REL 2300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Vajrayana, Taoism
Document Summary
Nepal, sikkim, mongolia, and tibetan diaspora occur increasingly in the west. The vajrayana turning begins around the 3-8th centuries. Tantras (in sanskrit) are the ancient esoteric teachings and practices that could date to 2500 bce. This includes visualization, ritual, mantras, mudras, mandalas, union of male and female energies, and perhaps ritual intercourse (very specialized and very rare). Specialized and contained violence can also be a tantric ritual. This grows in the 10th century under atisha. Three tantric practices: quieting the mind, intensive training-compassion and wisdom, vajrayana (the diamond vehicle) + tantrayana (rigorous accelerated oath to reach enlightenment in a single lifetime) A lama is qualified teachers that is sometimes an incarnate bodhisattvas discovered and trained from a young age. Both are ancient traditions indigenous to china. One component is ancestor veneration- this is called li. This is a foundation of east asian culture. The oracle bone is asked a question, then casted onto a fire.
