Tantra Across the Buddhist Cosmopolis

Richard K. Payne, "Tantra Across the Buddhist Cosmopolis"
English | ISBN: 0195368487 | 2026 | 306 pages | PDF | 17 MB
Tantra Across the Buddhist Cosmopolis examines key aspects of the tantric Buddhist movement from its beginnings in early medieval India to the present day. Across its centuries-long history, tantric Buddhism has spread throughout the global community of Buddhist practitioners and institutions-the Buddhist cosmopolis. Buddhist tantra is so diverse that no conclusive or comprehensive list of defining characteristics is possible. Despite this complexity, the movement is coherent and continuous. Richard K. Payne guides us through the problematic intellectual and cultural issues historically impeding academic study of the movement and its influence. Scholarly disagreements about defining Buddhist tantra are dissolved by realizing that its components-rituals, texts, teachings, art, architecture, and yogic practices-are tantric by context, use, and designation.