Introduction to Tantra

The swift path to Enlightenment

Within Buddhism there are three spiritual vehicles – or methods of theory and practice – that take us from our present deluded and suffering state to the bliss and freedom of enlightenment. The first is the Hinayana, which includes the foundational teachings and practices that gradually free us from attachment and other delusions and lead us to the everlasting peace of nirvana. The second is the Mahayana, in which the emphasis is opening our heart with universal love and compassion and becoming a Bodhisattva, a person traveling the path to full enlightenment for the sake of all living beings. The third is the Vajrayana, or Tantra. Tantra is a method for swiftly reaching the Mahayana goal of full enlightenment so that we can help all living beings. 

To practice Tantra we use our imagination to identify ourselves as a Buddha, a fully enlightened being, right now. Rather than viewing ourselves as an ordinary being who needs to travel a long path to finally reach enlightenment in the distant future, we visualize ourselves as already a Buddha. Since it is largely grasping ourselves as ordinary that locks us into ordinariness, this kind of wisdom-based imagination is a quick path to enlightenment. Based on this we can then learn to control the energy winds of our subtle body and manifest the deepest levels of consciousness.