Within the context of the Greater Vehicle, Buddhist Tantra gave rise to again a completely new body of texts. Śiva & Śakti are no longer substantialized (reified) as the independent ("svatantra") heart of being. The absolute is no longer viewed as self-sufficient and substance-based, but as a dependent-arising and therefore process-based. The personalized, anthropomorphic, connotations (the contexts of the Vedas, Brâhmanas, Âranyakas & Upaniśads) are removed from the view on the essential nature of the Divine. The Divine is approached without the Vedic context !

The Divine identified by Lord Buddha is called "tathâgatagarbha", or Buddha-nature. Nothing more. It lacks ("śûnya") inherent existence ("svabhâva") and exists by way of (universal) interconnectedness & interdependence ("pratîtya-samutpâda"). Existence is a relatively real (logical & efficient) interdependent totality, and so "operational", but is not based on fundamental, essential (simple or complex) substances permanently & inherently existing from their own side, but merely resulting (emerging) from the process of what is ("dharmadhâtu"). The Divine is not self-powered, but totally other-powered. It is full-emptiness, empty of essentialist reification, but full of dependent-arising (inter)relations.

In the Vajñâna-Bhairava Tantra, Śiva is still luminous spaceousness & Śakti ever-moving energy. The Sun of Wisdom is the masculine but still & wise (empty) Śiva and the Moon of Method the feminine, ever-moving (full) Śakti, together Parama Śhiva. In the Hevajra Tantra, the same scheme is found, but the Sun is feminine & the Moon masculine (!).

Why did Buddhist Tantra switch the sexual polarities of the subtle Vajra body (Sun & Moon refer to the two lateral channels of duality) ? Grammatically, "prajñâ" (wisdom) is feminine & method ("upâya") masculine, while symbolically quite the opposite seems true. Indeed, in the Vedic teachings, in Śaiva Tantra, Chinese Taoism, Ancient Egyptian religion & Western Qabalah, the Sun is masculine (shining), the Moon feminine (reflecting).

(1) First Phase (ca. first to 8th century CE) :

The emergence of the first phase of "Vajrayâna" or "Adamantine Vehicle", the third phase of Indian Buddhism, probably dates from the early 2nd century CE. Its earliest texts are from the "kriyâ" tantra class (Action Tantra) and were translated into Chinese from the 3rd century. It was a minority movement of certain individuals (Nâgârjuna, Asanga) and probably began together with the Greater Vehicle. No doubt these practitioners were in close contact with what was happening in Hindu Tantra. After time, an "esoteric" form of Buddhism rose. It remained Indian, secretive, unsystematic & a private minority interest well after Hindu Tantra had already been canonized. Its main object was wisdom ("prajñâ"), the exceptional teaching of the Buddha regarding the ultimate nature of all phenomena. Why did they equate wisdom with a feminine Sun ?

This "expansion" of the Mahâyâna consists in the adoption of additional techniques ("upâya", or "skillful means") rather than in wisdom. In particular, extensive rituals, specific yogic techniques & the use of Deity Yoga are outstanding. Transgressive elements are incorporated, and so desire & the senses. The practitioner brings the fruit (Buddhahood) into the path, and this by identifying with Bodhi-mind and its infinite manifestations, all of "one taste". But the detail about these early tantric practices is unknown.

These early Buddhists tantrics also introduced an inclusive Buddha, a symbol of the universality, timelessness and completeness of the enlightened mind, a Buddha of the enlightened mind of all the Buddhas, enthroned in the Kâlacakra Tantra as the "Âdi-Buddha" as late as the 11th century, but already preluded much earlier in the Tantras in figures like Akśobhya, Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva, Vajradhâra and others. They also developed a wide range of visualizations of the Buddhas, intended to bring about their actual presence. This "buddhânusmriti" or "recollection of the Buddha", seen in one of the first few Mahâyâna sûtras to be translated into Chinese in the first century CE, probably a century after its redaction, evidences the practice of meditation in front of images or paintings. This visionary procedure may have provided the mental mechanism by with Mahâyâna texts were held to be the authentic words of the Buddha (the Fourth Turning is said to have happened when Lord Buddha appeared as Vajradhara in the minds of superior practitioners). But Tantric practice was completely absent in the Lesser Vehicle, and grew out of the Mahâyâna. If so, then the attribution of the Guhyasamâya & Kâlacakra Tantras to a king requesting teachings from Lord Buddha is nothing more than a literary device.

Although in this early phase of the Vajrayâna, there seems to be an incorporation of "special techniques" into regular practice (based on Sutric Mahâyâna), this is only proto-tantra ; there are no sexual practices, nor transgressive symbols, only a more imaginative way to interact with Buddha & Buddhahood. Neither does the meditator identify with the visualized Buddha as in Deity Yoga. The first formal sets of Buddhist Tantras (Action & Performance Tantras) may be understood as later monastic formalizations of these early imaginal practices, involving extensive worship of the chosen Deity (as manifestation of Bodhi-mind). With the rise of "mahâyoga" (Guhyasamâya Tantra - early 7th century), identification with the Deity happens.

(2) Second Phase (ca. 8th to 11th century CE) :

As late as the 8th century, with the arising of the Pâla dynasty of Bihar & Bengal (760 - 1142 CE), the Vajrayâna entered the great universities ("vidyâlaya"), and Tantra was further "purged" (internalized) and strictly formalized. This heralds the second phase of the Vajrayâna.

Hevajra - ca. late 8th or early 9th century ;
Cakrasamvara Tantra - ca. late 8th or early 9th century ;
Kâlacakra Tantra - 11th century.

In this second phase, the historical "purging" of the tantric methods called for limitations imposed on sexual spiritual practices, arrived at by symbolizing & internalizing the union between compassion & wisdom-mind. Because the Sun (of wisdom) was deemed female and the Moon (of method) male, the male Vajra Master was systematically identified with Lunar method (Vajra) and the female consort with Solar wisdom (Bell) ! This notwithstanding that "Vajra" implies "emptiness" and so refers to wisdom.

If the more universal attribution (also found in the Vajñâna-Bhairava Tantra) had been used, the male Vajra Master would have been Solar wisdom (Vajra - Śiva) and his female consort Lunar method (Bell - Śakti). No contra-intuitive correspondences would have been the case and the sexual polarities left in place (Sun being masculine and the Moon feminine).

Male-dominated sexual practices and transgressive symbolism were never completely eliminated, in fact, sexuality reemerged as an important factor in the Kâlachakra Tantra, the culmination of the Buddhist tantric tradition in the 11th century.

