Questions tagged [tantra]
The tantra tag has no usage guidance.
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Books for understanding Tibetan Buddhism
I have been practicing Buddhist meditation for a few years, mostly from reading translations of the Buddha's original discourses, as well as some Prajnaparamita sutras from Mahayana Buddhism. I've ...
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What are the original colors of the 7 main chakras?
I've seen variations on some of the last few chakras as white instead of violet or purple, so I'm wondering what are the official/original - from Sanskrit (?) - colors?
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What is the "magical net" in the Guhyagarbha Tantra?
The Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra says "This universal tantra of the great Magical Net is a secret among secrets".
Later it says:
Accordingly, mahāyoga teaches the ...
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What is the mandala of the ground?
When you first learn about mandalas, you learn about sand paintings:
But in the Guhyagarbha tantra, outlined in Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra, it is said:
The subject matter of ...
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What is meant by "secret" in the Guhyagarbha tantra?
I am starting to explore Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra, where in the first section on the "title", says:
All phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are inseparable with the ...
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What is the wheel in the Guhyagarbha tantra?
I am starting to explore Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra, where in the first section on the "title", says:
All phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are inseparable with the ...
- 551
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Transcription of Yamāntaka mantra chanting fragment
I am a total outsider not well-versed in the Buddhist tradition, and apologize in advance if some of the terms/names I'll write are placed out of context or misused.
To cut the story short, I am ...
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Pure Perception
I've read here, that:
As Dza Patrul Rinpoche candidly says (AKC 15): Ritual sessions four
times a day without the generation and completion stages, pounding
drums and clashing cymbals without ...
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What do you wish you knew when you started down the path of buddhism?
This stack exchange actually lead me towards the path of finding a lama and becoming a Buddhist. Thank You!
This got me thinking, what would you tell sentient beings new to the path of Buddhism? Is ...
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How to find an appropriate sex partner for a sakadagami?
Is it true that sakadagami can have sex that is pure so between a wife and husband. how can one gain the attention of a wise man who intends to marry and upholds The Way of Noble Ones.
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Kalachakra Tantra (translation of the original text)
Where can I find the English / Chinese translation of the Kalachakra Tantra? (not commentary) Thank you.
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Tibetan Buddhism:Recieving inititation in India/Tibet
I recently read an introductory book on Tibetan Buddhism and intrigued by Tantra & Kalachakra practice. I have been practicing meditation for the last 2-3 years but not under the guidance of a ...
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Under what conditions should Buddhists proselytize other Buddhist traditions? [duplicate]
Under what conditions is it proper for Buddhists of one tradition to try and proselytize Buddhists from another tradition? Under what conditions is it improper? What harm can be done? What fruits can ...
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Why does Lama Atisha say those "observing pure conduct" shouldn't take (some) Tantric initiations?
In Lama Atisha's, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment he ends the teaching this way:
Because the Great Tantra of the Primordial Buddha
Forbids it emphatically,
Those observing pure conduct ...
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Why did Tsongkhapa list guru devotion first in his Lamrim while Atisha did not?
Lama Atisha famously brought the teachings of Nalanda back to Tibet and authored his famous, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment upon which the new translation schools were founded. This seminal text ...
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Where can I get authentic Yab-Yum statues/figurines? [closed]
Ebay and Amazon have either very large and (prohibitively) expensive ones or those mass-produced in China. Where can I get a bronze or brass figurine that is small in size. Thank you.
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Tantric self generation as a deity
Why does self-generation as a deity (yidam) require annutarayogatantra empowerment (wang, abhiṣeka), while visualizing it as a separate image doesn't?
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Broken kapala as a sign of what?
It was said in a book by my spiritual master that 'breaking unloyalty to one's spiritual master is worse than breaking a kapala', of which I deduce that breaking a kapala is a really bad sign.
Is ...
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What is this picture?
Even after referring to several books I simply cannot understand what this picture is depicting. I am not a Buddhist and am hence finding it difficult to decipher.
I found it on this page, whose ...
user10546
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What is the logic behind visualization meditation
I have practiced meditation for the better part of a decade now. I wouldn't call myself a Buddhist, but that's immaterial. I've experienced and practiced many kinds of meditation (energy, dream, ...
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Can somebody explain me this Kalachakra print?
I would like to understand this image.
Can someone explain each part of this image? Not only the part in the middle, but also the figures all around.
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If you were going to explain Dharmakāya to someone who has never encountered the topic prior, where would you begin?
Dharmakāya is tricky business to explain.
If you were to explain it to someone who has never heard of the concept where would you begin?
How does it fit in with attraction and aversion?
At ...
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Pāramitāyāna and Tantrayāna
Wikipedia includes this (unreferenced) sentence:
According to the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism, Mahāyāna practitioners have the choice of two practice paths: the path of perfection (Sanskrit: ...
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Vajra Posture vs Lotus Posture -- the same or male vs female?
I always thought that "Vajra Posture" and "Lotus Posture" were simply two names for the same thing. But recently somebody told me that Vajra Posture is for males and Lotus Posture for females, though ...
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How similar or different is Tantric Buddhism from Vijnana Bhairava of Kashmir Shaivism?
Tantra exists in certain traditions of Buddhism (I guess mostly in Tibetan and certain Theravada schools as well). It also exists in Kashmir Shaivism, as explained in the Vijnana Bhairava.
Can ...
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Does Paritta/Sutta really have magical power?
Many people believed certain Paritta/Sutta have certain magical power, for example Bojjhanga Sutta for curing illness and Om Mani Padme Hum having a great (even greatest) magical power among other ...
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How do taboo acts work in tantra if people don't see the acts as taboo?
Tantric rituals harness the power/engergy of taboo acts by including either actual or visualizations of alcohol, meat and sex into the ritual.
In that system, does it still work if people don't ...
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Is Practicing Tantric/Wrathful Meditation Dangerous Without a Guru?
Some time ago, I found a mala in a shop that I was quite drawn to for reasons I cannot explain. At the time I thought it was wood but as the stain wore off I saw it was bone. This lead me to do some ...
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What is Completion Stage Meditation also known as Nispannakrama?
In Vajrayana there appears to be many different types and stages of mediation. One form is called "completion stage meditation" also known as nispannakrama. It appears to be associated with something ...
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What is Generation Stage Meditation also known as Utpattikrama?
There are many forms of meditation found in Buddhism. Zazen is possibly the most well know form of meditation in the West. However, in there are many different types of mediation. In Vajrayana ...
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