Hindu Tantra : an Appraisal

On the one hand, there are those who consider Hindu Tantra to be the "fifth Veda", i.e. a continuation of the four Vedas and the subsequent Brahmanical religious texts based on them, the Brâhmanas, the Âranyakas, the Upaniśads, the Purânas and the Bhagavad-Gitâ. In this view, Tantra is one of the corner-stones of the "eternal religion" ("sanâtana-dharma") of Hinduism. The continuity between the Vedic revelation and Tantra is deemed undeniable, and this despite the fact both are like mighty companions, each with a distinct tradition.

On the other hand, as the Rig Veda, the Brâhmanas & the Âranyakas hold no systematic view on Yoga & Tantra, other scholars, collating iconographical, archeological, anthropological and textual evidence, conjecture the earliest practices, defined as specific techniques for operating body & mind (cf. as "technologies of the self" - Foucault), were developed by the renegade ascetics of the early Śramana Movement (ca. 6th & 5th century BCE), i.e. a few centuries before the Buddha.

Although the Keśin Hymn (Rig Veda, X.136) mentions "breath" and the "fire & poison" endured by the extraordinary figure of the "long-haired one", called the "wind's steed", and the Rig Veda as a whole offers little textual evidence for an early Vedic system of Yoga or Tantra, let us assume both disciplines were not yet distinct & differentiated, as it were resonating waves in the continuum of the trance-consciousness of the Vedic shaman-seer. Early Vedic techniques focused on visionary revelation of sacred knowledge (as hymns & statements), used in ritual contexts. Possibly Soma-induced, this Shamanism was eventually lost.

The (re)emergence in the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, of an ascetic movement inspired by the Vedas, coincided with the redaction of the Upaniśads. In fact, the latter may have been composed by these new groups of ascetics. In these texts, union with "the One", hylic pluralism and the subtle anatomy with its sheets, channels, wheels and breaths are mentioned. These authors return to the imagined life of the Vedic seers, and experience the visions for themselves, i.e. directly, without intermediaries. As ritualists, they offered fire and sought rebirth in (the Vedic) heaven.

In the early Upaniśads, perhaps as early as the 6th century BCE, Yoga (as a way to change the mind) as well as Tantra (as the way to use the powers resulting from this change) are present. These texts are very important, for they show a century-old interest in direct spiritual experience. While Yoga appears as a system to attain enlightenment, Tantra seems more occupied with the powers ("siddhis"). Yoga leads to the goal, while Tantra manifests realization.

At the time of Siddhârtha Gautama (ca. 563 - 483 BCE), various groups practiced renunciation (recently, scholars date the "parinirvâna" of the Buddha ca. 400 BCE !). Some of these "wandering" non-Vedic, heterodox ascetics were in the process of becoming more integrated (with resulting discussions and conflicts between various views). Gautama followed their ways (austerities & the meditative "jhânas"), but found these unsatisfactory. His disciples did not keep a Vedic fire and wanted release from rebirth as such. They dropped the whole theo-ontology of Brahmanism and the Vedas.

The Hindu Tantras were foremost associated with Śiva, a deity who always retained a transgressive side. We may conjecture the first Śaivite ascetics (leaving the "vrâtyas", the Vedic "fighting men" aside) were the "Pâśupatas", first mentioned in the Mahâbhârata. They were held to achieve the magical powers of a "siddha" (an "accomplished one"). Their legendary founder, Lakulîśa or Nakulîśa, is placed ca. 100 CE, but these ascetics might as well have existed earlier.

In a general way, the history of early Hindu Tantra is at present impossible to trace. Rooted in a variety of techniques, some of which are clearly transgressive, and in ritual magic, it acquired its typical Śaivite form by the fourth century CE. By contrast, the earliest, unsystematic Buddhist Tantra saw the light in the early 2nd century CE, while the first systematic versions, increasingly integrating transgressive elements, emerged in the 6th & 7th centuries. These dates made some authors (like Govinda) speculate Buddhist Tantra brought Hindu Tantra into being ! This seems farfetched ...

Apparently, Buddhist & Hindu Tantras were more or less co-emergent. The Hindu Tantrics formed centres for highly cultivated experts in various branches of the "inner science" ("adhyâtmavidyâ"). The (later) Buddhist Tantrics belonged to the great Buddhist monastic "universities" ("vidyâlaya").

Hindu Tantra has three major components :

• the identification with a fierce, transgressive male resident deity such as Śiva (placed in a  residence "mandala") ;

• the cult of the fierce goddess ("Śakti") burning the knots in the subtle channel connecting her with her spouse and

• a "subtle body" Yoga, involving the conscious manipulation of "prâna" or the subtle energy (wind) upon which the mind "rides", causing accomplishments - a "siddha" has paranormal powers and can perform the Four Divine Actions of pacification, increase, control & destruction.

The art of circulating life-force may have been derived from Chinese Taoism ("chi'"), although the underlying "subtle anatomy" can be found in the earliest Upaniśads (like the Taittiriya Upaniśad, dated to the fourth or fifth century BCE). The interaction between China & India is however unmistaken.

The transgressive, antinomian spirit implied rituals involving cremation grounds, polluting substances associated with sex & death, fierce gods & goddesses and initiations involving the consumption of the "essences" of the male Guru and his female consort. The central theme was the union of "Śiva" with "Śakti", of the masculine (Solar) transcendence with feminine, immanent (Lunar) energy. Hindu Tantra allowed the Kundalinî-Śakti or "serpent power" (at the base of the spine) to rise and unite with Śiva at the crown of the head (cf. Kundalinî Tantra).

In Hindu Tantra, the negative effects of the overall spiritual degeneration taking place in the dark age ("kali-yuga") must be countered with powerful, radical methods to break through the attachment to conventional relationships and worldly concerns. For the "tântrikas", the Vedas were seen as an earlier revelation which had lost efficacy ! This notion bordered on "heresy", for the Vedic heritage was deemed a revelation of the Divine. But Tantra avoided any direct conflict by claiming its tradition originated from the same source. The methods were adapted to the present age in which desire, craving, grasping and hatred run amok. Confronting afflictive emotions instead of renouncing them, the tantrics integrated practices unacceptable to the Brahmins.

