tantra

Tantra is a broad term used for a family of esoteric spiritual traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism, and in some contexts Jainism, that emphasize experiential practice, ritual, and the cultivation of inner power. The word tantra comes from Sanskrit roots meaning weave or loom, and in scholarly usage it designates both a class of scriptures known as tantras and the lineages of teachers and initiates associated with them.

Tantric ideas arose in the Indian subcontinent from the early centuries CE and developed within both Hindu and Buddhist contexts. Hindu tantra is often linked to Shakta and Shaiva traditions and to various tantra texts and lineages, while Buddhist tantra flourished as Vajrayana in India and later spread to Tibet, Nepal, and parts of East Asia. Practice typically involves a guru–disciple relationship, initiation, and long-term disciplines that employ specialized rituals, visualization, and yogic techniques.

Core practices commonly include mantras (sacred sounds), mudras (gestures), mandalas (visual aids), and yantras (geometric diagrams), as well as breath control, concentration, and the awakening of inner energies through yogic methods. Deity visualization, ritual worship, and the transmutation of ordinary experience into spiritual insight are frequently emphasized. Some branches, termed left-hand tantra, have been described as employing unconventional or transgressive methods; however, such practices are not universal and are often symbolic, contextual, or controversial.

Tantric ideas have influenced Hindu temple ritual, art, and liturgy, as well as Buddhist ritual, meditation manuals, and monastic practices. In modern scholarship, tantra is studied as a diverse, historically grounded set of traditions with varying practices and interpretations, and it remains a living tradition in multiple communities.