[Buddha-l] Tantric Buddhism

Erik Hoogcarspel jehms at xs4all.nl
Thu Aug 31 06:21:08 MDT 2006


Joy Vriens schreef:

> Bonjour Bob Zeuschner,
>  
> "I wonder if any of you can recommend a text or texts which could help me
> sort out:
> (1) Indian Hindu Tantric thought 5th-13th century
> (2) Indian Buddhist Tantric thought 5th-13th century
> (3) Tibetan Tantric Buddhism
>
>  
> As I see it, Tibet basically had two periods where "Tantric" teachings 
> were imported the 8th/9th century and the 10/11th century. The tantras 
> of the latter period seem to have a heavy Cachemirian Shivaist 
> influence and include more forceful hathayogic methods and more 
> ritualism, culminating in the Kalacakra. The methods of the former 
> "tantric" period have a more peaceful approach, so it seems to me, but 
> it may simply be a question of this or that tendancy or current 
> dominating in that specific period.

Kashmiri Shaiva stresses nonduality. There must have been some exchange 
between Kashmire and South India, but I found no evidence for exchange 
between Kashmire and Bengal. Most of the mahasiddhas and heroes of the 
first period were Bengali's as far as I know. So I suspect that there 
are also regional differences.

A book which I read long ago and which I liked very much at the time is 
'A brief history of tnatric litterature' by S.C. Banerjee (Naya Prokash, 
Calcutta )


Erik


www.xs4all.nl/~jehms
weblog http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/pub/blogs/blog.php?uid=2950



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