The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Tantrism S 439

At a more abstract level. Vajrayana sees libera tion as a union of male and female. In Buddhist Tantrism the female in PRAJNA , “wisdom.” The male is upaya, “skill is means,” that is, a person’s ability to practice the Buddhist path. The union of the two, wisdom and the ability to practice, even tually produces enlightenment. PRACTICES Both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism make heavy use of ritual diagrams ( YANTRAS and MANDALAS ), ritual sounds ( MANTRAS ), and ritual gestures ( MUDRAS ). These diagrams, sounds, and gestures vary from tradition to tradition, but they are all thought to embody the powers of the universe. In both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism the diagrams, sounds, and gestures allow practitioners to acquire sacred power and ultimately to achieve release. Practitio ners acquire the power of these diagrams, sounds, and gestures by meditating on them. To construct and use a mandala is a relatively benign act. Tantrism is also known, however, for a variety of rituals that deliberately invert estab lished order and transgress normal bounds. Such acts require special control, for the goal is not to enjoy forbidden fruits. It is to use the things of the world to conquer the world, to overcome desire by acting out what desire demands and yet remaining untouched by desire. Perhaps the best known system of such rituals are “the five elements” found in Hindu Tantrism. These elements are also called “the five m’s,” because the Sanskrit word for each starts with the letter “m.” The five are wine ( madya ), meat ( mansa ), fish ( matsya ), parched grains ( mudra ), and sexual union ( maithuna ). Like Hindu Tant rism, Buddhist Tantrism recognizes sexual rituals. Such rituals call for extreme concentration. If they are performed to fulfill carnal desires, the conse quences are drastic. ORGANIZATION Tantrism is a religion of small, private, secret groups. For that reason, it is difficult to know how many people practice it. The basic organization is that of a teacher ( GURU ) and disciples.

many Tantric texts are written in what is known as “twilight language,” a symbolic language whose full significance cannot be understood except with the help of a code revealed only to the initiated. There are, however, some common Tantric themes. One theme deals with the creative duality between male and female. Tantrism often gives the female the higher place. Another theme concerns the links between the macrocosm or structure of the universe and the microcosm or structure of the human being. Finally, Tantrism often conceives of liberation as reuniting the male and the female into one. In Hindu Tantrism the ultimate Godhead is formless. But on a less than ultimate level the God head is sexually dual, having both a male and a female form. The female form, known as Sakti or the god’s power, is responsible for the creation of the world. At the same time, Sakti is the source of liberation. When Sakti reunites with the male principle, the original unity is restored. According to Hindu Tantrism these macro cosmic processes find their reflections on the microcosmic level. In the human person Sakti is generally imaged as a coiled serpent asleep at the base of the spine ( KUNDALINI ). When the serpent is aroused, it rises and eventually unites with the masculine principle at the top of the skull. When it does so, the result is liberation. V AJRAYANA B UDDHISM uses different ideas. Before Vajrayana arose, M AHAYANA B UDDHISM had developed a pantheon of Buddhas and BODHISAT TVAS . Vajrayana carried this process further. It identified even more Buddhas and bodhisattvas, assigned them feminine consorts or counterparts, and delighted in images of the wrathful and the horrific. Vajrayana also linked the macrocosm and the microcosm. It identified the various Buddhas and bodhisattvas with different parts of the body. A person followed the path to liberation by visual izing these various beings and thereby acquiring their powers. In fact, one might say that in Vajray ana, Buddhists imagined themselves as enlight ened beings in order to achieve enlightenment and do so more quickly.