Oxford Handbook of Tantric Studies

Since the earliest encounters between tantric traditions and Western scholars, the representation of tantra has typically emphasizd the antinomian, decadent aspects, which created a one-dimensional understanding, and hampered the study of the field. The Oxford Handbook of Tantric Studies is intended to overcome these obstacles, with a topical framework that covers the major topics in the field, including the concept of action (rituals, meditation, chanting, and pilgrimage) transformation, embodiment, "extraordinary" beings, art, literature, social organizations, and history. With a global pool of contributors, and over 40 chapters, the Handbook aims to provide the definitive reference work in this dynamic field.

List of contents

• 1. Tantric Studies: Scholarly Issues, Methodologies, and Collaborations


• Richard K. Payne and Glen A. Hayes


• Part I. Action


• 2. Initiation (Abhi¿eka) in Indian Buddhism


• Ronald M. Davidson


• 3. The Inner and Outer Worship: The Rhythms of Domestic and Temple Practice in Nep¿l¿ Tantra


• Jeffrey S. Lidke and L. S. Akshunna


• 4. On the Union of Emptiness and Bliss: Buddhist Thought and Tantric Practice


• Paul Donnelly


• 5. Gory¿ Shint¿ Goma: Tantric Foundations


• Richard K. Payne


• 6. Homa in Jain Traditions.


• Ellen Gough


• 7. The Neuroscience of Tantric Practice


• Geoffrey Samuel and Maria Kozhevnikov


• Part II. Transformations: Soteriology, Astrology, Alchemy, and Healing


• 8. Cosmic Process, Philosophy, and Soteriology in the Works of Abhinavagupta


• Sthaneshwar Timalsina


• 9. Esoteric Physiology and Subtle Body Systems


• Glen A. Hayes


• 10. Transforming the Body by Mastering the Elements, Some Tantric Sources


• Lubomír Ondräka


• 11. Cosmology and Embryology in Medieval Japan


• Anna Andreeva


• 12. Astrology and Astral Magic in Tantric Japan


• Jeffrey Kotyk


• 13. Tantric Dimensions of Alchemy


• Patricia Sauthoff


• Part III. Gender, Cosmogony, Embodiment and Power


• 14. ¿r¿vidy¿ and Goddess Traditions: A Critical Historiographic Essay


• Anna A. Golovkova


• 15. The ¿¿kin¿ in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism


• Judith Simmer-Brown


• 16. Three Shades of Tantric Yoga: Chapter 20 of the Netra Tantra


• David Gordon White


• 17. Generative Buddhahood: Enlightened Plants and Trees in Japanese Tendai Esoteric Buddhism


• Matthew McMullen


• 18. Embodiment and Subjugation: Exoteric-Esoteric Buddhist Practice in Medieval Japan


• Eric Haruki Swanson


• Part IV. Extraordinary Beings: Deities and Founders


• 19. "Hard-Core" Tantric Traditions and the Cult of Bhairava in Java


• Andrea Acri


• 20. Timeless Symbolism: An Early Dzogchen Patriarch's Hagiography and Scriptures


• Georgios T. Halkias


• 21. The Twin Miracle: The Two-Headed Aizen My¿¿ [Ry¿zu Aizen] in Exorcistic Shugend¿ Practice at the Japanese Tantric Buddhist Complex of K¿yasan


• Elizabeth Noelle Tinsley


• 22. A Dharma Protector in a Transcultural Tantric Buddhist Context


• Vesna A. Wallace


• 23. The Goddesses of Jaina Tantra


• Michael Slouber


• Part V. Imagery: Art History and Visual Expressions


• 24. The Tantric Temple: Rule-Bound Beauty


• Libbie Mills


• 25. Mandalas and Landscape in Maritime Asia


• Peter Sharrock


• 26. Mandalas and Monarchs: Tantra and Temple Architecture in Buddhist Southeast Asia


• Swati Chemburkar


• 27. Jain Tantric Diagrams of the Goddess Padm¿vat¿


• Ellen Gough


• 28. Imagery in Tantric Buddhism


• David L. Gardiner


• 29. Attention, Memory, and the Imagination: A Cognitive Analysis of Tantric Visualization


