Tantras
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Tantras ("Looms" or "Weavings") refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. The Tantras total ninety-two scriptures, where sixty four are purely Ābheda (literally "without differentiation", or monistic), known as the Bhairava Tantras or Kashmir Śaivite Tantras, eighteen are Bhedabheda (literally "with differentiation and without differentiation" or monistic cum dualistic), known as the Rudra Tantras), and ten are completely Bheda (literally "differentiated" or dualistic), known as the Ṣiva Tantras. The latter two (Rudra Tantras and Ṣiva Tantras) are used by the Śaiva Siddhantins, and thus are sometimes referred to as Śaiva Siddhanta Tantras, or Śaiva Siddhanta Āgamas.[citation needed]
Hindus consider the Tantras as Śruti revealed by Lord Ṣiva in the form of Svacchandanath, Who created each tantra as a combination of His five universal energies: cit shakti (energy of all-consciousness), ānanda śakti (energy of all-bliss), īccha śakti (energy of all-will), jñāna śakti (energy of all-knowledge), kriya śakti (energy of all-action). The Tantrika Parampara may be considered parallel or intertwined with the Vaidika Parampara. It is said that Svacchandanath illuminated the universe, beginning the Sat Yuga by revealing these Tantras. Through the ages, as the great masters of the Tantras hid themselves to escape the touch of the increasingly worldly people, these teachings were lost during the Kali Yuga. As a part of Ṣiva's grace, Ṣiva took the form Śrikanthanatha at Mount Kailaṣ, and revealed these Tantras, to Durvasa Riṣi, and then disappeared into the ether.[citation needed]
In the Nath Tradition, legend ascribes the origin of Tantra to Dattatreya, a semi-mythological yogi and the assumed author of the Jivanmukta Gita ("Song of the liberated soul"). Matsyendranath is credited with authorship of the Kaulajnana-nirnaya, a voluminous ninth-century tantra dealing with a host of mystical and magical subjects, and occupies an important position in the Hindu tantric lineage, as well as in Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism.
Buddhist and Hindu Tantra, though having many similarities from the outside, do have some clear distinctions. Buddhist Tantra is always part of the Vajrayana school of Buddhism. Buddhist Tantra spread out from (North) India, chiefly to Tibet. It also had some influence on Chinese and Japanese Buddhism (notably Shingon).[citation needed]
References
- Lakshmanjoo, Swami. Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme. ISBN 1-58721-505-5
- Dhallapiccola, Anna. Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. ISBN 0-500-51088-1
- Walker, Benjamin (1983). Tantrism: Its Secret Principles and Practices. Borgo Press. ISBN 0-85030-272-2
See also
External links
- Muktabodha Online Library: A large collection of śastras relating to Tantrika Parampara
- Tantricism in Kashmir
- Buddhist Tantras on Alcohol & Meat
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