Editing Vajrayana (section)

== Tantra techniques ==
[[File:Om mani padme hum4.jpg|thumb|[[Mani stone]]s, stones inscribed with the "[[om mani padme hum]]" mantra]]
[[File:白描印相図巻-Scroll of Mudras MET DP234314.jpg|thumb|A Japanese Handscroll depicting various mudras, 11th–12th century]]
{{See also|Tibetan tantric practice}}

While all Vajrayāna Buddhist traditions include all the traditional practices used in Mahayana Buddhism, such as developing [[bodhicitta]], practicing the ''paramitas,'' and [[Buddhist meditation|meditations]], they also make use of unique tantric methods and [[Dzogchen]] meditation, which are seen as more advanced. These include mantras, mandalas, mudras, [[deity yoga]], other visualization-based meditations, [[illusory body]] yogas like [[tummo]], and rituals like the [[Homa (ritual)|goma]] fire ritual. Vajrayana teaches that these techniques provide a faster path to [[Buddhahood]].{{sfn|Hopkins|2009|pp=220, 251}}

A central feature of tantric practice is the use of mantras and seed syllables (''[[Bījā|bijas]]''). Mantras are words, phrases, or a collection of syllables used for various meditative, magical, and ritual ends. Mantras are usually associated with [[Buddhist deities|specific deities or Buddhas]], and are seen as their manifestations in sonic form. They are traditionally believed to have spiritual power, which can lead to enlightenment as well as supramundane abilities (''[[siddhi]]s'').{{sfn|Gray|2007|p=132}}

According to [[Indology|Indologist]] [[Alex Wayman]], Buddhist esotericism centers on what is known as "the three mysteries" or "secrets": the tantric adept affiliates his body, speech, and mind with the body, speech, and mind of a Buddha through mudra, mantras, and [[samadhi]], respectively.{{sfn|Wayman|1977|p=63}} Padmavajra ({{Circa|7th century}}) explains in his ''Tantrarthavatara'' Commentary, the secret Body, Speech, and Mind of the Buddhas are:{{sfn|Wayman|2008|p=36}}

{{blockquote|
* Secret of Body: Whatever form is necessary to tame the living beings.
* Secret of Speech: Speech exactly appropriate to the lineage of the creature, as in the language of the yaksas, etc.
* Secret of Mind: Knowing all things as they really are.
}}

These elements are brought together in the practice of tantric deity yoga, which involves visualizing the deity's body and mandala, reciting the deity's mantra, and gaining insight into the nature of things based on this contemplation. Advanced tantric practices such as deity yoga are taught in the context of an initiation ceremony by tantric gurus or vajracharyas (vajra-masters) to the tantric initiate, who also takes on formal commitments or vows (''samaya'').{{sfn|Gray|2007|p=132}} In [[Tibetan Buddhism]], advanced practices like deity yoga are usually preceded by or coupled with "preliminary practices" called ''[[ngondro]]'', consisting of five to seven accumulation practices and includes [[Prostration (Buddhism)|prostrations]] and recitations of the [[Vajrasattva#Hundred Syllable Mantra|100 syllable mantra]].{{sfn|Ray|2001|p=178}}

Vajrayana is a system of tantric [[lineage (Buddhism)|lineages]], and thus only those who receive an empowerment or initiation (''[[Abhiṣeka|abhiseka]]'') may practice the more advanced esoteric methods. In tantric deity yoga, mantras, or bijas are used during the ritual evocation of deities that are said to arise out of the uttered and visualized mantric syllables. After the deity's image and mandala has been established, heart mantras are visualized as part of the contemplation in different points of the deity's body.{{sfn|Williams|Tribe|Wynne|2012|pp=223-224}}

Most Tantric Buddhists believe nirvana is achievable in a single lifetime with "vigorous study and meditation".<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Day in the Life of China |publisher=[[William Collins, Sons|Collins]] |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-00-215321-8 |editor-last=Cohen |editor-first=David |location=San Francisco |page=193}}</ref>

===Deity yoga===
{{main|Deity yoga}}
[[File:Schildering uit reeks over de Sarvavid Vairocana Mandala - Licht, anoniem, ca 1799, MAS.jpg|thumb|An 18th century Mongolian miniature which depicts a monk generating a tantric visualization]]
[[File:種字阿弥陀三尊像-Amida Triad in the Form of Sacred Sanskrit Syllables MET DP221030 (cropped).jpg|thumb|A Japanese depiction of the Amida Triad in Seed Syllable form ([[Siddhaṃ script|Siddham Script]]). Visualizing deities in the form of seed syllables is a common Vajrayana meditation. In Shingon, one of the most common practices is {{Nihongo|2=阿字觀|3=Ajikan}}, meditating on the syllable A.]]

The fundamental practice of Buddhist Tantra is "[[deity yoga]]" (''devatayoga''), meditation on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''), which involves the recitation of mantras and prayers and visualization of the deity, the associated [[mandala]] of the deity's [[pure land|Buddha field]], along with consorts and attendant Buddhas and bodhisattvas.{{sfn|Garson|2004|p=37}} According to the Tibetan scholar [[Tsongkhapa]], deity yoga separates Tantra from Sutra practice.{{sfn|Powers|2007|p=271}}

In the Unsurpassed Yoga Tantras, the most widespread tantric form in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, this method is divided into two stages, generation (''utpatti-krama'') and completion (''nispanna-krama''). In the generation stage, one dissolves one's reality into emptiness and meditates on the deity-mandala, resulting in identification with this divine reality. During [[deity visualization]], the deity is to be imagined as not solid or tangible, as "empty yet apparent", with the character of a [[mirage]] or a [[rainbow]].{{sfn|Ray|2001|p=218}}

