Understanding the Buddhism Beliefs About Tantra

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Understanding the Buddhism Beliefs About Tantra
? Add a Comment 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.
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There are three sections of Tibetan Buddhism.
Hinayana which focuses on an individuals
liberation from suffering, Mahayana which focuses
on the universes benefit from an individuals
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.
What is Tantra in Buddhism - 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.
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Types of Tantra - 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.
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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.
The Aspects of Tantric Visualisation - 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.
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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
Pre- Requisites of Practicing Tantra - 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.
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Newari Green Tara Mandala (Brocadeless
Thangka) Wrapping Up - According to Buddhism
beliefs the way to attain nirvana is by realizing
ones 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
individuals 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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