Antinomianism is the basic feature of Hindu Tantra, i.e. it goes against the law or accepted norm. These texts refer to going against the grain, inversion or reversal. This may lead to excentric, extravagant or extremist behaviors. The contrast with the sober & clean way of life of the Brahmin could not be more pronounced. Hence, Hindu Tantra developed two schools : the perilous "left-hand path" of Vâmâchâra, a "kâpâlika-style" practitioner associated with the skull he wore, devoted to transgressive practices involving fear, danger, pain & sexuality, and the "right-hand path" ("dakśinâchâra"), featuring purification rituals and a total surrender to the Divine Mother ("Śakti" in all her forms).

Although antinomianism runs agains the consolidation of power in outer architectures (rulers, kings, states), Tantra got associated with the art & science of dominating the forces of Nature. Identifying the "residence" of the king as the "mandala" of the resident deity, and amply using military symbols in their rituals, both point to the importance of these magicians in the affairs of power, sexuality (marriage, children, etc.), wealth & longevity. Even in Buddhism (in view of the invading Muslims), Tantra was used to control and if necessary destroy the enemies of the Dharma (cf. the Kâlachakra Tantra, covering the whole spectrum of esoteric Buddhism, and aimed to destroy these barbarians).

Hindu Tantra aims at a vast & profound understanding arising from the direct experience of higher states of consciousness during meditation & ecstasy. But the distinction between "vaidika" (Vedic) & "tântrika" (Tantra) always remained pertinent. Both poles of Hindu spirituality continued to interact, giving Brahmin worship ("pûjâ") Tantric features, or explaining Tantric processes in terms of Vedic theology (cf. the pair "Śiva / Śakti").

 The Rise of Buddhist Tantra

Within the context of Mahâyâna, Buddhist Tantra gave rise to again a completely new body of texts. The emergence of this first phase of "Vajrayâna" or "Adamantine Vehicle", the third phase of Indian Buddhism, dates from the early 2nd century CE (other names for it are "Tantrayâna" & "Mantrayâna"). Its earliest tantras are from the "kriyâ" tantra class (Action Tantra) and were translated into Chinese from the 3rd century. This expansion of the Mahâyâna consists in the adoption of additional techniques ("upâya", or "skillful means") rather than in wisdom ("prajñâ"). In particular, rituals, specific Yoga techniques & the use of Deity Yoga are outstanding.

Although Buddhists had strong commitments to avoid an inclusive, supreme deity (introduced in the Kâlacakra Tantra as the "Âdi-Buddha" as late as the 11th century), they developed a wide range of visualizations of the Buddhas, intended to bring about their presence. This "buddhânusmriti" or "recollection of the Buddha", seen in one of the first few Mahâyâna sûtras to be translated into Chinese in the first century CE, probably a century after its redaction, evidences the practice of meditation in front of images or paintings. This visionary procedure may have provided the mechanism by with Mahâyâna texts were held to be the authentic words of the Buddhas. But there are no sexual practices, nor transgressive symbols. Neither does the meditator identify with the visualized Buddha. The first classes of Buddhist Tantras (Action Tantra & Performance Tantra) can be understood as later monastic formalization of these early practices.

This "esoteric" Buddhism remained Indian, secretive, not systematic & a private minority interest until the 8th century, when, with the arising of the Pâla dynasty of Bihar & Bengal (760 - 1142 CE), the Vajrayâna entered the great universities, and Tantra was "purged" (internalized) and formalized. This called for the elimination of Śaivite components, a redefinition of "Śakti" as "prajñâ", wisdom, and a reduction of sexual practices, arrived at by symbolizing & internalizing the union between compassion (the male method-deity) & wisdom-mind (the female wisdom-consort). Indeed, the male was systematically identified with method and the female with wisdom ! However, sexual practices and transgressive symbolism were never completely eliminated, in fact, sexuality reemerged as an important factor in the Kâlachakra Tantra, the culmination of the Buddhist tantric tradition.

Buddhist Tantra became international. This second phase marks the origin of the Vajrayâna proper, including its symbolism, terminology & ritual. The latter is adaptive to circumstance, uses the "standard" subtle apparatus of Hindu Yoga (the Vajra-body of winds, channels, wheels  & drops), but adds the wisdom of seeing reality as it is, i.e. without "own-being" ("svabhâva"). It was largely from the Indian universities at Vikramaśîla and Odantapurî that Buddhism was then taken to Tibet. There, it was integrated in the Buddhayâna, to become the pinnacle of the path to enlightenment (cf. "outwardly Hînayâna, inwardly Mahâyâna, and secretly Vajrayâna"). This happened in several stages, integrating magical Tantra (Padmasambhava), Siddha-based Yogas (the Six Yogas of Naropa), and the Tantras introduced by Atiśa (982 - 1054), Virupa (9th century) and others.

When Tibetan Buddhism was completely reorganized by Tsongkhapa the Great (1357 - 1419), the monastic vow of celibacy and the Highest Yoga Tantra technique of attaining Buddhahood by way of sexual union with a wisdom consort, were harmonized by allowing the monk to become a Superior Bodhisattva, but only a Buddha immediately after death (hence not needing a wisdom consort and so not breaking the vow of celibacy !).

Applying Buddhist philosophy to Tantra involved a radical departure from the realist & idealist Hindu ontologies, rooting the whole experience in great compassion & the wisdom-mind realizing emptiness, the unique features of Buddhism, in particular Mahâyâna.

 Requisites for Mahâyâna Tantra & General Principles

In terms of understanding reality, Buddhist Tantra does not differ from the wisdom of the Great Perfection Vehicle, but introduces, to realize Buddhahood (the Mahâyâna "nirvâna"), two powerful new methods, or ways to carry out an action, namely (a) Deity Yoga (generation) and (b) Inner Fire Yoga (completion). These Yogas cause the two baskets of merit & emptiness to be simultaneously filled (as one result of one technique), and not separately (as two results of various techniques). Compassion (merit) & wisdom (emptiness) are gathered together. This quick collection serves as the basis for a this-life transformation of impure body, speech & mind of an ordinary person into the pure body, speech & mind of a Buddha.