(3) Third Phase (ca. 11th to 20th century CE) :

After this, monastic Buddhist Tantra became international. This third phase marks the origin of the Vajrayâna proper, including its "purged" symbolism, terminology & ritual. It culminated in the Kâlacakra Tantra, a Buddhocratic text promoting monasticism and written by and for monks. It was largely from the Indian universities at Vikramaśîla and Odantapurî that Buddhism was then taken to Tibet. There, it was integrated in the Buddhayâna, to become the pinnacle of the path to enlightenment (cf. "outwardly Hînayâna, inwardly Mahâyâna, and secretly Vajrayâna"). This happened in several stages, integrating (mahâyoga & atiyoga) Tantra (Padmasambhava), Siddha-based Yogas (the Six Yogas of Naropa), and the monastic Tantras introduced by Virupa (9th century), Atiśa (982 - 1054), and others. So while Tibetan Tantra is mainly monastic, "wild" exceptions of the "siddhi" type style endured (cf. "mad wisdom" and "secret yogis"). So in Tibet, both the monastic and the siddha-based approach to spiritual life was maintained. The latter had first entered Tibet in the 8th century (Padmasambhava) and incorporated the Indian classification of the Tantras, whereas in the 11th century the former, under pressure of the devastating Muslim invasions, is brought to the Land of Snow. It would remain there and be institutionally practiced in terms of a Buddhocracy without interruption untill 1959 (the date of the exodus of the XIVth Dalai Lama).

When Tibetan Buddhism was completely reorganized by Tsongkhapa the Great (1357 - 1419), the monastic vow of celibacy and the Highest Yoga Tantra technique of attaining Buddhahood by way of sexual union with a wisdom consort, were harmonized by allowing the monk to become a Mahâsattvic Bodhisattva in this life, but only a Buddha immediately after death (hence not needing a wisdom consort and so not breaking the vow of celibacy !). Again we see the influence of monastic rule ("vinâya") on the development of tantric practice.

Buddhist Tantra uses the "standard" subtle apparatus of Hindu Yoga (the Vajra-body of winds, channels, wheels  & drops), but adds the wisdom of seeing reality as it is, i.e. without "own-being" ("svabhâva"). Applying Buddhist philosophy to Tantra involved a radical departure from the realist ("Brahman") & idealist ("âtman") Hindu ontologies (maintaining a self-powered, self-sufficient ground of being). Spiritual experience is the union of great compassion & the wisdom-mind realizing emptiness, the unique features of Buddhism, in particular Mahâyâna. Great bliss is generated and then used to meditate on emptiness. The specific method making both rise simultaneously is specific to Tantra, the "turbo" of the Greater Vehicle. The indissoluble union of wisdom & compassion (emptiness & bliss) being the "mind of enlightenment" (absolute "bodhicitta").

In fact, Tantric union with the chosed Diety remains possible, and hence great bliss can be directly experienced united with wisdom, i.e. with a mind realizing the emptiness of this bliss, in other words, devoid of any trace of substantializing the Deity or the direct blissful experience of its Divine Presence in all possible phenomena. If we accept the highest nondual Śaiva Tantas to no longer essentialize Śiva/Śakti, then the only difference between these highest Śaiva Tantras and their Buddhist equivalent is the absence in the latter of the Vedic cultural context (its terminology and sacred language). Remarkably, atiyoga comes close to the teachings & practices found in the Vajñâna-Bhairava Tantra.

 Requisites for Mahâyâna Tantra & General Principles

In terms of understanding reality, Buddhist Tantra does not differ from the wisdom of the Great Perfection Vehicle, but introduces, to realize Buddhahood (the Mahâyâna "nirvâna"), two powerful new methods, or ways to carry out an action, namely (a) Deity Yoga (generation) and (b) Inner Fire Yoga (completion). These Yogas cause the two baskets of merit & emptiness to be simultaneously filled (as one result of one technique), and not separately (as two results of various techniques). Compassion (merit) & wisdom (emptiness) are gathered together. This quick collection serves as the basis for a this-life transformation of impure body, speech & mind of an ordinary person into the pure body, speech & mind of a Buddha.

Generating relative bodhicitta and understanding emptiness are the necessary pre-conditions to practice Buddhist Tantra. To attempt it without lacking this mind of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings (blocking a thorough conceptual grasping of emptiness), is sheer folly and usually causes an increase in suffering due to heightened self-grasping & self-cherishing (ego-inflation). This is said to lead to a rebirth as a desire-god. Without great compassion, the quintessence of relative Bodhicitta, it is impossible to deeply realize wisdom. The "energy" of merit makes the mind supple enough to conceptualize emptiness distinctly & clearly. Then one understands why the Consequentialism of the Middle Way ("Prâsangika-Mâdhyamaka") is the philosophical viewpoint of the Four Tantra Sets. Inherent existence ("svabhâva") is the target of this view, designating emptiness or absolute Bodhicitta by way of a non-affirming negation (not a choice-negation as in other-emptiness). This theoretical view on emptiness is "objective" (emptiness is an object of knowledge) and epistemic (emptiness is the end of substantial instatiation or reification), identifying "samsâra" as a state of mind, affirming the functional existence of interconnected phenomena.

The Tantric Bodhisattva wants to attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings as soon as possible. There is no time to waste. To really help these countless suffering beings, nothing less than Buddhahood will do. Achieving this in this life, will allow this Buddha-to-be to manifest countless forms to help & bless others until the whole of "samsâra" ceases. So all Tantric Bodhisattvas are Sutric Bodhisattvas, while not all Sutric Bodhisattvas are "tântrikas". Sutric Bodhisattvas possess Bodhicitta and so may eventually "see emptiness" and then enter the Vajrayâna.

The Sûtras are called "causal" because they shape the conditions for the effect, namely Buddhahood. The Tantras as called "resultant" because they take the result (Buddhahood) into the path (Deity Yoga) before it has been attained, but anticipate it. Imagining having the abilities of Buddhahood to be gained in the future in the present, creates the causes to attain these more quickly.

As long as Bodhicitta is fabricated (i.e. not spontaneous), it needs to be "generated" and consolidated (by mind training). At some point though, Bodhicitta comes as natural as breathing. Then the Path of Accumulation is entered and the Bodhisattva is truly established (ready to take the Bodhisattva Vow). To perfect the practice of the Six Perfections, further Insight Meditations into emptiness are required. Bodhisattvas who attain "superior seeing" (begin the Path of Preparation) are able to thoroughly realize emptiness by way of conceptual thought. This enables them to enter the Tantic path (of generation) and practice Deity Yoga, preparing them for the next stage, completion. The latter is however impossible to finish without having entered the Path of Seeing and having established, during meditative equipoise, a direct experience of emptiness devoid of conceptualization.

