (in the Evidence of Tantric Turkish Buddhism Texts)

Homa, a fire ritual of Vedic origin, is a popular religious practice adapted from Hinduism to Esoteric Buddhism. Homa, seen in meditation and yoga practices in Tibetan Buddhism, is a ritual that aims to reach wisdom and enlightenment, which is represented in Buddhist Tantras in particular, Agni, the god of fire. The homa ritual is also known as a performance that involves the building of a fire at an altar and the burning of offerings over it. Predominantly in Tibetan Buddhism, the practice of homa, visualized with a maṇḍala, takes place under the guidance of masters of teaching called Guru or Ācārya. In the practice of homa, offerings thrown into the fire symbolically mean removing spiritual barriers. The practice of homa, which usually has functions such as protection, prolonging life, destroying evil and evil beings, is a ritual of purification and renewal. This ritual is a popular practice in all Buddhist regions of Central Asia, not just the Indian and Tibetan region. In this respect, the present study deals with the narratives of the fire ritual among the Uyghurs, who adopted Tibetan Buddhism in the Old Turkish religious life. This practice, which is seen with the term hom(a) ~ hoom in Old Uyghur, is also seen in written materials, especially in Buddhist Uyghurs, where ritual-based narratives are abundant.

Preliminary study of shakya buddhists

According to (Raychaudhari-1972) ‘Shakya’ was a ‘Janapad’ (district) of ancient India in the first century BC. In Buddhist scriptures, ‘Shakya’ is said to belong mainly to the Gautam tribe in the foothills of the Himalayas there was an ancient kingdom of the Shakyas whose capital was Kapilvastu. The famous person of Shakya dynasty was Shakyamuni Buddha or Gautam Buddha. He can be known as Shakyamuni or Shakamuni in ‘Pali’ language. After the massacre of the Shakyas at Kapilbastu by Biruddak, the surviving Shakyas hid in the hills north of Kapilbastu. After informing about the Barkhabas Bihar (Monastries) built by Buddhist monks at Sankhu in Kathmandu during the reign of King Kirat,Jitedasti. The Shakyas who were hiding like this started living in Bihar as refugees. Pali is the religious language of this community All scriptures and deeds are governed by the Mantras and Sutras of Pali. According to the Gautam Gotra (Clan) introduction; (Law-1973 and Thapar-1978), Lord Gautam Buddha was born from the womb of Mayadevi as the son of King Shuddodhan of Kapilbastu, Tilaurakot about 2600 years before today. He also had caste, religion, clan, and tribe. The national religion of that state was Sanatan Dharma Hindu. King Shuddhodhan was a Hindu Sanatan Dharma based on Veda. Siddhartha Gautama Buddha was a Siddha man with unparalleled thought power, devotion and asceticism. The thought awakened in him and his thoughts towards the world of life eventually turned into Buddhism. Seize the rise and fall of civilization was in the period of Gautam Budda. According to Historian Pro. Dr. Ram Prasad Upadhyaya, as soon as he was born, Siddhartha Gautama walked seven steps to the north and said, "I have been reborn on this earth for salvation. This will be my last birth and I will not be born again. " Were said thus, in the Shakya dynasty, Krakuchhand and Kanakamuni are the main men who attained divinity before Siddhartha. After the end of state power from the invasion of Biruddak, the surviving Shakya dynasties fled to different parts of the country and entered Kathmandu as refugees during the reign of Kirat King Jitedasti. According to (Sharma-2017) ‘Shakya’ is a surname under the Newar community. Lord Gautam Buddha is also believed to be of Shakya descent. When human settlement started in Kathmandu Valley, human civilization had already developed in India and China. Historians are of the opinion that at that time, due to the influence and association of the North- South movement of Dravidians, Aryans, Huns and Mongols, many ethnic groups such as Nag, Yaksha, Gandharva, Kirat, Khas and Tharu developed in Nepal. The influence and spread of ethnic development also affected religion and culture. According to the history of the origin and development of the Shakya caste, it has been confirmed that Gautama Buddha belongs to the Shakya clan and that he is a native of the Mongolian Terai region of the Tharu caste. Due to cultural differences, the Shakya caste was initiated into the Newar community Therefore, both Shakya and Tharu castes are descendants of Gautam Buddha. Newar society is not formed based on one caste, race, religion, culture. "Newar" name is synonymous with Nepal. According to (Shreshta-2062), Nepali religion and Nepali culture, which embraced Nepali nationality in a fundamental way, 1. Vedic Tantra Shakta Sampradaya (Sect) 2. Buddhist Tantra Shakta Smpradaya (Sect) and 3. There are three ways to categorize a variety of outbursts. Within the Newar Sampradaya (Sect), Buddhism is different from Shakya Buddhism, Tibetan Tamang, Gurung, Magar, Buddhism, rites, and cultures, while Hinduism, which is Vedic or Hindu Newar, is also different from Khas, Brahmin, Madhesi or Hindustani. (Samrakshyak 2057) based on religion, according to the promise of the Newar community. The community can be divided into two by Hindu and Baudda. Sixteen rites are performed in Newar Hindus and ten rites are performed in Buddhism. Apart from these, other traditional rites like birthday and basic rites like Janko, Rathrohan (Old Pasni) and Nyanhu performed on the seventh day of death etc.

Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan: Indic Roots of Mantra, Richard K.Payne, Bloomsbury Academic, 2018 (ISBN 978–1–350‐03726–7), xii + 240 pp., hb £85.

Reviews in Religion & TheologyVolume 27, Issue 2 p. 274-277 Review Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan: Indic Roots of Mantra, Richard K. Payne, Bloomsbury Academic, 2018 (ISBN 978–1–350-03726–7), xii + 240 pp., hb £85. Bob Whyte, Bob Whyte Belper, UKSearch for more papers by this author Bob Whyte, Bob Whyte Belper, UKSearch for more papers by this author First published: 11 June 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/rirt.13809Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume27, Issue2April 2020Pages 274-277 RelatedInformation

Myang ral Nyi ma ’od zer (1124-1192): Authority and Authorship in the Coalescing of the rNying ma Tantric Tradition

The eleventh to thirteenth centuries in Tibet witnessed the development of religious schools based on the »New Transmissions« (gsar ’gyur) of Buddhist Tantras or the »Later Spread« (phyi dar) of Buddhism, in contrast to the »Early Transmissions« (snga ’gyur) of Tibetan Imperial times (seventh to ninth centuries CE). This period saw the beginnings of the system in which Buddhist monasteries became seats of religious and politico-economic authority throughout communities in Tibet. At the same time, in this culturally creative environment, followers of the »Ancient Transmissions« began to codify their textual heritage, resulting in the subsequent development of a rNying ma school, based especially on: i. the practice of the Inner Tantras (mahāyoga, anuyoga, atiyoga) and the Eight Sacred Word (bka’ brgyad) tantric deity cycles; ii. the related textual corpus of scriptures known as the »Ancient Tantra Collection« (rnying ma rgyud ’bum); iii. popular accounts of and rituals connected with the early tantric masters and their spiritual and magical feats, and especially the cult of the tantric guru and »second Buddha«, Padmasambhava, together with his key disciples; iv. the traditions of revelation, in which revealers identified as rebirths of the tradition’s cultural heroes continue to augment the textual heritage in each generation. Myang ral Nyi ma ’od zer was seminal to this development: himself a tantric revealer recognised as a rebirth of the emperor Khri srong lde’u btsan, he was responsible for a multi-volume revealed collection on the Eight Sacred Word deities, the Eightfold Sacred Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bka’ brgyad bde gshegs ’dus pa); was central to the lineage of the transmitted texts (bka’ ma) on the same deities; and produced the first full hagiography of Padmasambhava, while his immediate successors began the work of collecting the scriptures for the »Ancient Tantra Collection«, based on organising principles established in his work. This article probes how we should approach authority and authorship in this case. How far and in what sense should we consider Myang ral an »author« of the texts he revealed and why were the new claims to authority so compelling in this case? While Myang ral’s involvement with vision and ritual rather than logical argument or debate clearly distinguish him from mediaeval Tibetan scholastics – even those within his own tradition of Early Transmissions – yet his impressive work in compiling and systematising the heritage from his mentors would suggest that the contrast may not be as extreme as it would first appear.

