Download or read book Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism written by Christian K. Wedemeyer and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-06 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism fundamentally rethinks the nature of the transgressive theories and practices of the Buddhist Tantric traditions, challenging the notion that the Tantras were “marginal” or primitive and situating them instead—both ideologically and institutionally—within larger trends in mainstream Buddhist and Indian culture. Critically surveying prior scholarship, Wedemeyer exposes the fallacies of attributing Tantric transgression to either the passions of lusty monks, primitive tribal rites, or slavish imitation of Saiva traditions. Through comparative analysis of modern historical narratives—that depict Tantrism as a degenerate form of Buddhism, a primal religious undercurrent, or medieval ritualism—he likewise demonstrates these to be stock patterns in the European historical imagination. Through close analysis of primary sources, Wedemeyer reveals the lived world of Tantric Buddhism as largely continuous with the Indian religious mainstream and deploys contemporary methods of semiotic and structural analysis to make sense of its seemingly repellent and immoral injunctions. Innovative, semiological readings of the influential Guhyasamaja Tantra underscore the text’s overriding concern with purity, pollution, and transcendent insight—issues shared by all Indic religions—and a large-scale, quantitative study of Tantric literature shows its radical antinomianism to be a highly managed ritual observance restricted to a sacerdotal elite. These insights into Tantric scripture and ritual clarify the continuities between South Asian Tantrism and broader currents in Indian religion, illustrating how thoroughly these “radical” communities were integrated into the intellectual, institutional, and social structures of South Asian Buddhism.
Download or read book The Secret Message of Tantric Buddhism written by Pierre Rambach and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Principles of Buddhist Tantra written by Kirti Tsenshap and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-05-01 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche was a renowned teacher of Tibetan Buddhism with students worldwide. Revered as a teacher by even the Dalai Lama, he was known especially as a master of Buddhist tantra, the powerful esoteric methods for attaining enlightenment swiftly. The teachings in this book are a singular record of his deep learning in that field. Originally delivered in California to a group of Western students, the teachings comment on a classic introduction to tantra by the nineteenth-century Mongolian lama Choje Ngawang Palden. The work, Illumination of the Tantric Tradition, is a staple even today of the curriculum for training young monastics. Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche explains the distinctive features of the four classes of tantra--action tantra, performance tantra, yoga tantra, and highest yoga tantra--by describing the way to progress through their paths and levels. He illuminates key issues in tantric practice that are still a matter for debate within the tradition. Finally, he gives a special treatment of the unique methods of Kalacakra tantra, which is regularly taught around the globe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Download or read book Consecration of Images and St pas in Indo Tibetan Tantric Buddhism written by Yael Bentor and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1996 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study of the Indo-Tibetan ritual of rendering religious objects sacred concerns one of the fundamental Buddhist tantric processes of transformation into a chosen tantric Buddha. It provides a general discussion of the ritual as well as detailed analyses of each ritual step in the composite present-day consecration.
Download or read book Journey Without Goal written by Chögyam Trungpa and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2000-10-17 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meditation master Chögyam Trungpa demystifies the Tantric tradition of Buddhism in this accessible guide for curious students Based on the author’s talks at Naropa University, this volume introduces the reader to the principles of tantra, based on the practice of meditation, which leads to the discovery of egolessness. Trungpa Rinpoche provides a direct and experiential picture of the tantric world, explaining the importance of self-existing energy, the mandala principle, the difference between Buddhist and Hindu tantra—stressing the nontheistic foundation of Buddhism. The role of the teacher and the meaning of tantric transmission are also presented. Written for the student of Buddhism rather than the scholar, Journey without Goal demystifies the vajrayana and at the same time affirms the power and sacredness of its ancient teaching.
Download or read book Tantric Treasures written by and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2004 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides accurate, accessible translations of three classics of medieval Indian Buddhist mysticism. Since their composition around 1000 CE, these poems have exerted a powerful influence on spiritual life.
Download or read book Vajra Wisdom written by Shechen Gyaltsap IV and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-04-08 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vajra Wisdom presents the commentaries of two great nineteenth-century Nyingma masters that guide practitioners engaged in development stage practice through a series of straightforward instructions. The rarity of this kind of material in English makes it indispensable for practitioners and scholars alike. The goal of development stage meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition is to directly realize the inseparability of phenomena and emptiness. Preceded by initiation and oral instructions, the practitioner arrives at this view through the profound methods of deity visualization, mantra recitation, and meditative absorption.
Download or read book Buddhist Tantras written by Alex Wayman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-26 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1995. The volume is divided into four sections: The introduction places the position of the Buddhist Tantras within Mahayana Buddhism and recalls their early literary history, especially the Guhyasamahatantra; the section also covers Buddhist Genesis and the Tantric tradition. Next is the he foundations of the Buddhist Tantras are discussed and the Tantric presentation of divinity; the preparation of disciples and the meaning of initiation; symbolism of the mandala-palace Tantric ritual and the twilight language. The third section explores the Tantric teachings of the inner Zodiac and the fivefold ritual symbolism of passion. The bibliographical research contains an analysis of the Tantric section of the Kanjur exegesis and a selected Western Bibliography of the Buddhist Tantras with comments.