In the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, Inner Fire Yoga makes use of the subtle anatomy of the body (cf. hylic pluralism), consisting of subtle winds ("prâna"), channels ("nâdîs"), energy wheels ("chakras") and seminal drops ("bindu"). To produce bliss, this Yoga aims to bring the winds into the "central" channel and make (by means of vase breathing) the "drops melt", while Deity Yoga, the core technique of generation stage Tantra, prepares for this crucial event. To achieve Buddhahood with Action Tantra, Performance Tantra or Yoga Tantra, Deity Yoga is coupled with other Yogas than Inner Fire Yoga (namely the Four Concentrations & the Yogas with and without Signs). In these lower Tantras, the process of transformation can however not be completed in one lifetime. Only Highest Yoga Tantra offers this !

As the subtle body is the energy-matrix underpining all physical processes, wrong techniques may damage this fine network, causing reduced immunity, disease, shortened lifespan, insanity or sudden death (cf. "wind" disease). By contrast, a successfull tantric, besides being very compassionate, has strong health, feels & behaves youthful, has a prolonged lifespan, extraordinary mental capacities and is able to choose where he or she will be reborn.

 The Four Tantra Sets : Levels of Desire

The Nyingmapas had an Indian classification of the Tantra sets, one based on the "Nine Yanas" :

► The Sutra System :

* LESSER VEHICLE :

1. Śrâvakayâna : vehicle of listeners or disciples ;
2. Pratyekabuddhayâna : vehicle of the Solitary Buddhas ;

* GREATER VEHICLE :

3. Pâramitâyâna - Sûtrayâna - Bodhisattvayâna : the Great or Causal Vehicle, is the way of those who seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings ;

* DIAMOND VEHICLE :

► Outer/Lower Tantras :

4. Tantra of Action :  a "completed action" with only outer ritual actions ;
5. Tantra of Conduct : balance between outer ritual actions and inner cultivation ;
6. Yoga Tantra or Tantra of Union :  emphasizing the inner yoga meditation of method and wisdom and contemplations of their inseparable unity ;

► Inner/Higher Tantras :

7. Mahâyoga or Great Yoga (masculine, aggression - Father Tantras) : generating oneself as a Deity with consort ;
8. Anuyoga or Subsequent (Further) Yoga (feminine, passion - Mother Tantras) : completing (perfecting) oneself thus ;
9. Atiyoga/Dzogchen or the Ultimate Yoga of the Great Perfection (Nondual Tantras).

Later, in accord with the late Indian Buddhist classification of philosophical trends in four views (analytical, traditional, experiental & centrist), the Tantras were divided by the Tibetans in four classes : Action ("kriyâ"), Performance ("caryâ"), Yoga ("yoga") & Highest Yoga ("anuttarayoga"). The first three sets are "Lower Tantras", the last set "Higher Tantra". Just as had been the case in the "old translation" school (the Nyingmapas), Highest Yoga Tantra was further subdivided in Father Tantras (stressing method), Mother Tantras (stressing wisdom) & Non-Dual Tantras (stressing the unity of wisdom & method).

The later Gelugpa explanation of the Four Tantra Sets, constituting systems of analogy, involved the intensity with which desire is satisfied. Desire is the overruling quality of cyclic existence as experienced by the six classes of sentient beings of the Desire Realm in general, but manifests in the human world as strong attachment, the exaggerated desire for what pleases (passion) and the exaggerated desire to avoid was displeases (aggression, hatred). Therefore, in Tantra, desire is the "prima materia" to be transformed into wisdom.

Each level of intensity of desire is associated with a level of interiority (note how higher levels of desire-satisfaction call for higher levels of interiority, causing sexual union to correspond with complete interiority) :

• Action Tantra : practitioners delight in external ritual over yogic concentration = partners in love laughing at each other ;

• Performance Tantra : practitioners delight in external ritual & internal yogic concentration equally = partners in love mutually gazing at each other ;

• Yoga Tantra : practitioners delight inner yogic concentration over external ritual = partners in love holding hands ;

• Highest Yoga Tantra : practitioners delight in internal yogic concentration = partners in love sexually unite.

There are many unorthodox analogical schemes. In his Ngagrim Chenmo (Great Discourse on Secret Mantra), Tsongkhapa argues against the idea Action and Performance Tantras curtail Deity Yoga by eliminating Self-generation. For him, all Tantras involve Deity Yoga, and Deity Yoga implies Self-generation. He also criticizes prevalent systems or correspondences.

• Action Tantra : practitioners primarily purify the body by way of external ritual realizing its emptiness (external washing) - the Deity is a superior, not an equal ;

• Performance Tantra : practitioners primarily purify speech by way of the interaction between external ritual and internal concentration realizing its emptiness (inner washing) - the Deity is not yet an equal, but more like a senior family member ;

• Yoga Tantra : practitioners primarily purify mind by way of internal concentration realizing emptiness (secret washing) - the Deity is treated as an equal, a peer ;

• Highest Yoga Tantra : practitioners purify & unite body, speech & mind by way supreme internal concentration realizing their emptiness (ultimate washing) - the Deity and the tantric are one being.

► LOWER TANTRAS

ACTION TANTRA primarily focuses on ritual activity : outer conduct, ablution, offerings, cleanliness, eating & drinking codes, clothing etc.  To overcome the separation between ordinary (conventional) life and the Divine (in the form of the Deity), one conforms to a way of purity in attire & conduct, visualizing the Deity and recollecting the emptiness of one's own ego. Traditionally, some Action Tantras position the Deity only outside of oneself, and foster the notion of inferiority to the Deity. As Tsongkhapa wrote, this is not the case for all Action Tantras. Eventually, a vivid experience of oneself as indivisible from the Deity arises.

There are three families of Action Tantra Deities :

• the Buddha or Vairochana family (manifesting the Vajra Body of the Buddhas) : Mañjuśrî, Vajrasattva, Mairichi ;

• the Lotus or Amitabha family (manifesting the Vajra Speech of the Buddhas) : Amitayus, Avalokiteśvara, White Tara, Green Tara ;

• the Vajra or Akśobya family (manifesting the Vajra Mind of the Buddhas) : Buddha Unmoving, Vajrapani.

PERFORMANCE or CONDUCT TANTRA focuses both on outer rituals and inner Yoga, training in a vast number of actions while entering the inner, empty reality presenting itself in visual and audible Divine representations. Here one is deemed close to the state of the Deity, but not yet fused with it. Mantra is essential here. In Conduct Tantra one visualizes oneself as the Deity and visualizes the Deity outside of oneself. One trains to experience all form as the appearance of emptiness. The practices of this Tantra (Four Concentrations & the Yogas with and without Signs) are very similar to those of Action Tantra.