Bodhicitta is the necessary condition to practice Buddhist Tantra. To attempt it without this mind of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings is sheer folly and usually leads to an increase in suffering due to increased self-grasping & self-cherishing (ego-inflation). Without great compassion, the quintessence of relative Bodhicitta, it is impossible for wisdom to arise. The "energy" of merit makes the mind supple enough to conceptualize emptiness distinctly & clearly. Then one understands why the Consequentialism of the Middle Way ("Prâsangika-Mâdhyamaka") is the philosophical viewpoint of the Four Tantra Sets. Inherent existence ("svabhâva") is the target of this view, designating emptiness or absolute Bodhicitta by way of a non-affirming negation. This theoretical view on emptiness is "objective" (emptiness is an object of knowledge) and epistemic (emptiness is the end of substantial instatiation or reification), identifying "samsâra" as a state of mind, affirming the functional existence of interconnected phenomena.

The Tantric Bodhisattva wants to attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings as soon as possible. There is no time to waste. To really help these countless suffering beings, nothing less than Buddhahood will do. Achieving this in this life, will allow this Buddha-to-be to manifest countless forms to help & bless others until the whole of "samsâra" ceases. So all Tantric Bodhisattvas are Sutric Bodhisattvas, while not all Sutric Bodhisattvas are "tântrikas". Sutric Bodhisattvas possess Bodhicitta and so are allowed to enter the Vajrayâna.

The Sûtras are called "causal" because they shape the conditions for the effect, namely Buddhahood. The Tantras as called "resultant" because they take the result (Buddhahood) into the path (Deity Yoga) before it has been attained, but anticipate it. Imagining having the abilities of Buddhahood to be gained in the future in the present, creates the causes to attain these more quickly.

As long as Bodhicitta is fabricated (i.e. not spontaneous), it needs to be "generated" and consolidated (by mind training). At some point though, Bodhicitta comes as natural as breathing. Then the Path of Accumulation is entered and the Bodhisattva is truly established (ready to take the Bodhisattva Vow). To perfect the practice of the Six Perfections, further Insight Meditations into emptiness are required. Bodhisattvas who attain "superior seeing" (begin the Path of Preparation) are able to establish emptiness by way of conceptual thought. This enables them to enter the Tantic path (of generation) and practice Deity Yoga, preparing them for the next stage, completion. The latter is however impossible to finish without having entered the Path of Seeing and established, during meditative equipoise, a direct experience of emptiness devoid of conceptualization.

In the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, Inner Fire Yoga makes use of the subtle anatomy of the body (cf. hylic pluralism), consisting of subtle winds ("prâna"), channels ("nâdîs"), energy wheels ("chakras") and seminal drops ("bindu"). To produce bliss, this Yoga aims to bring the winds into the "central" channel and make (by means of vase breathing) the "drops melt", while Deity Yoga, the core technique of generation stage Tantra, prepares for this crucial event. To achieve Buddhahood with Action Tantra, Performance Tantra or Yoga Tantra, Deity Yoga is coupled with other Yogas than Inner Fire Yoga. In these lower Tantras, the process of transformation can however not be completed in one lifetime. Only Highest Yoga Tantra offers this !

As the subtle body is the energy-matrix underpining all physical processes, wrong techniques may damage this fine network, causing reduced immunity, disease, shortened lifespan, insanity or sudden death (cf. "wind" disease). By contrast, a successfull tantric, besides being very compassionate, has strong health, feels & behaves youthful, has a prolonged lifespan, extraordinary mental capacities and is able to choose where he or she will be reborn.

 The Four Tantra Sets : Levels of Desire

The Gelugpa explanation of the Four Tantra Sets, constituting systems of analogy, involves the intensity with which desire is satisfied. Desire is the overruling quality of cyclic existence as experienced by the six classes of sentient beings of the Desire Realm in general, but manifests in the human world as strong attachment, the exaggerated desire for what pleases and the exaggerated desire to avoid was displeases. Therefore, in Tantra, desire is the "prima materia" to be transformed into wisdom.

In accord with the late Indian Buddhist classification of philosophical trends in four views (analytical, traditional, experiental & centrist), the Tantras are usually divided in four classes : Action ("kriyâ"), Performance ("caryâ"), Yoga ("yoga") & Highest Yoga ("anuttarayoga"). The first three are also called "lower Tantras", the last set "higher tantra". In the Tibetan Old Translation School (the Nyingmapas), Highest Yoga Tantra is further subdivided in Father Tantra, Mother Tantra & Non-Dual Tantra.

Each level of intensity of desire is associated with a level of interiority (note how higher levels of desire-satisfaction call for higher levels of interiority, causing sexual union to correspond with complete interiority) :

• Action Tantra : practitioners delight in external ritual over yogic concentration = partners in love laughing at each other ;

• Performance Tantra : practitioners delight in external ritual & internal yogic concentration equally = partners in love mutually gazing at each other ;

• Yoga Tantra : practitioners delight inner yogic concentration over external ritual = partners in love holding hands ;

• Highest Yoga Tantra : practitioners delight in internal yogic concentration = partners in love sexually unite.

There are many unorthodox analogical schemes. In his Ngagrim Chenmo (Great Discourse on Secret Mantra), Tsongkhapa argues against the idea Action and Performance Tantras curtail Deity Yoga by eliminating Self-generation. For him, all Tantras involve Deity Yoga, and Deity Yoga implies Self-generation. The threefold correspondence prevalent in Buddhist Tantras (body, speech, mind) suit the Four Tantra Sets well :

• Action Tantra : practitioners primarily purify the body by way of external ritual realizing its emptiness (external washing) - the Deity is a superior, not an equal ;

• Performance Tantra : practitioners primarily purify speech by way of the interaction between external ritual and internal concentration realizing its emptiness (inner washing) - the Deity is not yet an equal, but more like a senior family member ;

• Yoga Tantra : practitioners primarily purify mind by way of internal concentration realizing emptiness (secret washing) - the Deity is treated as an equal, a peer ;

• Highest Yoga Tantra : practitioners purify & unite body, speech & mind by way supreme internal concentration realizing their emptiness (ultimate washing) - the Deity and the tantric are one being.