Review of: Richard K. Payne, Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan: Indic Roots of Mantra

Review of: Richard K. Payne, Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan: Indic Roots of Mantra

Tibetan Buddhism and Science: Dialogue based on the Teaching of Kalachakra

The article reviews possible perspectives of the development of the dialogue between Buddhism and Science in intercultural philosophical discussions by involving the teaching of Tibetan-Buddhist tradition Kalachakra, which fluctuates between the religious-philosophical and scientific thought. The narrative of Kalachakra has three parts: theoretical, practical, and applied. The theoretical part tells about the Kalachakra Doctrine of Time (cosmology, eschatology, calendar system, and World cycles). The practical part includes the methodology of tantric meditations (visualization, chanting mantras, and yoga). The applied part consists of astrological and medical algorithms on the account of the state of the space for a certain moment of time (astrology of stars, astrology of elements, astrology of sounds, natural medicine recipes), which are described in traditional treatises. Thus, the paper proposes to consider the connection between Kalachakra teaching and classical Buddhist sciences; in particular, traditional astronomy (astrology) and medicine (alchemy). Particular attention is paid to the Kalachakra metaphysical system (which offers its own model of the phenomenal world and makes it possible to identify certain connections between different levels of consciousness) and to the potential of philosophical approaches to the analysis of this system. The focus is definitely on the ethical side of the Buddhist Tantra that necessarily transfers to the applied Buddhist Sciences (astronomy and medicine) based on the Kalachakra tantric teaching. Also, possible sociopolitical and phenomenological connotations are considered, towards which it is worthwhile to conduct philosophical studies for strengthening the foundation of the intercultural perspective of the dialogue between Buddhism and Science. In conclusions, we formulate remarks on the cardinal difference of the paradigm of applied Buddhist Sciences from the modern Western scientific and philosophical positions, which should be taken into account in the field of intercultural philosophical research. (The article includes the materials of the Oriental Studies Workshop that was hold by the author at Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, NAS of Ukraine, on March 26, 2019.) Article received 16.04.2019

Jain tantra: stating the problem

The article deals with some specific features of Jain Tantrism, which make it different to the Hindu and Buddhist tantras. The author points to the secondary character of Jain Tantra in relation to other tantric traditions of India. She also emphasizes the fact that, despite the significant typological similarity with similar techniques and cults of other religions; the scope of use of tantric practices in Jainism is limited to purely secular purposes.

To Awaken Beyond the Image-Free (nirābhāsa): The Meaning and Means of the Exoteric Path of Mahāmudrā in the Tangut Keypoints-Notes Cluster

From the 11th through 13th centuries, the mass of yogic techniques informed by the Yoganiruttara cycle of Buddhist Tantra flowed over the Himalayan range and extended to the Hexi Corridor. The Tibetan, Tangut, and Chinese peoples who had been exposed to such a yogic and tantric culture actively drew on Indian Buddhist legacies as taxonomical and conceptual device to structure and make sense of these cutting-edge contemplative techniques. One such discursive device was the Mahāmudrā rubric considered as the pinnacle of a systematic presentation of both tantric and sūtric paths to ultimacy. In this article, I explore the sūtric path structure embedded within a 12th-century Tangut Mahāmudrā presentation—in the Keypoints of Mahāmudrā as the Ultimate along with its commentary—formulated under the Tibetan auspices. I analyze the relevance of the Keypoints exoteric expositions of Mahāmudrā to the Mahāyāna intellectual history through the lens of non-conceptual meditation scheme. In specific, I argue that the Tangut Mahāmudrā works under survey map out a “positive-mystical” paradigm of Buddhist soteriology shared across those Mahāyāna scholastic traditions inspired by the Buddha-nature doctrine to account for the tantric phenomenology.

<i>The Gathering of Intentions: A History of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra</i>, by Jacob P. Dalton

The Gathering of Intentions: A History of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, by Jacob P. Dalton. Columbia University Press, 2016. 272pp. Hb. $60.00 (cloth), ISBN-13: 9780231176002.

Revisiting the “Secret Consort” (gsang yum) in Tibetan Buddhism

This article revisits the question, first introduced by feminist scholars in the mid-1990s, about whether sexual practices within Buddhist tantra (heterosexually conceived) are empowering or exploitative to women. The purpose here is to complicate this question, given the different geographic settings and cultural contexts in which consort relationships have been embedded—from eastern Tibet to North America—and to nuance our understanding of the potential and pitfalls of sexuality in tantric contexts. To do so, I query the dynamics of secrecy and sexuality in tantric practice, examining twentieth century examples of female practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism who have participated in such relationships and thereby highlighting the localized ways that the “secret consort” (gsang yum) has been invoked as a social role. This issue is especially relevant today in light of the global #MeToo movement and recent disclosures of sexual improprieties and alleged abuse involving Tibetan teachers at the head of Buddhist communities in Europe and North America. For this reason, to conclude, I discuss shifting perspectives on sexuality as Buddhist tantra has spread beyond Asia and draw attention to current voices calling for greater transparency and community accountability.

