Buddhism beliefs have captured the interests of the masses all over the world and out of them the most curiosity has been about Tantric Buddhism. There has always been a lot of mystery around Buddhist Tantra practices and most of that happens because not many people know what exactly Tantra is and what it does.
While Lord Buddha Shakyamuni is considered to be the one who founded it, there are many figures who are considered to be an integral part of Buddhist Tantra practices like master Padmasambhava, master Virupa, and many more.
There are three sections of Tibetan Buddhism. Hinayana which focuses on an individual’s liberation from suffering, Mahayana which focuses on the universe’s benefit from an individual’s enlightenment, and Vajrayana which focuses on tantric practices.
Multiple texts on Buddhist Tantra practices have been discovered and are preserved. However, they have been written in a very complex language that uses a lot of metaphors and symbolism making them very difficult to be understood by the average human being.
According to Buddhist beliefs, Vajrayana Buddhism or Tantra is a way through which one can transform their desires into enlightenment. It can be best defined as a spiritual science that allows us to realize our true and full potential as enlightened beings.
Rituals, meditation, and visualizations are done under the guidance of a guru in order to attain enlightenment. The practitioner visualizes himself or herself as already enlightened thus manifesting it into becoming reality. The practitioner identifies oneself as tantric deities who are basically manifestations of his or her inner nature. This act of visualizing a deity either in front of us or imagining ourselves as the deity is called deity yoga.
Tantra in Buddhism also involves the use of various mantras which are either syllables or a collection of sentences that have divine powers. These mantras need to be chanted in a specific way and a certain number of times during the meditative practices. These mantras help the practitioner invoke the blessings of enlightened beings.
After being thorough with the principles of Hinayana and Mahayana, a person progresses to practicing Buddhist Tantra. This begins with receiving the teachings from a spiritual master and going through a formal initiation ceremony which makes a person eligible to practice Tantra. These practices involve the individual going into deep meditative state and visualising themselves as an enlightened being or a deity who possesses the qualities of wisdom and compassion. They employ mudras or hand gestures to channelise energy from the various energy points in the body. They also chant specific mantras and ensure that their entire focus is on the chanting and there is no loss of concentration.
One of the mantras that are chanted is -
Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum - This mantra is associated with master Padmasambhava and is chanted so that the practitioner can gain both wisdom and compassion.
The Buddhist tantra practices aim to liberate a person from suffering of all kinds and to awaken the mind so that it can be free from delusions and accept the real nature of the world. Thus allowing a person to attain enlightenment. They enable the practitioner to achieve their true Buddha nature.
Tantra in Buddhism also has four types or schools -
Nyingma - This is the most ancient school of Tantric Buddhism. It was established in the 8th century by master Padmasambhava. It enables the practitioner to realize the true nature of the mind.
Kagyu - It was established in the 11th century and advocates dedicating oneself to their spiritual master. It puts focus on meditation practices.
Sakya - It also emerged in the 11th century and draws inspiration from the teachings of master Virupa. It also aims to guide individuals toward enlightenment.
Gelug - It is the most recent school of Tantric Buddhism. It was founded in the 14th century and was founded by scholar Je Tsongkhapa. It is associated with the Dalai Lamas.
There are 4 aspects to this visualization -
A pure environment in which the practitioner visualizes the environment of the deity as perfect and pure. This pure environment is called the Mandala.
A pure body in which the practitioner lets go of their current idea of their body and visualizes the body of the deity as being pure and perfect.
Pure resources in which the practitioner visualizes the complete purity of the objects around the deity. From the offerings made to the deity to whatever objects we sense and come in contact with are considered divine.
Pure activities in which the practitioner visualizes the deity doing acts of kindness for other beings and these activities are visualized as absolutely pure and divine.
An Introduction to Buddhism and Tantric Meditation - Book
In order to practice Tantric Buddhism one must first be thorough with the teachings of Hinayana and Mahayana.
Without the guidance of a spiritual teacher, a person can have misconceptions about Buddhist tantra practices. It is through the teacher that the Tantric teachings are imparted and following their instructions is a must for the success of these practices.
There must be a strong desire in the person to benefit others from his or her enlightenment. They must aim to attain enlightenment so that they can liberate all creatures from their suffering. This desire is called the Bodhichitta.
The mandalas are an important aspect of Tantra as well. These are geometrical designs that are visualized as sacred abodes of the deities.
Mantras need to be recited properly while practicing Tantra.
Apart from this mudras or hand gestures are also an important part of Buddhist Tantric practices.
The visualizations of the practitioner must be very clear and profound.
The practitioners need to be properly, formally, and ritualistically initiated by their spiritual teachers in order to be qualified to perform these highly powerful practices.
The human body also becomes an integral part of the practice since the mind and the chakras are involved in it.
Newari Green Tara Mandala (Brocadeless Thangka)
According to Buddhism beliefs the way to attain nirvana is by realizing one’s Buddha nature and Buddhist Tantra practices enable us to do that. It advocates that enlightenment is not something that resides in the future. In fact, humans are already enlightened. They just need to realize it.
Making use of mantras, mudras, mandalas, imaginations, etc, Tantra allows a person to fast-track the process of attaining enlightenment so that the entire universe can benefit from it. It is a practice that makes complete use of an individual’s power of imagination to harness divine blessings.
While there have been many misconceptions about what Tantra in Buddhism is, these can be dispelled if one just makes an effort to learn more about it from the right sources.
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