ACTION TANTRA primarily focuses on ritual activity : outer conduct, ablution, offerings, cleanliness, eating & drinking codes, clothing etc.  To overcome the separation between ordinary (conventional) life and the Divine (in the form of the Deity), one conforms to a way of purity in attire & conduct, visualizing the Deity and recollecting the emptiness of one's own ego. Traditionally, some Action Tantras position the Deity only outside of oneself, and foster the notion of inferiority to the Deity. As Tsongkhapa wrote, this is not the case for all Action Tantras. Eventually, a vivid experience of oneself as indivisible from the Deity arises.

There are three families of Action Tantra Deities :

• the Buddha or Vairochana family (manifesting the Vajra Body of the Buddhas) : Mañjuśrî, Vajrasattva, Mairichi ;

• the Lotus or Amitabha family (manifesting the Vajra Speech of the Buddhas) : Amitayus, Avalokiteśvara, White Tara, Green Tara ;

• the Vajra or Akśobya family (manifesting the Vajra Mind of the Buddhas) : Buddha Unmoving, Vajrapani.

PERFORMANCE TANTRA focuses both on outer rituals and inner Yoga, training in a vast number of actions while entering the inner, empty reality presenting itself in visual and audible Divine representations. Here one is deemed close to the state of the Deity, but not yet fused with it. In Conduct Tantra one visualizes oneself as the Deity and visualizes the Deity outside of oneself. One trains to experience all form as the appearance of emptiness. The practices of this Tantra (Four Concentrations & the Yogas with and without Signs) are very similar to those of Action Tantra.

YOGA TANTRA primarily focuses on the contemplation of the inner reality, placing the yogi in the center of it and establishing a network of subjective relationships with it, appearing in a variety of Divine features. Both are viewed as equal. Method and wisdom are applied inseparably in contemplations on the indivisibility of one's body, speech, mind & activities (the Four Seals) and those of the Deity.

HIGHEST YOGA TANTRA completely focuses on the contemplation of the inner reality, and this in two stages : generation & completion. In Generation Stage Yoga, the three bodies of a Buddha are brought into the path (the Three Bringings) and associated with the process of death, intermediate state and rebirth. Death is brought into the path of the Truth Body. Intermediate state is brought into the Path of the Enjoyment Body and rebirth is brought into the path of the Emanation Body. An imagined Deity body is created or generated, which will become an actual Deity body (the continuously residing body or very subtle wind abiding in the heart-wheel). In Completion Stage Yoga, the winds are made to enter, abide and cease within the central channel and, through the force of Inner Fire Yoga (vase breathing), the subtle drops are made to "melt" producing four levels of increasing bliss. Completion is subdivided in the Yogas of Isolated Speech, Isolated Mind, Illusory Body, Clear Light and Union. Completion Stage Yoga holds the promise of Buddhahood in a single lifetime.

 Guru Yoga : Outer, Inner & Secret

Without empowerment ("abhiśeka"), also translated as "anointing", "consecration",  or "initiation", Tantra cannot be practiced. This is the rule. Empowerment differs from inspiration ("adhiśtana"), often translated as "blessing", "elevation" or "uplifting", like waves bringing magnificence. Empowerments are given by the Tantric Guru or Vajra Master. Entry into Tantra presuppose the Bodhisattva Vow, for without spontaneous Bodhicitta Tantra is vain. Tsongkhapa reminds us Tantra, although the most expedient way to Buddhahood, is not for everybody.

Action Tantra calls for a water empowerment & a crown empowerment. Performance Tantra adds to this the four vases empowerment (lower rebirth, all goodness, dispelling obstructions and love). Yoga Tantra, similar to a Highest Yoga Tantra empowerment, adds the empowerment of the Five Buddha Families & the empowerment of the Vajra Master. The latter gives one permission to teach the Tantra and to continue the lineage. Yoga Tantra and Highest Yoga Tantra demand the commitments of the Five Buddha Families and the Tantric Vows. Keeping these Vows is said to guarantee a swift & easy movement towards enlightenment.

For Tsongkhapa, the Tantric guru is the root of the path, the source of realization, and a living Buddha ! Only through skillful devotion to such a being will blessings be received. Especially in Tibetan Buddhism, emphasis on the virtues of the (usually male) Tantric guru is pertinent. Guru Yoga, a ritualized devotional practice dedicated to the Vajra Master, is conceived as the most profound way to cultivate results. The Tantric guru is the source of empowerment or initiation into the tantric Deity the disciple experiences as his or her Inner Guru. Vows are taken, and if broken, then, after death, a special "Vajra hell" awaits the renegade !

In Zen, a spiritual mentor or spiritual teacher is present, but he or she is not venerated as a living Buddha. In the Theravadin tradition, the teacher is a valued and honored mentor worthy of respect. Only in Tibetan Tantra is the Vajra Master viewed as the very root of spiritual realization. What to think of these differences ? What to think of the Tibetan view ?

In the Sûtra approach, the spiritual teacher, Dharma instructor, meditation trainer, ritual coach, Buddhism professor etc. are there to help us power up our spiritual journey. Because of their good qualities, acting as cherished examples, they give oral transmissions and inspire. These spiritual teachers address the gross levels of mind, based on self-cherishing and conceptual thought (acquired self-grasping).

In the context of Sûtra, Guru Yoga is a ritual way to acknowledge the good qualities of our teachers, so we may relate to them and be uplifted. We may assist them and help them, but we never offer to them. We always try to very generous with them. While we develop devotion and feelings of deep friendship, we do not need to see our teachers as living Buddhas. We do request to be blessed by their presence and inspiration, and this we visualize as entering our heart-wheel in the form of brilliant light. In the Sûtras, our Inner Guru is Bodhicitta itself, i.e. the mind of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Thanks to our Sutric Guru Yoga, Bodhicitta will be generated by knowing & communicating with our Outer Guru. Just as this teacher before us, acting as the Outer Guru, our Inner Guru is replete with good qualities, inspiring us to attain them by ourselves in excellent and sublime ways. After years (or lives) of practice, we slowly transfer the spiritual authority away from the Outer Guru to the Inner Guru, one's acquired compassion & wisdom.