YOGA TANTRA primarily focuses on the contemplation of the inner reality, placing the yogi in the center of it and establishing a network of subjective relationships with it, appearing in a variety of Divine features. Both are viewed as equal. Method and wisdom are applied inseparably in contemplations on the indivisibility of one's body, speech, mind & activities and those of the Deity (the Four Seals) .

► HIGHER TANTRAS

HIGHEST YOGA TANTRA completely focuses on the contemplation of the inner reality, and this in two stages : generation & completion. In Generation Stage Yoga, the three bodies of a Buddha are brought into the path (the Three Bringings) and associated with the process of death, intermediate state and rebirth. Death is brought into the path of the Truth Body. Intermediate state is brought into the Path of the Enjoyment Body and rebirth is brought into the path of the Emanation Body. This is the Deity Yoga practiced in Highest Yoga Tantra. Indeed, an imagined Deity body is created or generated, which will become an actual Deity body (the continuously residing body or very subtle wind abiding in the heart-wheel). In Completion Stage Yoga, the winds are made to enter, abide and cease within the central channel and, through the force of Inner Fire Yoga (vase breathing), the subtle drops are made to "melt" producing four levels of increasing bliss burning away all ignorance (Four Joys). Completion is subdivided in the Yogas of Isolated Speech, Isolated Mind, Illusory Body, Clear Light and Union. Completion Stage Yoga holds the promise of Buddhahood in a single lifetime.

 Guru Yoga : Outer, Inner & Secret

Without empowerment ("abhiśeka"), also translated as "anointing", "consecration",  or "initiation", Tantra cannot be practiced. This is the rule in both Hindu & Buddhist Tantra. Empowerment differs from inspiration ("adhiśtana"), often translated as "blessing", "elevation" or "uplifting", like waves bringing magnificence. Empowerments are given by the Tantric Guru or Vajra Master. Entry into Buddhist Tantra presuppose the Bodhisattva Vow, for without spontaneous Bodhicitta Tantra is vain. Tsongkhapa reminds us Tantra, although the most expedient way to Buddhahood, is not for everybody.

Action Tantra calls for a water empowerment & a crown empowerment. Performance Tantra adds to this the four vases empowerment (lower rebirth, all goodness, dispelling obstructions and love). Yoga Tantra, similar to a Highest Yoga Tantra empowerment, adds the empowerment of the Five Buddha Families & the empowerment of the Vajra Master. The latter gives one permission to teach the Tantra and to continue the lineage. Yoga Tantra and Highest Yoga Tantra demand the commitments of the Five Buddha Families and the Tantric Vows. Keeping these Vows is said to guarantee a swift & easy movement towards enlightenment.

For Tsongkhapa, the Tantric guru is the root of the path, the source of realization, and a living Buddha ! Only through skillful devotion to such a being will blessings be received. Especially in Tibetan Buddhism, emphasis on the virtues of the (usually male) Tantric guru is pertinent. Guru Yoga, a ritualized devotional practice dedicated to the Vajra Master, is conceived as the most profound way to cultivate results. The Tantric guru is the source of empowerment or initiation into the tantric Deity the disciple experiences as his or her Inner Guru. Vows are taken, and if broken, then, after death, a special "Vajra hell" awaits the renegade !

In Zen, a spiritual mentor or spiritual teacher is present, but he or she is not venerated as a living Buddha. In the Theravadin tradition, the teacher is a valued and honored mentor worthy of respect. Only in Tibetan Tantra is the Vajra Master viewed as the very root of spiritual realization. What to think of these differences ? What to think of this view prevalent in Tantra ?

In the Sûtra approach, the spiritual teacher, Dharma instructor, meditation trainer, ritual coach, Buddhism professor etc. are there to help us power up our spiritual journey. Because of their good qualities, acting as cherished examples, they give oral transmissions and inspire. These spiritual teachers address the gross levels of mind, based on self-cherishing and conceptual thought (acquired self-grasping).

In the context of Sûtra, Guru Yoga is a ritual way to acknowledge the good qualities of our teachers, so we may relate to them and be uplifted. We may assist them and help them, but we never offer to them. We always try to very generous with them. While we develop devotion and feelings of deep friendship, we do not need to see our teachers as living Buddhas. We do request to be blessed by their presence and inspiration, and this we visualize as entering our heart-wheel in the form of brilliant light. In the Sûtras, our Inner Guru is Bodhicitta itself, i.e. the mind of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Thanks to our Sutric Guru Yoga, Bodhicitta will be generated by knowing & communicating with our Outer Guru. Just as this teacher before us, acting as the Outer Guru, our Inner Guru is replete with good qualities, inspiring us to attain them by ourselves in excellent and sublime ways. After years (or lives) of practice, we slowly transfer the spiritual authority away from the Outer Guru to the Inner Guru, one's acquired compassion & wisdom.

In Tantra, the Vajra Master is the Outer Guru who empowers us to come in touch with the deepest (absolute) level of Bodhicitta, one touching the very subtle mind of Clear Light, a mind beyond the conceptualizations of the gross and subtle minds, a mind "recognizing its own face", its own empty nature. In the Great Perfection Vehicle teachings, gross & subtle minds were center stage. In Tantra, the Inner Guru is the "mind-bound" Tantric Deity ("iśta-deva", "chosen Deity" or Tib. "Yidam") who ferries us to this enlightened, very subtle mind (enlightened speech, enlightened body). This Inner Guru is the dynamical factor enabling us to reach the Clear Light. It is the "Sambhogakâya" or "Enjoyment Body" in which the Clear Light can manifest and communicate the ineffable bliss of the "Dharmakâya" or "Truth Body", its own absolute absoluteness, the nondual datum of Buddhahood. This process of alchemical transformation has to be ignited by the "Vajra Master", fully realizing his or her own Inner Guru. His role is to connect the disciple with his own Inner Guru and help the disciple to stabilize & root the link with his own "Higher Self". That's why initiation is crucial.

During the ritual, the Outer Guru must, at least at an intellectual level, be understood to be a living Buddha, although this does not mean the Outer Guru has necessarily attained enlightenment. The Outer Guru confers the "causal" empowerment that ripens. Calling for an accomplished ritualist, a ritual and an instruction, this links the disciple with his or her Yidam and explains how to invoke the Deity (Generation Stage). These planted seeds give rise to "pathway" empowerment from the Inner Guru, the Yidam. Eventually, this leads to "resultant" empowerment from the Clear Light mind of our Buddha-nature (Completion Stage).