The Rhetoric of Violence in the Buddhist Tantras

This article explores the rhetoric of violence in the Buddhist tantras, arguing that it generally falls into two types: (1) violence deployed in a purely rhetorical fashion for the purpose of impressing or persuading the reader; and (2) textual depictions of violent ritual practices, which can, with some caveats, be interpreted as depictions of, and possibly prescriptions for, ritual violence. The former type often includes grandiose or exaggerated instances of hyperbolic rhetoric, often deployed for the purpose of aggrandizing the text or tradition. The article segues to discussions of descriptions of and prescriptions for ritual violence, and explores one of the justifications given for ritual violence, namely that it contributes to, or is excused by, the attainment of a spiritually advanced state of awareness called the “non-dual gnosis” (advayajñāna). Here particular attention is paid to violent rituals that involve the creation of effigies or symbolic substitutes for a sacrificial victim. These rituals, rather than involving actual violence, instead symbolically depict it. Yet these rituals are still violent insofar as they are symbolic enactments of acts of violence, and often they are performed with the goal of actually harming the victim who is symbolically represented in the ritual practice. The article concludes with an examination of a strategy for legitimizing such violence by invoking the concept of non-dual gnosis, and suggests that this ethical double standard has actually been used to excuse ethically dubious conduct by contemporary Buddhist leaders.

On Not Understanding Extraordinary Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan

The question motivating this essay is how tantric Buddhist practitioners in Japan understood language such as to believe that mantra, dhāraṇī, and related forms are efficacious. “Extraordinary language” is introduced as a cover term for these several similar language uses found in tantric Buddhist practices in Japan. The essay proceeds to a critical examination of Anglo-American philosophy of language to determine whether the concepts, categories, and concerns of that field can contribute to the analysis and understanding of extraordinary language. However, that philosophy of language does not contribute to this analysis, as it is constrained by its continuing focus on its founding concepts, dating particularly from the work of Frege. Comparing it to Indic thought regarding language reveals a distinct mismatch, further indicating the limiting character of the philosophy of language. The analysis then turns to examine two other explanations of tantric language use found in religious studies literature: magical language and performative language. These also, however, prove to be unhelpful. While the essay is primarily critical, one candidate for future constructive study is historical pragmatics, as suggested by Ronald Davidson. The central place of extraordinary language indicates that Indic reflections on the nature of language informed tantric Buddhist practice in Japan and are not simply cultural baggage.

Plotinus and Buddhism

The relationship between Plotinus and Buddhism has not been overly studied, in part because of the paucity of evidence. This article retraces some familiar terrain, enumerating parallels between the philosophy of Plotinus and those of the Yogācārin Vasubandhu and his Indian and Chinese inheritors. Similarities are noted between Plotinus' thought and Zen Buddhism, which was a natural outgrowth of Vasubandhu's philosophy, and, more importantly, between Plotinus and Buddhist Tantra. It is nonetheless conceded that there are more similarities between Tantra and the later Neoplatonists than there are between Tantra and Plotinus. Distinctive to this article are the Plotinian elements descried in the lives of Vasubandhu and the Tibetan Tantrist Ra Lotsāwa.

The Primordial Mandalas of East and West: Jungian and Tibetan Buddhist Approaches to Healing and Transformation

A comparative analysis of Jungian depth psychology and Tibetan Buddhist Tantra reveals a fascinating array of similarities, which are united in their most essential form through the manner in which mythic imagery is employed in both disciplines as a powerful agent of inner transformation. Various forms of creative engagement with sacred symbols–including mandalas–are enacted in each tradition as a vehicle through which latent spiritual potentialities can be brought forth into consciousness, a process that is greatly enhanced through a number of dynamic artistic techniques and contemplative practices. It should be emphasized from the outset that both disciplines represent complex systems that include sometimes widely varying notions of a higher spiritual order or ultimate reality. However, despite any differences in ontological postulations or metaphysical precepts, they share a number of surprising and sometimes striking characteristics. For example, both emphasize the mind, or psyche, as the foundational basis of existence and the primary means through which liberation (in the tantric tradition) and psychic wholeness (as in Jungian psychology) are pursued. Each also emphasizes the realm of dreams (e.g., dream analysis in depth psychology and dream yoga in Tibetan Tantra), contemplative and creative visualizations (such as the focus on wisdom figures and sacred symbols), and an assortment of other practices that are designed to effect a reconciliation of opposites and the attendant union of masculine and feminine principles. Their respective methodologies thus represent essential avenues through which to deepen an understanding of human nature’s far-reaching spiritual potentialities while demonstrating the vital role that mythic imagery–and in particular the mandala–plays in the process of healing and inner transformation.

