The Secrets of Tantric Buddhism: Understanding the Ecstasy of Enlightenment

by Thomas Cleary (Translator)

Overview

Unlocking the secrets of Tantra—one of the most alluring forms of Buddhism

Often misunderstood, Tantrism focuses on a particular style of meditation and ritual. Having far more to do with the sacred than the sexual, Tantric Buddhism is believed to have originated around the 5th Century AD in the rich cultural basin of Bengal and spread throughout the Asian world. Today it is widely practiced in Tibet, Japan, and the West.

The Secrets of Tantric Buddhism presents accessible translations of 46 classic texts found in the CaryaGiti, a collection of teachings by more than twenty famous Siddhas, or Tantric adepts, who lived during the illustrious Pala dynasty of the 10th and 11th centuries. Renowned translator and scholar Thomas Cleary unlocks the mysteries of these texts and provides commentary for each that explains the ancient teachings in a way that makes them seem fresh and contemporary.

These teachings emanate from one of the most dynamic sources of Buddhism, at the height of its religious development. They are completely nonsectarian and will be greeted enthusiastically by those interested in spirituality, world religions, and classic Buddhism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578635689
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	02/01/2015
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 2.50(d)

About the Author

Thomas Cleary is an internationally known translator of spiritual classics from Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Pali, and Arabic. He holds a B.A. in Far Eastern Languages from Harvard College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Origins of Tantric Buddhism ix

1 Lui: The body is a tree 1

2 Kukkuri: Having milked the turtle 8

3 Viruba: A single wine-making woman 12

4 Guntari: Pressing the three channels 16

5 Catila: The flow of existence 21

6 Bhusuku: Of what is taken and discarded 26

7 Kahnu: The road was blocked 30

8 Kambalambara: The boat of compassion 33

9 Kahnu: The pillar, so firm 39

10 Kahnu: Outside the city 44

11 Krishna: The energy in the channels 50

12 Krishna: I play a game of chess 54

13 Krishna: 'The Three Refuges are made a boat 59

14 Dombi: Between the Ganges and the Yamuna 67

15 Shanti: On discerning analysis of essence 73

16 Mahidhara: In three bursts 83

17 Vina: The moon is joined to the gourd of the sun 90

18 Krishnavajra: I traverse the three realms 94

19 Krishna: Being and nirvana 98

20 Kukkuri: I am without hope 102

21 Bhusuku: In the dark of night 106

22 Saraha: One constructs being 109

23 Shanti: Carding the cotton 112

24 Bhusuku: The lotus blooms 116

25 Shabara: High, high the mountain 120

26 Lui: Being does not exist 125

27 Bhusuku: clouds of compassion 130

28 Aryadeva: Where the wind of the senses 134

29 Saraha: No dot, no crescent 139

30 Dhendhana: My house has no neighbor 143

31 Darika: By the practice of nonseparateness 148

32 Bhade: So long have I been self-deluded 153

33 Krishnacarya: The arm of emptiness 157

34 Taraka: I have no self 162

35 Sarahs.: The body is a boat 166

36 Saraha: When your mind is split 170

37 Kahnu: For one whose mind-field is rubbish 177

38 Bhusuku: This world is nonexistent 180

39 Kahnu: Emptiness is filled 185

40 Bhusuku: The tree of nature 189

41 Kankana: When the void joins the void 193

42 Kahnu: The mind is a tree 197

43 Jayanandi: Like a mirror 201

44 Dharma: Lotus and Lightning 205

45 Bhusuku: Crossing over, the diamond boat 210

46 Sahara: Void upon void 213

Notes 219

Select Bibliography 225

About the Author 227