In Tantra, the Vajra Master is the Outer Guru who empowers us to come in touch with the deepest (absolute) level of Bodhicitta, one touching the very subtle mind of Clear Light, a mind beyond the conceptualizations of the gross and subtle minds, a mind "recognizing its own face", its own empty nature. In the Great Perfection Vehicle teachings, gross & subtle minds were center stage. In Tantra, the Inner Guru is the "mind-bound" Tantric Deity ("iśta-deva", "chosen Deity" or Tib. "Yidam") who ferries us to this enlightened mind (enlightened speech, enlightened body). This Inner Guru is the dynamical factor enabling us to reach the Clear Light. It is the "Sambhogakâya" or "Enjoyment Body" in which the Clear Light can manifest and communicate the ineffable bliss of the "Dharmakâya" or "Truth Body", its own absolute absoluteness, the nondual datum of Buddhahood. This process of alchemical transformation has to be ignited by the "Vajra Master", fully realizing his or her own Inner Guru. His role is to connect the disciple with his own Inner Guru and help the disciple to stabilize & root the link with his own "Higher Self".

During the ritual, the Outer Guru must, at least at an intellectual level, be understood to be a living Buddha, although this does not mean the Outer Guru has necessarily attained enlightenment. The Outer Guru confers the "causal" empowerment that ripens. Calling for an accomplished ritualist, a ritual and an instruction, this links the disciple with his or her Yidam and explains how to invoke the Deity (Generation Stage). These planted seeds give rise to "pathway" empowerment from the Inner Guru, the Yidam. Eventually, this leads to "resultant" empowerment from the Clear Light mind of a Buddha (Completion Stage).

The ripening process occurs because the "pathway" empowerment is also a "foundational" empowerment, resulting in all attainments and qualities ripening into Buddhahood. For the Inner Guru is but a manifestation, actualization, luminous solidification of the mind of Clear Light, the sole natural light of the mind, the Secret Guru or "Truth Body" of absolute wisdom.

So in Tantra, initiation has three levels :

• Outer Guru : the Vajra Guru, approached as if he or she is a living Buddha, plants seeds in the mindstream of the disciple (causal empowerment). These seeds ripen and bring the disciple in direct contact with his or her Inner Guru, the Tantric Deity ;

• Inner Guru : this is the Yidam with which the disciple will identify in Deity Yoga. This Yidam is the "Sambhogakâya" (or "Enjoyment Body") manifestation of the Clear Light mind or "Dharmakâya" (or "Truth Body") of the disciple (his or her own Buddha-potential or ultimate nature of mind). It grants "pathway empowerment", acting as the foundation for Buddhahood ;

• Secret Guru : the Clear Mind of each and every sentient being is his or her true Guru. As the very subtle mind, it is beyond all gross and subtle minds. This Truth Body, "Dharmakâya" or "âlaya-jñâna" manifests as the luminous Enjoyment Body of the Yidam. It is the Clear Mind encompassing all excellent qualities.

Traditional Tantric Guru Yoga views the Vajra Guru as a living Buddha. The ceremony for honoring the guru is very extended (cf. Lama Chöpa) and presupposes asymmetry between the Master and his disciple. Veneration, devotion and offerings are common practices. When necessary, the Outer Guru may use his miracle-powers of pacification, increase, control & wrath. This goes well beyond the mere inspiration of Sutric Guru Yoga, for without the "special" blessings of the Vajra Guru, the path cannot be finished. The Outer Guru must aim to connect an aspirant with his or her Inner Guru swiftly, with ease and permanently.

Although Tantra involves the primordial wholeness and completeness of being, represented by the union of the male method-Deities with their female wisdom-consorts, the deeply entrenched domination of woman by the male elite (using sexual intercourse with woman exclusively to charge one's spiritual batteries), gave rise to tantric teachings in which the mother goddess emanated from the masculine god, and the androgyny (male-female forces possessed by a man) remained uncompensated by gynandry (female-male forces possessed by a woman), building in disparity. Then, bi-sexual eroticism is reduced to heterosexual machoism. As a result, and not solely because of this feminist critique, some practitioners try to develop a Navayânic Buddhist Tantra for the West, i.e. in harmony with Western science, secular thought & basic human rights. This goes against the paternalism, the dogmatism and the authoritarian approach of some and calls for rethinking many teachings, rituals and regulations, in particular in the context of Tibetan Buddhism training Western minds !

To close, let me focus on a few salient points :

1. While it may be difficult (but not impossible) for a novice Westerner to walk the spiritual path without a spiritual guide acting as their source of oral transmission, insight & inspiration, the process of relating to Eastern teachers has its own hazards. They seem to lack a deep understanding as to the nature of the Western psyche, in particular our childhood woundings. In the East, the tradition of relating to a spiritual teacher is millennia old. In the West, this is hardly the case and so a certain "naïvité" is often at work. The patriarchal nature of the Eastern Guru-system cannot be transported to the West. Fortunately, in the last decennia, more Western spiritual teachers are at work and so these cultural problems can, in principle, be eliminated.
2. In Buddhism, the crucial divide lies between Sutric teachers and Tantric Gurus. The former are spiritual guides & mentors worthy of respect, who assist us while we study, reflect & meditate. They are "special" in the sense of being accomplished and able to transmit their knowledge & insights. They do not enter our mindstream, nor receive offerings. They are skillful teachers, with extraordinary empathy, capable of being wise friends. Their wisdom protects, creating the "open space" their students need to evolve. As teachers, they may encounter complex and demanding situations, and although their method & wisdom is vaster than that of their students, they try to maintain symmetry and work to allow the student to accomplish certain set goals (like meditative equipose in Calm Abiding, or conceptual insight into emptiness in Insight Meditation). Whilst such cases cannot be excluded (from the side of the student), demanding veneration does not exist from the side of the teacher, who may choose to undermine the very tendency to disrupt symmetry and deify the teacher (the teacher and anti-teacher).
3. In Tantra, only embarked upon after years of Sutric activity, the Vajra Guru or Outer Guru is crucial. He or she is an accomplished meditation master who has finished or is finishing the Bodhisattva training and who is willing to infuse the mindstream of their disciple, so he or she opens up and is linked with his or her own Inner Guru. When this empowerment is conveyed, this yogi has manifests as his own Yidam, and so is a "living Deity" ! This situation can be compared with Western initiation, as in alchemy, Freemasonry or Western mystery traditions. In the West, we lack the culture of viewing our teachers as "special beings", but in spiritual orders this attitude is amply cultivated. Asymmetry is part of the equation. If this is done for the sake of the relationship between the Outer Guru and the disciple, and not to link the disciple with his or her own Inner Guru, then abuse cannot be excluded. In fact, when the disciple confuses his or her Inner Guru with the Outer Guru (because the latter has not imposed the distinction), the Outer Guru is defunct. Indeed, the main task of the Outer Guru is to connect the disciple with this Inner Guru. All techniques able to produce this effect are welcome and necessary. So the Tantric Guru is more than a wise friend, he or she may also be a dangerous friend !