Download or read book An Introduction to Tantric Buddhism written by Shashi Bhushan Dasgupta and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to Tantric Buddhism.
Download or read book The Treasury of Knowledge Book Six Part Four written by Kong-sprul Blo-gros-mthaʼ-yas and published by Snow Lion. This book was released on 2005-06-14 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Tibetan religious literature, Jamgon Kongtrul's Treasury of Knowledge stands out as a unique encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were presented in Tibet.
Download or read book Buddhist Tantra written by Lalan Prasad Singh and published by Concept Publishing Company. This book was released on 2010 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Secret of the Vajra World written by Reginald A. Ray and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2002-07-23 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An entrée into the world of Tantric Buddhism—a unique collection of texts, concepts, and meditation practices presented by Tibetan masters teaching in the West The “Vajra World” (vajradhatu in Sanskrit) is a realm of indestructibility, the level of reality beyond all thought and imagination, all impermanence and change, which a fully realized person knows and inhabits. Used metaphorically, “Vajra World” refers to the traditional culture of Tibet and the unique spirituality that is its secret strength. Secret of the Vajra World is the companion volume to the author’s earlier book, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. While that book focuses on the history, cosmology, philosophy, and practice of the more public, exoteric side of Tibetan Buddhism, this work treats its more hidden and esoteric aspects as they take shape in Vajrayana. Together, the two volumes provide a broad introduction to the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Topics include: • The tantric view of human nature and the external world • The special role of the guru, or tantric mentor • The preliminary practices that prepare the student for full initiation • The major dimensions of Vajrayana practice, including visualizations, liturgies, and inner yogas • The tradition of the tulku, or incarnate lama • The lore surrounding the death of ordinary people and of saints • The practice of solitary retreat, the epitome of traditional Tibetan Buddhism
Download or read book Tantric Grounds and Paths written by Kelsang Gyatso and published by Tharpa Publications US. This book was released on 1994 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mysteries of Tantra have engrossed countless meditators for centuries. Since the time of Buddha, these secrets have been passed down from accomplished master to disciple largely by word of mouth. Now drawing from his own experience and the works of Je Tsongkhapa and other great Tibetan Yogis, Geshe Kelsang clearly sets out all the stages of the four classes of Tantra, giving a full explanation of generation and completion stages. Tantra is revealed as the gateway to a blissful new world. The book represents a significant milestone in revealing these profound mysteries to the contemporary world.
Download or read book Love Letters from Golok written by Holly Gayley and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2016-12-06 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Love Letters from Golok chronicles the courtship between two Buddhist tantric masters, Tāre Lhamo (1938–2002) and Namtrul Rinpoche (1944–2011), and their passion for reinvigorating Buddhism in eastern Tibet during the post-Mao era. In fifty-six letters exchanged from 1978 to 1980, Tāre Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche envisioned a shared destiny to "heal the damage" done to Buddhism during the years leading up to and including the Cultural Revolution. Holly Gayley retrieves the personal and prophetic dimensions of their courtship and its consummation in a twenty-year religious career that informs issues of gender and agency in Buddhism, cultural preservation among Tibetan communities, and alternative histories for minorities in China. The correspondence between Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche is the first collection of "love letters" to come to light in Tibetan literature. Blending tantric imagery with poetic and folk song styles, their letters have a fresh vernacular tone comparable to the love songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama, but with an eastern Tibetan flavor. Gayley reads these letters against hagiographic writings about the couple, supplemented by field research, to illuminate representational strategies that serve to narrate cultural trauma in a redemptive key, quite unlike Chinese scar literature or the testimonials of exile Tibetans. With special attention to Tare Lhamo's role as a tantric heroine and her hagiographic fusion with Namtrul Rinpoche, Gayley vividly shows how Buddhist masters have adapted Tibetan literary genres to share private intimacies and address contemporary social concerns.
Download or read book A Buddhist Approach to International Relations written by William J. Long and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-02-15 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an open access book. Many scholars have wondered if a non-Western theory of international politics founded on different premises, be it from Asia or from the “Global South,” could release international relations from the grip of a Western, “Westphalian” model. This book argues that a Buddhist approach to international relations could provide a genuine alternative. Because of its distinctive philosophical positions and its unique understanding of reality, human nature and political behavior, a Buddhist theory of IR offers a way out of this dilemma, a means for transcending the Westphalian predicament. The author explains this Buddhist IR model, beginning with its philosophical foundations up through its ideas about politics, economics and statecraft.
Download or read book Tantric Buddhism and Altered States of Consciousness written by Louise Child and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the role of altered states of consciousness in the communication of social and emotional energies, both on a societal level and between individual persons. Drawing from an original reading of Durkheimian social theorists (including Mauss, Hertz, and Hubert) and Jungian psychology, Louise Child applies this analysis to tantric Buddhist ritual and biographical material. She suggests ways in which dreams and visionary experiences (including those related to the 'subtle body') play an important and previously under-explored role in tantric understandings of the consort relationship.
Download or read book Guide to Dakini Land written by Kelsang Gyatso and published by Tharpa Publications US. This book was released on 1996 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reprint. originally published: Tharpa Publications, 1991.