The ripening process occurs because the "pathway" empowerment is also a "foundational" empowerment, resulting in all attainments and qualities ripening into Buddhahood. For the Inner Guru is but a manifestation, actualization, luminous solidification of the very subtle mind of Clear Light of the practitioner, the sole natural light of the mind, the Secret Guru or "Truth Body" of absolute wisdom.

So in Tantra, initiation has three levels :

• Outer Guru : the Vajra Guru, approached as if he or she is a living Buddha, plants seeds in the mindstream of the disciple (causal empowerment). These seeds ripen and bring the disciple in direct contact with his or her Inner Guru, the Tantric Deity ;

• Inner Guru : this is the Yidam with which the disciple will identify in Deity Yoga. This Yidam is the "Sambhogakâya" (or "Enjoyment Body") manifestation of the Clear Light mind or "Dharmakâya" (or "Truth Body") of the disciple (his or her own Buddha-potential or ultimate nature of mind). It grants "pathway empowerment", acting as the foundation for Buddhahood ;

• Secret Guru : the Clear Mind of each and every sentient being is his or her true Guru. As the very subtle mind, it is beyond all gross and subtle minds. This Truth Body, "Dharmakâya" or "âlaya-jñâna" manifests as the luminous Enjoyment Body of the Yidam. It is the Clear Mind encompassing all excellent qualities.

Traditional Tantric Guru Yoga views the Vajra Guru as a living Buddha. The ceremony for honoring the guru is very extended (cf. Lama Chöpa) and presupposes asymmetry between the Master and his disciple. Veneration, devotion and offerings are common practices. When necessary, the Outer Guru may use his Tantric miracle-powers of pacification, increase, control & wrath. This goes well beyond the mere inspiration of Sutric Guru Yoga, for without the "special" blessings of the Vajra Guru, the Tantric path cannot be started. The Outer Guru must aim to connect an aspirant with his or her Inner Guru swiftly, with ease and permanently.

To close, let me focus on a few salient points :

1. While it may be difficult (but not impossible) for a novice Westerner to walk the spiritual path without a spiritual guide acting as their source of oral transmission, insight & inspiration, the process of relating to Eastern teachers has its own hazards. They seem to lack a deep understanding as to the nature of the Western psyche, in particular our childhood woundings. In the East, the tradition of relating to a spiritual teacher is millennia old. In the West, this is hardly the case and so a certain "naïvité" is often at work. The patriarchal nature of the Eastern Guru-system cannot be transported to the West. Fortunately, in the last decennia, more Western spiritual teachers are at work and so these cultural problems can, in principle, be eliminated.
2. In Buddhism, the crucial divide lies between Sutric teachers and Tantric Gurus. The former are spiritual guides & mentors worthy of respect, who assist us while we study, reflect & meditate. They are "special" in the sense of being accomplished and able to transmit their knowledge & insights. They do not need to enter our mindstream, nor receive offerings. They are skillful teachers, with extraordinary empathy, capable of being wise friends. Their wisdom protects, creating the "open space" their students need to evolve. As teachers, they may encounter complex and demanding situations, and although their method & wisdom is vaster than that of their students, they try to maintain symmetry and work to allow the student to accomplish certain set goals (like meditative equipose in Calm Abiding, or conceptual insight into emptiness in Insight Meditation). Whilst such cases cannot be excluded (from the side of the student), demanding veneration does not exist from the side of the teacher, who may choose to undermine the very tendency to disrupt symmetry and deify the teacher (the teacher and anti-teacher).
3. In Tantra, only embarked upon after years of Sutric activity, the Vajra Guru or Outer Guru is crucial. He or she is an accomplished meditation master who (as a Buddha) has finished or (as a Superior) is finishing the Bodhisattva training and who is willing to infuse the mindstream of their disciple, so he or she opens up and is linked with his or her own Inner Guru. When this empowerment is conveyed, this yogi manifests as his own Yidam, and so is a "living Deity" ! This situation can be compared with Western initiation, as in alchemy, Freemasonry or Western mystery traditions. In the West, we lack the culture of viewing our teachers as "special beings", but in spiritual orders this attitude is amply cultivated. Asymmetry is part of the equation. If this is done for the sake of the relationship between the Outer Guru and the disciple, and not to link the disciple with his or her own Inner Guru, then abuse cannot be excluded. In fact, when the disciple confuses his or her Inner Guru with the Outer Guru (because the latter has not imposed the distinction), the Outer Guru is defunct. Indeed, the main task of the Outer Guru is to connect the disciple with this Inner Guru. All techniques able to produce this effect are welcome and necessary. So the Tantric Guru is more than a wise friend, he or she may also be a dangerous friend !

 Generation Stage Yoga and Deity Yoga

The technology of Highest Yoga Tantra involves (a) preparing the ground in the so-called "Generation Stage" and (b) manipulating the subtle anatomy of the various invisible entities constituting the "Vajra body" (cf. hylic pluralism), making the "winds" ("prâna") enter, abide and cease in the "central channel" of this "Vajra body" and allowing the subtle "drops" to melt under the influence of Inner Fire Yoga. These & other procedures make up the "Completion Stage". In the Lower Tantras, the approach is somewhat different, while Completion Stage Yoga is absent.

Although Buddhahood is only achieved at the end, Generation Stage Yoga includes the simultaneous gathering of merit (the substantial cause of the "Form Body") and wisdom (the substantial cause of the "Truth Body") by way of Deity Yoga. It is not causal, but resultant, taking the fruit (Buddhahood) into the path. This is done by letting the "form" of a fully enlightened being or Deity spontaneously rise as a result of interdependent conditions, being of the same empty nature as the yogi. As this form rises after the inherent existence of the conventional "I" and its context have been cancelled, it is the result of wisdom.

Although no-self ("anâtman") is one of the seals of Buddhism, Tantra personifies our potential for enlightenment or wholeness in the symbolic form of the Deity, embodying our Buddha-nature, generated out of the ultimate nature of our mind. This Deity bridges the two aspects of reality, namely conventional (relative) truth & ultimate (absolute) truth. The Deity is an interface or ferry, carrying consciousness to the "other shore of wisdom", i.e. from the Emanation Body of conventional truth to the Truth Body or ultimate truth. Indeed, the "no-self" doctrine is nothing more than the negation of a substantial identity, i.e. a sense of self existing from its own side, with permanent, inherently existing properties.

