Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan dismantles the preconception that Buddhism is a religion of mystical silence, arguing that language is in fact central to the Buddhist tradition. By examining the use of 'extraordinary language'-evocations calling on the power of the Buddha-in Japanese Buddhist Tantra, Richard K. Payne shows that such language was not simply cultural baggage carried by Buddhist practitioners from South to East Asia. Rather, such language was a key element in the propagation of new forms of belief and practice. In contrast to Western approaches to the philosophy of language, which are grounded in viewing language as a form of communication, this book argues that it is the Indian and East Asian philosophies of language that shed light on the use of language in meditative and ritual practices in Japan. It also illuminates why language was conceived as an effective means of progress on the path from delusion to awakening.

This book analyses our conventional ways of looking at Buddhism in general and Buddhist tantra in particular. It investigates how the frameworks and structures that were developed for European and Biblical studies have been deployed to interpret various facets of Buddhism. Many such models that still dominate the historical imagination of Buddhist studies have been examined in this book. This book also proposes an alternative approach towards the Buddhist studies and advocates incorporating the critical study of tantra texts from the perspective of traditional accounts.

Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche was a renowned teacher of Tibetan Buddhism with students worldwide. Revered as a teacher by even the Dalai Lama, he was known especially as a master of Buddhist tantra, the powerful esoteric methods for attaining enlightenment swiftly. The teachings in this book are a singular record of his deep learning in that field. Originally delivered in California to a group of Western students, the teachings comment on a classic introduction to tantra by the nineteenth-century Mongolian lama Choje Ngawang Palden. The work, Illumination of the Tantric Tradition, is a staple even today of the curriculum for training young monastics. Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche explains the distinctive features of the four classes of tantra--action tantra, performance tantra, yoga tantra, and highest yoga tantra--by describing the way to progress through their paths and levels. He illuminates key issues in tantric practice that are still a matter for debate within the tradition. Finally, he gives a special treatment of the unique methods of Kalacakra tantra, which is regularly taught around the globe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

This book is unique in the way in which it explains the rich iconography of Tibetan Buddhism in relation to spiritual psychology and the exploration of our inner world. It is a door into the rich and profound symbolism of Tibetan sacred art. The author uses concepts from Western psychotherapy to bridge an understanding of the meaning and functions of these symbols.

Description: This work is a textual based discourse on the Cittavisuddhi-prakarana of Aryadeva, a seminal text which describes the principle and philosophy of Buddhist Tantra. The dispute on the question of Tantric meditative practices having any philosophical foundation or whether those practices have been introduced into the ethico-religious praxis of various religious traditions as a later introduction is a continuing discussion. In this work, it is trying to prove that the introduction of Tantra into Madhyamika philosophy is a natural development and it is proved beyond doubt by reviewing an important work in the Buddhist tradition written by Aryadeva, the Cittavisuddhi-prakarana. The unique dialectical method introduced and used by the Madhyamikas to interpret their philosophy and the conception offunyatd is the guiding principle in this regard. Madhyamika envisages that the conception of sunyata can be interpreted as the proper understanding of the insubstantial nature of object of the world (dharma-nairatmya) and the insubstantial nature of the subjective self which perceives such objects of the world (pudgala-nairdtmya). The dialectics advanced by the Madhyamika is efficient in deconstructing the substantiality of the phenomenal world of objects, but that is effectively possible only after reconstructing the notion of a substantive self using Tantric spiritual practices. The sunyata as the conception of dharma-nairatmya is achieved through reconstructing the substantive notion of the phenomenal world using dialectics, while it as the conception of pudgala-nairatmya is achieved using Tantric spiritual practices.

This book entitled 'Tantra its relevance to modern times' which is a record of Tantrs's long journey, presents an analytical and exhaustive study of the salient features of Tanta and all the elements of the Tantric Cult such as Guru, Sisya, Diksa, Mantra, Yantra, Pratima Puja, Cakra Puja, Pancamakara, Satkarma and Bali. The present work contains the names of Tantra works and their literary value, the names of the Saktapithas and their impact, comparisons of the Vedas, Buddhist Tantras, Islam and Marxism with Tantra, brief introductions of some legendary figures of Tantrika Sadhakas like Sri Ramkrishna, Vamakhyapa, Barada charan etc.