 Generation Stage Yoga and Deity Yoga

The technology of Highest Yoga Tantra involves (a) preparing the ground in the so-called "Generation Stage" and (b) manipulating the subtle anatomy of the various invisible entities constituting the "Vajra body" (cf. hylic pluralism), making the "winds" ("prâna") enter, abide and cease in the "central channel" of this "Vajra body" and allowing the subtle "drops" to melt under the influence of Inner Fire Yoga. These & other procedures make up the "Completion Stage". In the Lower Tantras, of which Action Tantra is the most common, the approach is somewhat different, while Completion Stage Yoga is absent.

Although Buddhahood is only achieved at the end, Generation Stage Yoga includes the simultaneous gathering of merit (the substantial cause of the "Form Body") and wisdom (the substantial cause of the "Truth Body") by way of Deity Yoga. It is not causal, but resultant, taking the fruit (Buddhahood) into the path. This is done by letting the "form" of a fully enlightened being or Deity spontaneously rise as a result of interdependent conditions, being of the same empty nature as the yogi. As this form rises after the inherent existence of the conventional "I" and its context have been cancelled, it is the result of wisdom.

Although no-self ("anâtman") is one of the seals of Buddhism, Tantra personifies our potential for enlightenment or wholeness in the symbolic form of the Deity, embodying our Buddha-nature, generated out of the ultimate nature of our mind. This Deity bridges the two aspects of reality, namely conventional (relative) truth & ultimate (absolute) truth. The Deity is an interface or ferry, carrying consciousness to the "other shore of wisdom", i.e. from the Emanation Body of conventional truth to the Truth Body or ultimate truth.

The Deities are the countless inspirational Enjoyment Bodies of the supreme virtuous minds of absolute Bodhicitta, the infinite masks of ultimate truth or manifestation of emptiness. No longer a mere conventional truth, a Deity is a pure, luminous & dynamic, rainbow-like manifestation rising out from the ultimate nature of all phenomena : emptiness. The latter is not a positive state, nor a negative state, nor any logical operation between these two states. Utterly ineffable, only the un-saying of the "Via Negativa" remains.

Of this emptiness or ultimate truth, the Deity is a threshold-phenomenon, and isthmus, i.e. a relatively narrow strip connecting the Two Truths, touching both simultaneously and dynamically, i.e. with a definitive movement away from conventional truth to the right view understanding its objects thoroughly, i.e. wisdom. This shift is the work of the Deity, emerging out and remaining in emptiness and thus radically unlike the "Gods & Goddesses" of Western Paganism (Ancient Egypt, Hermetism, Greco-Roman religion, Hermeticism) as well as Hinduism, who are examples of theo-ontologies, i.e. Supreme Beings conceived as inherently existing "out there".

The function of the Buddist Deity is to allow the Truth Body of a Buddha to manifest and benefit others (which cannot be the case on the level of ultimate truth). This luminous body with its very subtle mind is however without any trace of substantiality, and functions to cross the divide between the ultimate reality of the Buddhas ("Dharmakâya") and the relative reality of our conventional world ("Nirmânakâya"). Hence, the Deity in Buddhism is exceptional. Without being God or a God, the Buddhist Deity is Divine !

Like unproduced space (lacking obstructive contact), emptiness is a permanent phenomenon. While space negates obstructive contact, emptiness negates inherent existence, a "reality" on its own ("svabhâva"). The Deity appears as a luminous form in unproduced space and is, at the same moment, cognized by a mind realizing emptiness. The appearance of and identification with the Deity is "entering the vessel" of alchemy, the "furnace" or "athanor" in which the transformation takes place. The Deity is the "Higher Self" emerging out of emptiness.

In Deity Yoga, the Deity can be generated outside or within. In the former case, the Deity is visualized outside and in front (or above) us, in the latter, the Deity is made to rise from within and coincides with our own subtle body & subtle mind. This Self-generation is the mental generation of the "tântrika" as enlightened being. Both cases establish the Deity in six stages known as the "Six Deities". Establishment means a shift has taken place from the Deity as a cognitive object to the Deity as a cognizing subject.

Deity Yoga establishes the reality of the Deity (the Resident Mandala) and its environment (the Residence Mandala), transforming the impure "I" & its world in the subtle reality of the Deity-in-its-Mandala (the Resident in the Residence). The Deity making the mind firm is not designated on the basis of "my" physical body and "my" casual mind or conventional "I". This would identify it with the conventional truth of myself only and stop the needed dynamic away from the deluded understanding of reality, one appearing as inherently existing while ultimate analysis shows otherwise.

The Deity is designated on the basis of (a) a body of light rising out of the wisdom realizing emptiness like a fish jumps out of water (implying a direct conscious awareness of emptiness, like in "superior seeing"), and (b) a wisdom-mind fused with a seed syllable and the mantra of the Deity, as in meditative equipoise during Calm Abiding.

