An Introduction to Tantric Buddhism

211 pp. Foreword by Herbert V. Guenther. Throughout history Tantra has been shrouded in mystery, misunderstanding, and criticism. This book, first published in India, bases its account of Tantric Buddhism on considerable study of a number of important texts, man of them unpublished manuscripts in old Nepalese script. The author contends that the principal "object of the Tantra literature is to indicate and explain the practical method for realizing truth." In its exposition of the various schools of Tantric Buddhism--both the philosophical bases of the schools and their related yogic practices--this study clarifies the most fundamental aspect of Tantra: that the human body is the medium in and through which the truth can be realized.