• Sthaneshwar Timalsina


• Part VI. Language, Literature, Words, and Metaphor


• 30. Exploring Metaphors and Conceptual Blending in Vai¿¿ava Sahajiy¿ Texts


• Glen A. Hayes


• 31. Cosmogenesis and Phonematic Emanation


• Ben Williams


• 32. Jain Tantra: An Overview


• Christopher Key Chapple


• 33. Tibetan Tantric Buddhist Literature


• Paul Hackett


• 34. The Cakrasävara Tantra


• David B. Gray


• Part VII. Social Organization and Institutions


• 35. What the K¿lamukhas Can Tell Us about Identity, Institutions, and Community in the Early Medieval Deccan


• Jason Schwartz


• 36. The Total Revelation Tantra: The Geopolitical Origins and Significance of the Name, Nep¿l¿ Sarv¿mn¿ya Tantra


• Jeffrey S. Lidke and L. S. Akshunna


• 37. The Soteriologies of Buddhist Tantrism


• Iain Sinclair


• 38. Singing Tantra: Aural Media and Sonic Soteriology in Bengali Esoteric Lineages


• Carola Erika Lorea


• 39. From the Fringes to Center Stage: Hij¿¿s and Fertility Rituals in K¿m¿khy¿


• Sravana Borkataky-Varma


• Part VIII. History and Historiography: Events, Memory, and Recollection


• 40. ¿aiva Tantra: Toward a History


• Dominic Goodall


• 41. On the Chronology of the Buddhist Tantras


• Tsunehiko Sugiki


• 42. Som¿nanda's ¿ivad¿¿¿i as an Argument against Dharmak¿rti


• John Nemec


• 43. Dynamic Manifestations of Eternal Divinity: Late Nondual ¿aivism on the Emanation and Contemplative Reabsorption of Time


• David Peter Lawrence


• 44. Buddhist Magic and Vajray¿na


• Sam van Schaik


• 45. Modernity and Neo-Tantra


• Hugh B. Urban

About the author

Richard K. Payne is Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. He is founding Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Bibliographies: Buddhism. He also established the Pure Land Buddhist Studies Series, University of Hawai'i Press; the Contemporary Issues in Buddhist Studies Series, Institute of Buddhist Studies; and is Senior Editor for Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. His blog is "Buddhist Thought and Practice".

Glen A. Hayes is Professor Emeritus at Bloomfield College. He co-founded the Society for Tantric Studies (STS) in 1986, and the Tantric Studies unit of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) in 2002. He also served on the steering committee of the Cognitive Science of Religion unit of the AAR. He in an editor at Religions online, where he has edited issues with papers from STS meetings, as well as on uses of cognitive science in tantric studies. His research areas include the translation and study of medieval Bengali Hindu tantric texts and the

uses of conceptual metaphor theory.

Summary

Since the earliest encounters between tantric traditions and Western scholars of religion, tantra has posed a challenge. The representation of tantra, whether in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Tibet, or Japan, has tended to emphasize the antinomian, decadent aspects, which, as attention-grabbing as they were for audiences in the West, created a one-dimensional understanding, and hampered the academic study of the field for more than a century. Additionally, the Western perspective on religion has been dominated by doctrinal studies. As a result, sectarian boundaries between different tantric traditions are frequently replicated in the scholarship, and research tends to be sequestered according to different schools of South Asian, Central Asian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian tantric traditions.

The Oxford Handbook of Tantric Studies is intended to overcome these obstacles, facilitating collaboration between scholars working on different forms of tantra. The Introduction provides an overview of major issues confronting the field today, including debates regarding the definition and category of "tantra" historical origins, recent developments in gender studies and tantra, ethnography and "lived tantra" and cognitive approaches to tantra. Using a topical framework, the opening section explores the concept of action, one of the most prominent features of tantra, which includes performing rituals, practicing meditation, chanting, embarking on a pilgrimage, or re-enacting moments from a sacred text. From there, the sections cover broad topics such as transformation, gender and embodiment, "extraordinary" beings (such as deities and saints), art and visual expressions, language and literature, social organizations, and the history and historiography of tantra. With co-editors in chief who specialize in the Hindu and Buddhist perspectives, a global pool of contributors, and over 40 chapters, the Handbook aims to provide the definitive reference work in this dynamic field.

Product details

• Authors: Oxford Handbooks, Payne, Richard K. (Professor Emeritus Payne
• Assisted by: Hayes (Editor), Glen A. Hayes (Editor), Richard K. Payne (Editor), Payne Richard K. (Editor)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.01.2025
• EAN: 9780197549889
• ISBN: 978-0-19-754988-9
• No. of pages: 1272
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; RELIGION / Eastern, RELIGION / Buddhism / General, RELIGION / Hinduism / General, Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, Jainism, Tibetan Buddhism