The aim of Deity Yoga is a perfect visualization of the generic image of the Deity with a mind in meditative equipoise on its empty seed or mantra and this while generating the Divine Pride of identifying with these subtle bases of designation (the luminous body and the enlightened mind). The measure of firmness in Deity Yoga is indicated, according to Tsongkhapa, by "whether going, standing, or sitting is always immovable though moving about". Once this is realized, the yogi enters and exits the Deity (switches from gross to subtle bases of designation) as one would put on and off a garment.

This signals the readiness for completion.

 Completion Stage Yoga and Inner Fire Yoga

In Completion Stage Yoga, only available in Highest Yoga Tantra, the "tântrika", while assuming the Deity, makes the subtle winds enter, abide and cease in the central channel of the Vajra-body, allowing the very subtle mind carried by the very subtle wind (in the heart-wheel) to manifest as the "Truth Body" ("Dharmakâya") & the "Form Body" ("rûpakâya" or "Nirmânakâya" + "Sambhogakâya") of a Buddha, actualizing the ultimate nature of mind, its Clear Light.

The subtle & very subtle techniques of Completion Stage Yoga make, once the winds enter, abide & cease in the central channel, the seminal drops to communicate. The "white drop", Lunar, of the nature of bliss and received from the father (crown-wheel), and the "red drop", Solar, of the nature of emptiness and received from the mother (navel-wheel), define the vitality, strength and power of the subtle energy-body, directly linked with the "Enjoyment Body" to come (the very subtle wind is the substantial cause of the "Sambhogakâya"). Using "vase breathing", the red drop, abiding in the navel energy-wheel, is ignited and this "inner fire" unbinds the "knots" of the heart-wheel & the throat-wheel, making the white drop, abiding in the crown-wheel, to "melt", causing levels of bliss (known as the Four Joys). This great bliss is then mixed with the wisdom realizing emptiness, destroying very subtle delusion, making the Clear Light shine forth, entering Buddhahood.

The Form Body is generated to help others, to actually perform enlightened actions and engage Dharma. It is of no other use. There is no better reason to cease the singular focus on the ineffable bliss of the "Dharmakâya" than the sublime thought generating compassion for those who are still suffering. How can there be true peace when there are still beings contaminated and in pain ? This mind of enlightenment for all sentient beings or Bodhicitta the great treasure of the Mahâyâna. Dedication of all merit to the benefit of all others, projects the vast scope of working for every single sentient being.

Although a Buddha has vast miracle-powers, s/he is not omnipotent (cannot take away ripening "karma", but merely deflects it) and does not interfere in the free will of human beings, except if the survival of the Dharma is at stake (cf. the "Dharmapâlas"). Final enlightenment bestows omnipresence & omniscience. Sentient beings open to receive the blessings of a Buddha instantaneously do so, benefiting countless others.

 A Critique of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra

The dynamic structure of the Vajra-body was no discovery of Vajrayâna, rather it was adopted from pre-Buddhist times (cf. the Upaniśads) and possibly from Chinese medical thinking. Although the Kâlachakra Tantra displays many parallels with Hindu Kundalinî Yoga, with regard to the subtle bodily techniques needed to arouse the female "kundalinî", important differences between these cultural traditions pertain.

Traditional Buddhist Tantra, as it was preserved and developed in Tibet, unleashes the "inner fire" in the navel and do not focus on the point between the anus and the root of the penis like the Hindus & the Chinese. The "candali" flares up in the belly of the Vajra Master and her heat, kindled by vase breathing, rises to "melt" the "cool" white drops abiding in the crown wheel. This melting takes places in four stages (the Four Joys). Once she has vaporized the wheels up to the roof of the skull and melts, on account of its "watery" character, the white male drops stored there, the "fire woman" is extinguished.

Why is the feminine, linked with the passive element in India, China & the West, here equated with the activity of destructive fire ? Is the hostile attitude of Sutric Buddhism towards the world of appearances, form & womanhood at hand ? As the feminine and the act of birth were deemed responsible for the "terrible burden of life", are "world" & "womanhood" made synonymous ? In Early Buddhism, women could not reach "nirvâna". They had to work hard to "earn" a male incarnation ! At first, even the Buddha doubted whether an order of nuns was appropriate ... By kindling the feminine "drops" within himself, the male symbolically casts the "world-woman" upon the pyre ! All form becomes victim of the flames. Is traditional Buddhist Tantra, as preserved in Tibet, based on a patriarchic male ideology ? The role of the female is made subservient to the salvic goal of the male. As a "wisdom-consort", she merely served the male to establish the supreme goal  : the union of bliss and emptiness. How, given this subtle physiology, a woman may attain enlightenment is unclear (are her red drops situated in her crown-wheel ?).

Moreover, why associate wisdom with the Lunar and the ritual Bell ? Wisdom-mind, being the realization of the Clear Light, cannot be consistently identified with the derivative "cool" light of the Moon (visible at night), but only with the self-kindling, hot fire of the Sun (making the day), the power of the Vajra ... Indeed, the "Sun of wisdom" stands for awakening, while the Moon refers to the method leading up to it (cf. Yesod and the Grade of Theoreticus in the Qabalah). In Tibetan Tantra, this has been reversed.

Contemporary Navayâna Tantra should therefore work out a system leading to a blissfull union of polarities and not to one "males only". On the one hand, the Vajra-male "takes" the feminine, Lunar form-energy of the woman to reach androgyny, on the other hand, the Lotus-woman "assimilates" the masculine, Solar force-energy of the man to reach gynandry. The ideal being sacred omni-eroticism through the union of Lunar bliss & Solar wisdom. In the spirit of the Highest Yoga Tantra, androgynous guru-god and gynandric mistress-goddess are one. This Tantric scheme is far more balanced. It can already be found in Taoist Inner Alchemy, were both male and female bodies are able to achieve enlightenment by means of their respective omni-erotic energies.