The Deities are the countless inspirational Enjoyment Bodies of the supreme virtuous minds of absolute Bodhicitta, the infinite masks of ultimate truth or manifestation of emptiness. No longer a mere conventional truth, a Deity is a pure, luminous & dynamic, rainbow-like manifestation rising out from the ultimate nature of all phenomena : emptiness. The latter is not a positive state, nor a negative state, nor any logical operation between these two states. Utterly ineffable, only the un-saying of the "Via Negativa" remains. However, if we want to say something about this, we could point out two of its qualities : (a) absence of inherent existence and (b) continuous symmetry-transformation. The latter is a perfect movement or an uninterrupted, continuous style of change. It is this continuity which makes some say "nirvâna" is permanent.

Of this emptiness or ultimate truth, the Deity is a threshold-phenomenon, and isthmus, i.e. a relatively narrow strip connecting the Two Truths, touching both simultaneously and dynamically, i.e. with a definitive movement away from conventional truth to the right view understanding its objects thoroughly, i.e. wisdom. This shift is the work of the Deity, emerging out and remaining in emptiness and thus radically unlike the "Gods & Goddesses" of Western Paganism (Ancient Egypt, Hermetism, Greco-Roman religion, Hermeticism) as well as Hinduism, who are examples of theo-ontologies, i.e. Supreme Beings conceived as inherently existing "out there" (except for the higher, nondual Tantric Deities like Śiva/Śakti).

The function of the Buddist Deity is to allow the Truth Body of a Buddha to manifest and benefit others (which cannot be the case on the level of ultimate truth). This luminous body with its very subtle mind is however without any trace of substantiality, and functions to cross the divide between the ultimate reality of the Buddhas ("Dharmakâya") and the relative reality of our conventional world ("Nirmânakâya"). Hence, the Deity in Buddhism is exceptional. Without being God or a God, the Buddhist Deity is Divine !

Like unproduced space (lacking obstructive contact), emptiness is a continuous phenomenon (an ongoing, perfect dance-movement). While space negates obstructive contact, emptiness negates inherent existence, a "reality" on its own ("svabhâva"). The Deity appears as a luminous form in unproduced space and is, at the same moment, cognized by a mind realizing emptiness. The appearance of and identification with the Deity is "entering the vessel" of alchemy, the "furnace" or "athanor" in which the transformation takes place. The Deity is the "Higher Self" emerging out of emptiness.

In Deity Yoga, the Deity can be generated outside (in front) or within. In the former case, the Deity is visualized outside and in front (or above) us, in the latter case, the Deity is made to rise from within and coincides with our own subtle body & subtle mind. This Self-generation is the mental generation of the "tântrika" as enlightened being. In the Lower Tantras, the Deity is established in six stages known as the "Six Deities". Establishment means a shift has taken place from the Deity as a cognitive object to the Deity as a cognizing subject.

Deity Yoga establishes the reality of the Deity (the Resident Mandala) and its environment (the Residence Mandala), transforming the impure "I" & its world in the subtle reality of the Deity-in-its-Mandala (the Resident in the Residence). The Deity making the mind firm is not designated on the basis of "my" physical body and "my" casual mind or conventional "I", but on the basis of its own (mantric) mind and subtle body. The former case would identify it with the conventional truth of myself only and stop the needed dynamic away from the deluded understanding of reality, one appearing as inherently existing while ultimate analysis shows otherwise.

The Deity is designated on the basis of (a) a body of light rising out of the wisdom realizing emptiness like "a fish jumps out of water" (implying a direct conscious awareness of emptiness, like in "superior seeing"), and (b) a wisdom-mind fused with a seed syllable and the mantra of the Deity, as in meditative equipoise during Calm Abiding. Because the extensive form of Deity Yoga has been practiced in the Lower Tantras, this self-generation is fairly simple in Highest Yoga Tantra.

The aim of Deity Yoga is a perfect visualization of the generic image of the Deity with a mind in meditative equipoise on its empty seed or mantra and this while generating the Divine Pride of identifying with these subtle bases of designation (the luminous body and the enlightened mind). The measure of firmness in Deity Yoga is indicated, according to Tsongkhapa, by "whether going, standing, or sitting is always immovable though moving about". Once this is realized, the yogi enters and exits the Deity (switches from gross to subtle bases of designation) as one would put on and off a garment.

This signals the readiness for completion practices.

 Completion Stage Yoga and Inner Fire Yoga

In Completion Stage Yoga, only available in Highest Yoga Tantra, the "tântrika", while assuming the Deity, makes the subtle winds enter, abide and cease in the central channel of the Vajra-body, allowing the very subtle mind carried by the very subtle wind (in the heart-wheel) to manifest as the "Truth Body" ("Dharmakâya") & the "Form Body" (i.e. "rûpakâya" or "Nirmânakâya" + "Sambhogakâya") of a Buddha, actualizing the ultimate nature of mind, its Clear Light.

The subtle & very subtle techniques of Completion Stage Yoga make, once the winds enter, abide & cease in the central channel, the seminal drops to communicate. The "white drop", Lunar, of the nature of bliss and received from the father (the "Bindu Visarga" at the top back of the head), and the "red drop", Solar, of the nature of emptiness and received from the mother (root-wheel), define the vitality, strength and power of the subtle energy-body, directly linked with the "Enjoyment Body" to come (the very subtle wind is the substantial cause of the "Sambhogakâya"). Using "vase breathing", the red drop, abiding in the Root Wheel, is ignited and this "inner fire" unbinds the "knots" of the Heart Wheel & the Throat Wheel, making the white drop, abiding in the head, to "melt", causing levels of bliss (known as the Four Joys). This great bliss is then mixed with the wisdom realizing emptiness, destroying very subtle delusion, making the Clear Light shine forth, entering Buddhahood.

The Form Body is generated to help others, to actually perform enlightened actions and engage Dharma. It is of no other use. There is no better reason to cease the singular focus on the ineffable bliss of the "Dharmakâya" than the sublime thought generating compassion for those who are still suffering. How can there be true peace when there are still beings contaminated and in pain ? This mind of enlightenment for all sentient beings or Bodhicitta the great treasure of the Mahâyâna. Dedication of all merit to the benefit of all others, projects the vast scope of working for every single sentient being.

Although a Buddha has vast miracle-powers, s/he is not omnipotent (cannot take away ripening "karma", but merely deflects it) and does not interfere in the free will of human beings, except if the survival of the Dharma is at stake (cf. the "Dharmapâlas"). Final enlightenment bestows omnipresence & omniscience. Sentient beings open to receive the blessings of a Buddha instantaneously do so, benefiting countless others.

