Editing Vajrayana (section)

===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.