To arrive at such a new Buddhist Tantra, prevailing correspondences are no longer valid. As in Hindu Yoga, Taoist Inner Alchemy, Traditional Chinese Medicine & the Western Tradition, the feminine is equated with the Lunar, with Form (Left Pillar) & the passive, i.e. with Yin. This is consistent with the association of the "kundalinî" ("Śakti") with the bottom of the spine (cf. the Gate of Life & Death or Hui-Yin at the perineum & the passive Earth Field or Tan-Tien at the navel in Taoism, or Malkuth/Yesod in Qabalah). The masculine is then Solar, active, Force (Right Pillar), i.e. Yang, situated at the top of the spine ("Śiva", and the active Heaven Field or Pui-Hui at the crown, or Kether in Qabalah).

The traditional Tibetan Buddhist correspondences, based on an exclusive masculine model, mostly do no more than foster Guru-Yoga to "enhance" and "develop" the process ignited by initiation. Instead of giving the disciples the tools to grow up by themselves well assisted, they often result in an increased dependence upon the male Vajra Guru, at times leading to grotesque, abasing & potentially abusive forms of Guru-worship, whereby the Guru needs to be "deified" as a Living Buddha ... Projected collectively as spirito-communal phenomena, such strategies bring to life the doctrine of "lineages", "tulkus" & other Buddhocratic & Buddhomanic inventions, as Tibetan Buddhism evidences.

The question before us : what is the structure of such a Navayânic Tantra ?

The Mandala of the Navayâna

The specificity of Buddhist Tantra lies in (a) the negation of the inherent existence of the deities, and hence of Śiva & Śakti and their immortalizing & liberating union and (b) building all tantric technology on the Three Doors of "karma" : body, speech & mind. Because "karma" is a "dependent-arising", it is part of the "method-side" of the tantric equation (together with compassion & bliss), whereas emptiness or the lack of inherent existence is the "wisdom-side" (together with space). The Tantras offer only a new method (Deity Yoga) to manipulate "karma", and has nothing to add concerning wisdom. Indeed, without at least the conceptual realization of the latter, Tantra may be dangerous (for a relapse into reification remains possible and this time on subtle mental levels). Without compassion, integrating desire leads to increased self-cherishing. This is why Tsongkhapa places so much emphasis on meditations on emptiness. Being able to negate reification is (one of the two) essential preliminaries to Tantra.

Buddhist Tantra wants to transform the samsaric, "karmic" (bound) state into the nirvanic, unbound state. It assumes the unbound state to be the fundamental, original nature or situation of things, and the suffering state merely a reduction, veiling or clouding this original nature. They are not "causal" but "resultant", taking the fruit (Buddhahood) into the path (as the ever-present ultimate nature of the mind itself).

Tantra tries to integrate all afflictive & non-afflictive elements of "samsâra" into one "Gestalt" or visualized whole. This is the "mandala", composed of Residence (the actual matrix representing the world as a whole) and Resident (the consciousness prehending this matrix, positioned in its center) ; this is the notion of "two-in-one" upon which all Tantras are based. The idea is to transform the world and its prehension, starting from gross (deluded) to very subtle (enlightened). Very akin to inner alchemy, Tantra seeks the path to experience the world and ourselves as pure. In the context of the Buddhadharma, "purity" or "perfection" is not entering some perfected, refined or highly "polished" higher or "Divine" ontological plane, but the direct experience of oneself & the world as lacking substance or own-form, i.e. an existence possessing its properties inherently, from its own side, self-powered & self-settled. This experience is automatically complemented by the direct witnessing of the interconnectedness between all phenomena, i.e. oneself (and other selves) and the world at large. This experience of emptiness is what the Buddhadharma identifies as "Divine" and this is not the same as the goal of Hindu Tantra, namely union with a self-settled Deity. There are no self-powered Deities. To think there are, is the pinnacle of delusion ! A Buddha is not self-powered, not a "substance of substances", but displays an ongoing symmetry-transformation, a unique & perfect kinetography.

Let us first discuss a few schemes introduced to organize the core view of the Buddhadharma. Indeed, to classify the structures organizing it, various analogical scheme exist. These correspondences accommodate ritual activity as well as visualization. The fundamental structure is the "key in three", the Triple Gem.

This can be expanded :

And even assist organizing the Buddhadharma as a whole :

These correspondences are universal and pose no problems. Another important classification is the "key in five". It organizes the five aggregates ("skandhas"). Indeed, tantrics study themselves (or look for objective information about their psychological constitution) to discover their predominant desire and work on it by way of the corresponding Buddha Family (cf. the so-called "meditational" or "Dhyâni" Buddhas).

In the Tibetan tradition, the following correspondences are proposed :

Cardinal correspondences are not absolute, but are largely due to cultural conditioning. For example, in the Western Mystery Tradition, based on the Qabalah & Ancient Egyptian religion, "Earth" is green (vegetation, nature, etc.), not yellow. "Air" is yellow (dawn, Sun-rise, etc.), not green. "Water" is associated with feeling, "Air" with thought and "Earth" with form etc, while in the East "Water" is form, "Air" will and "Earth" feeling ! Hence, Buddha Amitabha is associated with the aggregate of thinking, not feeling. He is deemed Fire, not Water. Moreover, within the Tibetan tradition, variations pertain between the sects & lineages. This shows these correspondences are not to be taken as absolutes.

The record here result from a Western understanding of the five elements (Space, Air, Fire, Water, Earth) and their corresponding seasons, colors, cardinal directions, etc. hand in hand with tantric practices. Although the elements represent a universal experience, the way they are perceived depends on conditioning. Someone who first used to train in the Qabalah, finds the Tibetan correspondences impossible to work with, while a newcomer will have less difficulty associating "Earth" with the color yellow and the aggregate of feeling. Once the correspondences are "locked", they "work". They do not possess inherent, substantial value, but express particular associative networks of interdependent phenomena. The mandala can be constructed in various ways and "works" as long as it symbolizes all possible phenomena in a stable set. Of course, greater understanding unfolds more complex mandalas.

To arrive at a comprehensive view, the Navayâna tries to combine Eastern & Western systems of correspondences. It should also be remarked the "elements" as used in Tantra represent stable states (orientations) and not dynamical ones (as in Chinese medical theory, where they represent the 5 phases of one circulating energy : Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

The Five Aggregates with their Afflictions :

The Six Worlds with their Delusions & Perfections :