The Kālacakra Tantra on the Sādhana and Maṇḍala: A Review Article

The Kālacakra Tantra was the last Buddhist tantra to appear in India, before the disappearance of Buddhism there, roughly a thousand years ago. This is the third book on Kālacakra by Vesna Wallace. We must be very grateful to her for another helpful contribution to our knowledge of this complex system. Her first one, The Inner Kālacakratantra: A Buddhist Tantric View of the Individual (New York, 2001), provides an overview of the whole system, drawing on all five chapters of the Kālacakra Tantra. Her next one, The Kālacakratantra: The Chapter on the Individual together with the Vimalaprabhā (New York, 2004), presents a translation of the second chapter of the Kālacakra Tantra along with the indispensable Vimalaprabhā commentary thereon. The Kālacakra Tantra is written entirely in the sragdharā metre, in which the length of every syllable is regulated. When a complex system is presented in a complex metre, we have a text that is hard to understand in the extreme. It would be almost incomprehensible without the full and detailed Vimalaprabhā commentary.

Mahāmudrā: Natural Mind in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism

AbstractMahāmudrā, usually translated as ‘the great seal’, is a vital term in the tantric traditions of Buddhist India and most schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In early Indian Buddhist tantras, it refers primarily to a hand‐gesture (mudrā) accompanying visualization meditation. In the later and more esoteric Indian Mahāyoga and Yoginī tantras, it denotes, inter alia, one of a sequence of experiential ‘seals’ to meditation; a ‘consort’ in sexual yoga practices; and a non‐dual gnosis in which great bliss and awareness of emptiness (śūnyatā) are inseparably conjoined. In the songs and treatises of the Indian great adepts (mahāsiddhas), Mahāmudrā is an index of ultimacy, regarded as the luminous, empty nature of mind, i.e. our buddha‐nature; a type of meditation for realizing mind’s nature; a set of unconventional practices that express that realization; and the final fruit of meditation, buddhahood. In Tibet, Mahāmudrā was known during the imperial period, but gained prominence only during the Tibetan ‘renaissance’ that began in the 11th century. Although a topic of analysis in nearly every Tibetan tradition, it is most central to the Kagyü, or ‘oral lineage’. Introduced to the Kagyü by Marpa and Milarepa, Mahāmudrā was popularized by Gampopa, who analyzed it from many angles, and suggested it was as much a practice rooted in the sūtras as in the tantras. Subsequent Kagyü masters developed Gampopa’s analysis further, produced anthologies of Mahāmudrā texts, and related Mahāmudrā to a variety of important Indian and Tibetan Buddhist ideas and practices. As a meditation practice, Mahāmudrā often is divided into sudden and gradual approaches. The sudden approach involves simply abiding in the natural mind, which is tantamount to buddhahood. Gradual approaches may involve complex tantric visualizations and the manipulation of forces within the subtle body or a sequence of meditations that focus on the nature of mind, which is found to be empty, luminous, non‐dual, and blissful. Discourse on mahāmudra in India and Tibet raises a number of important issues for Buddhist thought and practice, such as the soteriological sufficiency of a single, sudden insight; the place of reason and ethics in contemplative tradition; and the unity or diversity of meditative realization. Those issues resonate, in turn, with discussions elsewhere of mysticism, religious experience, and the nature of mind.

The Historical Roots of Tibetan Scholasticism

AbstractThis paper examines the social milieu within which a form of Buddhism based on logic , commentary, and debate arose in Tibet during the period of the ‘Tibetan renaissance.’ Taking as exemplary scholastic the thirteenth‐century monk Sakya , I argue that crucial to the survival of a Tibetan scholasticism were new monastic networks supported by a revivified economy, the use of scholastic discourses as cultural unifiers, the special status accorded scholarly knowledge within Tibetan society at large, and the distinctive manner in which exoteric scholasticism was piggybacked onto the esoteric, ritual‐intensive Buddhist tantra that came to dominate the period.