 A Critique of Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Tantra

Although traditional Tibetan Tantra involves the primordial wholeness and completeness of being, represented by the union of the male method-Deities with their female wisdom-consorts, the deeply entrenched domination of woman by the male elite (using sexual intercourse with woman exclusively to charge one's spiritual batteries), gave rise to tantric teachings in which the mother goddess emanated from the masculine god, and the androgyny (male-female forces possessed by a man) remained uncompensated by gynandry (female-male forces possessed by a woman), building in disparity. Then, bi-sexual eroticism is reduced to heterosexual machoism. As a result, and not solely because of this feminist critique, some practitioners try to develop a Navayânic Buddhist Tantra for the West, i.e. in harmony with Western science, secular thought & basic human rights. This goes against the paternalism, the dogmatism and the authoritarian approach of some and calls for rethinking many teachings, rituals and regulations, in particular in the context of Tibetan Buddhism training Western minds !

The dynamic structure of the Vajra-body was no discovery of Vajrayâna, rather it was adopted from pre-Buddhist times (cf. the Upaniśads) and possibly from Chinese medical thinking. Although the Kâlachakra Tantra displays many parallels with Hindu Kundalinî Yoga, with regard to the subtle bodily technology needed to arouse the female "kundalinî", important differences between these cultural traditions pertain.

Traditional Buddhist Tantra, as it was preserved and developed in Tibet, unleashes the "inner fire" in the navel and does not focus on the point between the anus and the root of the penis like the Hindus & the Chinese (the perineum or "huiyin" (C0-1). The "candali" flares up in the belly of the Vajra Master and her heat, kindled by vase breathing, rises to "melt" the "cool" white drops abiding in the head ("Bindu Visarga"). This melting takes places in four stages (the Four Joys). Once she has vaporized the obscurations energetically stored in the crown wheel and melts, on account of their "watery" character, the white male drops stored therein, the "fire woman" is extinguished. Then consciousness is purified to the point of the shining mind, the mind of Clear Light or very subtle (secret) layer of mind. In the Chinese alchemical account (cf. infra), a similar process is at hand, identifying three "treasures" (or elixir fields), and a single firing process transforming the essence (of water or "jing") into vapour ("ch'i"), refining spirit ("shen").

Why is the feminine, linked with the passive element in India, China & the West, equated with the activity of this destructive fire ? Is the hostile attitude of Sutric Buddhism towards the world of appearances, form & womanhood at hand ? As the feminine and the act of birth were deemed responsible for the "terrible burden of life", are "world" & "womanhood" made synonymous ? In Early Buddhism, women could not reach "nirvâna". They had to work hard to "earn" a male incarnation ! At first, even the Buddha doubted whether an order of nuns was appropriate ... By kindling the feminine "drops" within himself, the male symbolically casts the "world-woman" upon the pyre ! All form becomes victim of the flames. Is traditional Buddhist Tantra, as preserved in Tibet, based on a patriarchic male ideology ? The role of the female is made subservient to the salvic goal of the male. As a "wisdom-consort", she merely serves the male to establish the supreme goal  : the union of bliss and emptiness. How come the core of the Buddhayana, namely emptiness, is given a subservient role ? A contradiction is felt here.

Again, why associate Solar wisdom with the feminine and Lunar method with the masculine ? Why is wisdom the Bell ("ghanta") and not the Vajra ? Wisdom-mind, being the realization of the Clear Light, can indeed be consistently identified with the self-kindling, hot fire of the Sun (making the day), whereas the method to realize it refers to the derivative "cool" light of the Moon (visible at night). Indeed, the "Sun of wisdom" stands for awakening (beyond the Kether of Qabalah) while the Moon refers to the method leading up to it (cf. Yesod and the Qabalistic Grade of Theoreticus). This awakening is not feminine, reflective (of Water, Earth). It is masculine & shining (of Fire, Heaven). The method to achieve this wisdom adapts to all circumstances, ever-changing & mutable. This is the feminine (the full energy) leading to the masculine (the empty space).

In traditional Buddhist Tantras, wisdom is merely a "consort", the primordial energy and subservient "matrix" (mother) of all form. This is the world upside down, for what is at the heart of the Buddhadharma (namely "prajñâ") is made subservient (while it should be at the forefront), whereas the energetic containers (or methods merely propagating this energy) rule.

Contemporary Navayâna Tantra should therefore work out a system leading to a blissfull union of the polarities and not to one "males only". On the one hand, the Solar (Vajra) male "takes" the feminine, Lunar form-energy of the woman to reach androgyny, on the other hand, the Lunar (Lotus) woman "assimilates" the masculine, Solar force-energy of the man to reach gynandry. He bestows her wisdom and she radiates him, manifestating wisdom-energies. The ideal being sacred omni-eroticism through the union of Lunar bliss & Solar wisdom. In the spirit of the Highest Yoga Tantra, androgynous guru-god and gynandric mistress-goddess are one. This Tantric scheme is far more balanced. It can already be traced in Taoist Inner Alchemy, in particular in the Complete Reality School, were both male and female bodies are able to achieve enlightenment by means of their respective omni-erotic energies.

To arrive at such a new Buddhist Tantra, prevailing correspondences are no longer valid. As in Hindu Yoga & Tantra, Taoist Inner Alchemy (Complete Reality School), Traditional Chinese Medicine & the Western Tradition, the feminine is equated with the Lunar, with Form (Left Pillar) & the passive, i.e. with Yin. This is consistent with the association of the "kundalinî" ("Śakti") with the bottom of the spine (cf. the Gate of Life & Death or Hui-Yin at the perineum & the passive Earth Field or Lower Tan-Tien at the navel in Taoism, or Malkuth/Yesod in Qabalah). The masculine is then Solar, active, Force (Right Pillar), i.e. Yang, situated at the top of the spine, i.e. "Śiva", and the active Heaven Field or Upper Tan-Tien at the crown, or Kether in Qabalah. Vajra (masculine) is then wisdom, emptiness and Bell (feminine) is method, compassion.

The traditional Tibetan correspondences, based on an exclusive masculine model, too often foster Guru-Yoga to "enhance" and "develop" the process ignited by initiation. Instead of giving the disciples the tools to grow up by themselves well assisted, they often result in an increased dependence upon the male Vajra Guru, at times leading to grotesque, abasing & potentially abusive forms of Guru-worship, calling for the Guru to be constantly worshipped as a living Buddha ... Projected collectively, this leads to spirito-communal phenomena, bringing to life the doctrine of "lineages", "tulkus" & Buddhocratic inventions, as traditional Tibetan Buddhism of old amply evidences.

