Tantras
Tantras are a collection of esoteric texts within Buddhism and Hinduism that focus on elaborate rituals, spiritual practices, and the attainment of liberation. The term "tantra" originates from the Sanskrit word meaning to weave or expound, indicating the intricate nature of the beliefs and practices contained within these texts. Emerging as an alternative to the Vedic traditions, Tantric practices can be traced back to ancient times, with Buddhist Tantrism predating Hindu Tantrism by at least two centuries. Tantras are known for their emphasis on complex rituals, mantras, yantras (magical diagrams), and the guidance of a guru, making them both a spiritual and initiatory journey.
Key goals of Tantric practices include achieving spiritual liberation (mokṣa) and enjoying earthly pleasures (bhukti). The rituals often involve the use of coded language and secret teachings, imparted from guru to disciple, underscoring the significance of initiation and personal guidance in these traditions. Central to both Buddhist and Hindu Tantrism is the focus on the Great Goddess and the principle of śakti, representing the ultimate creative force in the universe. The practices are designed to channel spiritual energy through yogic exercises, particularly kuṇḍalinī yoga, as practitioners seek to navigate the complexities of their spiritual paths.
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Tantras
Related civilizations: South and East Asia.
Date: c. 400-1000 c.e.
Locale: India, Kashmir, Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan
Tantras
Tantras (TAHN-trahs) refer to a group of Buddhist and Hindu texts that are specifically esoteric in their sect affiliations and teachings. The Sanskrit word tan means to weave, to stretch, or to expound; therefore, the tantras tend to expound on often obscure secret beliefs and rituals. Buddhism and Hindu Tantrism arose in contradistinction to the Vedic religion of the Brahmans. Considered heterodox in nature, Tantric practices and beliefs have their origins in an antiquity so remote that the earliest manifestations may never be known. Buddhist Tantrism is earlier than Hindu Tantrism by at least two centuries; the Buddhist Guhyasmāja Tantra may be as early as the third century c.e. Although it is difficult to date any of the surviving texts with accuracy, it is certain that Hindu Tantrism was widespread and a pan-Indian phenomenon by the fifth to sixth centuries c.e. The earliest Hindu text with specific Tantric content, though not called a tantra, is the Devī Māhātmyam (c. 400-600 c.e.; English translation, 1885). Various sects in India produced tantras well through the medieval period.
Asserting the attainment of freedom from the Vedic belief in a never-ending cycle of reincarnation, the tantras offer spiritual liberation (mukti or mokṣa). Tantric practices promised emancipation from future lives, as well as earthly enjoyment and domination (bhukti). Accomplishing the dual goals is a difficult and lengthy process that takes place over a long period of time and under strictly controlled conditions.
The tantras generally emphasized in varying degrees the key practices: intricate and complex rituals, mantras (chanting incantations), spells and magic, secret sounds and syllables, magical diagrams called yantras (mandalas), special hand gestures, deliberately coded language, and restricted practices and initiations in which secret lore is passed from the guru to the student. Yogic exercises and meditation are essential components in Tantric rituals, particularly kuṇḍalinī yoga, in which creative energy is directed upward in the body along the nerve centers (cakras). Cultic rituals include formation of an elaborate macrocosmic/microcosmic cosmology located within the human body in which the deity is invoked in the heart. Both Buddhist and Hindu Tantric sects generally focus on a form of the Great Goddess as the primary deity and as the primary force of the universe. In addition, the sole and supreme creative force of the universe is called śakti. Often used as a name for the goddess herself, śakti is the ultimate principle of the universe, the source of all.
All tantras stress the absolute necessity of the guru to guide the uninitiated along the perilous road to emancipation. It is believed that the spells and incantations are so powerful that knowledge of them must be restricted only to those who are spiritually prepared. Thus, the tantras are written in selective and deliberately obscure, cryptic language. The revelatory secrets and connecting threads are the purview of the guru and the initiated alone.
Bibliography
Gupta, Sanjukta, Dirk Jan Hoens, and Teun Goudraan. Hindu Tantrism. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1979.