This visualization is to be combined with "divine pride", which is "the thought that one is oneself the deity being visualized."{{sfn|Cozort|2005|p=57}} Divine pride is different from common pride because it is based on compassion for others and an understanding of emptiness.{{sfn|Powers|2007|p=273}} The divine image along with the illusory body is then dissolved into [[Luminous mind|luminous]] [[sunyata|emptiness]]. This dissolution into emptiness is then followed by the visualization of the deity and the yogi's re-emergence as the deity.{{sfn|Cozort|2005|p=57}} This practice is repeated over a number of daily sessions. The practitioner proceeds to the completion state after completing a requisite number of mantra repetitions, either defined in the text or given by the empowering lama.{{sfn|Beyer|1973}}

[[File:Практика туммо.jpg|thumb|right|A Tibetan depiction of the perfection stage practices of ''[[tummo]]'' (Skt. ''candali'', inner heat) and ''[[phowa]]'' (transference of consciousness)]]

The Tibetologist [[David Germano]] outlines two main types of completion practice: a formless and image-less contemplation on the ultimate empty nature of the mind and various yogas that make use of the illusory body to produce energetic sensations of bliss and warmth.{{sfn|Gray|2007|pp=73-74}} The illusory body yogas systems like the [[Six Dharmas of Naropa]] and the [[Kalachakra|Six Yogas of Kalachakra]] make use of energetic schemas of human psycho-physiology composed of "energy channels" (Skt. [[Nadi (yoga)|nadi]], Tib. ''rtsa''), "winds" or currents (Skt. ''vayu'', Tib. ''rlung''), "drops" or charged particles (Skt. ''bindu'', Tib. ''thig le''), and [[chakra]]s ("wheels"). These subtle energies are seen as "mounts" for consciousness, the physical component of awareness. They are engaged by various means such as [[pranayama]] (breath control) to produce blissful experiences that are then applied to the realization of ultimate reality.{{sfn|Garson|2004|p=45}}

Other methods associated with the completion stage in Tibetan Buddhism include [[dream yoga]] (which relies on [[lucid dream]]ing), practices associated with the [[bardo]] (the interim state between death and [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|rebirth]]), transference of consciousness (''phowa''), and [[Chöd]], in which the yogi ceremonially offers their body to be eaten by tantric deities in a ritual feast.

===Other practices===
[[File:Astamangala Mandala, Newar people, Nepal, 19th century, bronze inlaid with semiprecious stones - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC03219.jpg|thumb|A Newari Buddhist mandala used for Guru Puja, Nepal, 19th century, gilt copper inlaid with semiprecious stones]]
[[File:Esoteric Buddhist Goma Fire Ritual at Yakuōin Yūkiji 3.webm|thumb|Video of a Shingon Goma Fire Ritual at Yakuōin Yūkiji, [[Mount Takao]]]]
Another form of Vajrayana practice are certain meditative techniques associated with [[Mahamudra|Mahāmudrā]] and [[Dzogchen]], often termed "formless practices" or the path of self-liberation. These techniques do not rely on deity visualization per se but on direct [[pointing-out instruction]] from a master, and are often seen as the most advanced and direct methods.{{sfn|Ray|2001|pp=112-113}}

Another distinctive feature of Tantric Buddhism is its unique and often elaborate [[ritual]]s. They include pujas (worship rituals), [[Monlam Prayer Festival|prayer festivals]], protection rituals, death rituals, tantric feasts (''ganachakra''), tantric initiations (''abhiseka'') and the goma fire ritual (common in East Asian Esotericism).

[[File:Buddhist_spiritual_dance_Bomdila.webm|thumb|A video of the [[Cham dance]], a traditional practice in some sects of Tibetan Buddhism]]

An important element in some of these rituals (particularly initiations and tantric feasts) seems to have been the practice of [[Sexual ritual|ritual sex]] or sexual yoga (''[[Karmamudrā|karmamudra]],'' "desire seal", also called "consort observance", ''vidyavrata,'' and euphemistically as "''[[Puja (Buddhism)|puja]]''"), as well as the sacramental ingestion of "power substances" such as the mingled sexual fluids and uterine blood (often performed by licking these substances off the [[vulva]], a practice termed ''yonipuja'').{{sfn|Gray|2007|pp=108-118}}

The practice of ingestion of sexual fluids is mentioned by numerous tantric commentators, sometimes euphemistically referring to the penis as the "vajra" and the vagina as the "lotus". The ''[[Cakrasaṃvara Tantra|Cakrasamvara Tantra]]'' commentator Kambala, writing about this practice, states:

<blockquote>The seats are well-known on earth to be spots within the lotus mandala; by abiding within it there is great bliss, the royal nature of nondual joy. Therefore the lotus seat is supreme: filled with a mixture of semen and uterine blood, one should especially kiss it, and lolling with the tongue take it up. Unite the vajra and lotus, with the rapture of drinking [this] liquor.{{sfn|Gray|2007|p=118.}}</blockquote>

According to David Gray, these sexual practices probably originated in a non-monastic context and were later adopted by monastic establishments (such as [[Nalanda]] and [[Vikramashila]]). He notes that the anxiety of figures like [[Atiśa|Atisa]] about these practices, and the stories of [[Virupa|Virūpa]] and [[Maitripada|Maitripa]] being expelled from their monasteries for performing them, shows that supposedly celibate monastics were undertaking these sexual rites.{{sfn|Gray|2007|p=126}}

Because of its adoption by the monastic tradition, sexual yoga slowly became either done with an imaginary consort visualized by the yogi instead of an actual person, or reserved to a small group of the "highest" or elite practitioners. Likewise, the drinking of sexual fluids was also reinterpreted by later commentators to refer to illusory body anatomy of the perfection stage practices.{{sfn|Gray|2007|pp=121, 127}}