 Elements of the Mandala of the Navayâna

Technically, in Buddhist Tantra, the "joining" of method (bliss) and wisdom (emptiness) intended is energetically realized by the "melting" of the Lunar, cold "white drops" (in the head, more specifically in "Bindu Visarga") under the influence of the "inner fire" produced by the Solar, fiery "red drops" (in the root wheel), allowing the six knots of the Heart Wheel to loosen, enabling consciousness to recognize the Clear Mind of the "indestructible drop" (the "mysterious pass" at the Heart Wheel), placing the "great seal" ("mahâmudrâ") on every phenomenon. This is the joining of "heaven" and "earth" in the heartmind, resulting in the enlightened mind.

The specificity of Buddhist Tantra lies in (a) the negation of the inherent existence of the deities, and hence of Śiva & Śakti and (b) building all tantric technology on the Three Doors of "karma" : body, speech & mind. Because "karma" is a "dependent-arising", it is part of the "method-side" of the tantric equation (together with compassion & bliss), whereas emptiness or the lack of inherent existence is the "wisdom-side" (together with space). The Tantras offer only a new method (Deity Yoga) to manipulate "karma", but has nothing to add concerning wisdom.

Buddhist Tantra wants to transform the samsaric, "karmic" (bound) state into the nirvanic, unbound state. It assumes the unbound state to be the fundamental, original nature or situation of things, and the suffering state merely a reduction, veiling or clouding of this original nature. They are not "causal" but "resultant", taking the fruit (Buddhahood) into the path (as the ever-present ultimate nature of the mind itself).

Tantra tries to integrate all afflictive & non-afflictive elements of "samsâra" into one "Gestalt" or visualized whole. It brings emotion, desire & the fruit of the path (Buddhahood itself) into the path to find all phenomena (true & false, good & evil, beautiful & ugly, pure & impure, wholesome & unwholesome) of "one taste". This integration of desire into the path, allowing transgression & the very gross to be spiritualized, is also found in the (southern) Complete Reality School.

In his commentary on Chang Po-tuan's Understanding Reality (Wu Chen P'ien), Liu I-ming wrote : "The method of restoration is to be sought while in the midst of emotion and desire." (chapter 7) and "Inversion means while in the midst of deluded feelings to restore true sense, and combine it with true essence." (chapter 13).

The "Gestalt" is the "mandala", composed of Residence (the actual matrix representing the world as a whole) and Resident (the consciousness prehending this matrix, positioned in its center) ; this is the notion of "two-in-one" upon which all Tantras are based. The idea is to transform the dualistic world and its prehension, starting from gross (deluded) to very subtle (enlightened). Very akin to inner alchemy, Tantra seeks the path to experience the world and ourselves as bliss-emptiness. In the context of the Buddhadharma, "purity" or "perfection" is not entering some perfected, refined or highly "polished" higher or "Divine" ontological plane, but the direct experience of oneself & the world as lacking substance or own-form, i.e. an existence possessing its properties inherently, from its own side, self-powered & self-settled. This experience is automatically complemented by and simultaneous with the direct witnessing of the compassionate (harmonious) interconnectedness between all phenomena, i.e. oneself (and other selves) and the world at large.

The experience of emptiness-bliss is what the Buddhadharma identifies as "Divine". It differs from the goal of Hindu Tantra, namely union with a self-settled absolute. There are no self-powered Deities, no self-settled One Alone. To think otherwise is the pinnacle of delusion ! A Buddha is not self-powered, nor a Divine "substance of substances", but an interdependent display of ongoing symmetry-transformations, a unique & perfect kinetography or "Divine (dis)play" (or "Divina Comedia").

Let us first discuss schemes organizing the core view of the Buddhadharma. To classify its various objective & subjective structures, various analogical scheme unfold. These correspondences accommodate ritual activity as well as the visualizations building the Mandala.

Fundamental is the "key in three", the Triple Gem : Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.

This can be expanded :

And even assist organizing the Buddhadharma as a whole :

These correspondences are universal and pose no problems. Another important classification is the "key in five". It organizes the five aggregates ("skandhas"). Indeed, tantrics study themselves (or look for objective information about their psychological constitution) to discover their predominant desire and work on it by way of the corresponding Buddha Family (cf. the so-called "meditational" or "Dhyâni" Buddhas).

In the Indo-Tibetan tradition, the following correspondences are proposed :

Cardinal correspondences are not absolute, but are largely due to cultural conditioning. For example, in the Western Mystery Tradition, based on the Qabalah, Ancient Egyptian religion & the Judeo-Christian tradition, "Earth" is green (vegetation, nature, etc.), not yellow. "Air" is yellow (dawn, Sun-rise, etc.), not green. "Water" is associated with feeling, "Air" with thought and "Earth" with form etc, while in the East "Water" is form, "Air" will and "Earth" feeling ! Hence, Buddha Amitabha is associated with the aggregate of thinking, not feeling. He is deemed Fire, not Water. Moreover, within the Tibetan tradition, variations pertain between sects & lineages. These various schemes merely show these correspondences are not to be taken as absolutes.

A Western understanding of the five elements (Space, Air, Fire, Water, Earth) and their corresponding seasons, colors, cardinal directions, etc. hand in hand with alchemical & tantric practices (both Indian, Chinese & Tibetan) is aimed at here. Although the elements represent a universal experience, the way they are perceived depends on conditioning. Someone working with the Qabalah, finds the Tibetan correspondences unpractical, while a newcomer will have less difficulty associating "Earth" with the color yellow and the aggregate of feeling. Once these correspondences are "locked", they "work" as pieces of the puzzle of one's mandala. They do not possess inherent, substantial value, but express particular associative networks of interdependent phenomena. The mandala can be constructed in various ways and "works" as long as it symbolizes all possible phenomena by way of a stable set. Of course, greater understanding unfolds more complex mandalas. In this way, setting up lineages & schools (sects & subsects), "personal" mandalas become canonical discourses (traditional tantras).

To arrive at a comprehensive view, the Navayâna tries to combine Eastern & Western systems of correspondences. In particular, Western Qabalah is combined with Tibetan Tantra (in particular the Hevajra Tantra) and Chinese Ch'i Kung & Complete Reality School Alchemy. Buddhist Tantra is contextualized by way of Hindu Yoga (Classical Yoga) and Shivaite Tantra. The result being a potent universal tantric theory.

It should also be remarked the "elements" as used in Tantra represent stable states (orientations) and not dynamical ones (as in Chinese medical theory, where they represent the 5 phases or transformations of circulating energy : Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

The Five Aggregates with their Afflictions :

The Six Worlds with their Delusions & Perfections :