Editing Tibetan Buddhism (section)

=== Tantric sadhana and yoga ===
{{See also|Deity yoga}}
[[File:Chöd_practitioners_at_Boudhanath_stupa.jpg|thumb|[[Chöd]] sadhana, showing the use of [[Damaru]] drum and hand-bell, as well as the [[Kangling]] (thighbone trumpet)]]
[[File:Практика_туммо.jpg|upright|thumb|A section of the Northern wall mural at the [[Lukhang]] Temple depicting completion stage practice]]
In what is called ''[[Anuttarayoga tantra|higher yoga tantra]]'' the emphasis is on various spiritual practices, called [[yoga]]s (''naljor'') and [[Sādhanā|sadhanas]] (''druptap'') which allow the practitioner to realize the true nature of reality.<ref name="Kapstein 83" />

''[[Deity Yoga]]'' (Tibetan: ''lha'i rnal 'byor''; Sanskrit: ''Devata-yoga'') is a fundamental practice of [[Vajrayana]] [[Buddhism]] involving [[Mental image|visualization of mental images]] consisting mainly of [[Buddhist deities]] such as Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and [[fierce deities]], along mantra repetition. According to Geoffrey Samuel:<blockquote>If Buddhahood is a source of infinite potentiality accessible at any time, then the Tantric deities are in a sense partial aspects, refractions of that total potentiality. Visualizing one of these deities, or oneself identifying with one of them, is not, in Tibetan Tantric thought, a technique to worship an external entity. Rather, it is a way of accessing or tuning into something that is an intrinsic part of the structure of the universe—as of course is the practitioner him or herself.{{sfnp|Samuel|2012|p=71}}</blockquote>Deity yoga involves two stages, the generation stage (''utpattikrama'') and the completion stage (''nispannakrama''). In the generation stage, one dissolves the mundane world and visualizes one's chosen deity (''[[yidam]]''), its [[mandala]] and companion deities, resulting in identification with this divine reality.{{sfnp|Garson|2004|p=52}}

In the completion stage, one dissolves the visualization of and identification with the yidam in the realization ultimate reality. Completion stage practices can also include [[subtle body]] energy practices,{{sfnp|Garson|2004|p=45}} such as ''[[tummo]]'' (lit. "Fierce Woman", Skt. ''caṇḍālī,'' inner fire), as well as other practices that can be found in systems such as the [[Six Yogas of Naropa]] (like [[Dream yoga|Dream Yoga]], [[Bardo|Bardo Yoga]] and [[Phowa]]) and the Six Vajra-yogas of [[Kalacakra]].