Tantra

{{Hinduism}}
'''Tantra''' usually refers to a specific brand of religious practice common to the [[Hindu]], [[Buddhist]], and [[Jainism | Jain]] traditions since at least the 5th century.<ref>Hugh B. Urban ''Tantra, Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power in the Study of Religion'', 2</ref> In the orthodox classification of Hindu religious literature, Tantra refers to a class of [[Sanskrit]] treatises similar to the Puranas (medieval encyclopaedic collections of myths, legends, and other topics).<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/582774/Tantra</ref> Tantra is probably most frequently associated with tantric [[sex]] in the West, despite the fact it is an incredibly broad concept and, consequently, rather difficult to define exactly. It is also associated with a certain type of [[magic|black magic]] practice (the practitioners of which are known as tantriks), which [[Rationalist International]] has described  as 'one of the most dangerous and wide spread superstitions in India'.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170212075631/http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/2008/20080310/en_1.html</ref> One such tantrik attempted to kill noted Indian skeptic [[Sanal Edamaruku]] on live TV using only his alleged powers. Needless to say, he failed miserably. The video can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9taL2vcOJ0 here]

Some tantric texts discuss [[cannibalism]] as a religious practice. The ''Hevajra Tantra'' discusses a ritual undertaken while sitting upon corpses, where a feast is consumed composed of a mixture of cow, dog, elephant, horse and human meat; as well as eating "kingly rice", which apparently is the flesh of particular kinds of human beings. Another tantric text, the ''Candamaharosana Tantra'', suggests that initiates should drink water which has been used to wash a woman's vagina and anus. The ''Guhyasamaja Tantra'' advises us that 'those who take life, who take pleasure in lying, who always covet the wealth of others, who enjoy making love, who purposely consume faeces and urine, these are the worthy ones for the practice'.<ref>Paul Williams, Anthony Tribe, ''Buddhist thought: a complete introduction to the Indian tradition'', p. 236-237</ref> Adherents and scholars of Tantra are divided as to how literally these provisions are to be interpreted.

Other tantric texts suggest that enlightenment can be attained through sex with a sixteen year old girl: "The ''Prajna'' (yogini) of sixteen years he clasps within his arms, and from the union of the ''vajra'' and the bell, the Master's concentration comes about."<ref>For those not ''au fait'' with the jargon of Tantra, ''prajna'' means wisdom;  ''yogini'' means a female spiritual practitioner; ''vajra'' is a thunderbolt-shaped ritual object, which among other things signifies the penis; a ''bell'', among other things, signifies the vagina; thus their union is a coded reference to sexual intercourse.</ref> However, apologists for Tantra insist, "Obviously, 16 is only the symbolic age of the yoginis..." Later, after a discussion of incestuous passages in tantric texts, the same author argues "Undoubtedly, this has all to be taken symbolically but, here again, Tantra's enemies take it literally and charge the Tantrists with systematic incest...uniting sexually with the whole family, etc."<ref>Andre van Lysebeth, ''Tantra: the cult of the feminine'', p. 277-278</ref>

Victor and Victoria Trimondi describe the importance of molesting children in some forms of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual practice:
{{cquote|Youth is a further requirement which the ''mudra'' has to meet. The ''Maha Siddha'' Saraha distinguishes five different wisdom consorts on the basis of age: the eight-year-old virgin (''kumari''); the twelve-year-old ''salika''; the sixteen-year-old ''siddha'', who already bleeds monthly; the twenty-year-old ''balika'', and the twenty-five-year-old ''bhadrakapalini'', who he describes as the “burned fat of prajna” (Wayman, 1973, p. 196). The “modern” tantric already mentioned, Lama Gedün Chöpel, explicitly warns that children can become injured during the sexual act: “Forcingly doing it with a young girl produces severe pains and wounds her genitalia. ... If it is not the time and if copulating would be dangerous for her, churn about between her thighs, and it [the female seed] will come out” (Chöpel, 1992, p. 135). In addition he recommends feeding a twelve-year-old honey and sweets before ritual sexual intercourse (Chöpel, 1992, p. 177).<ref>[http://www.trimondi.de/SDLE/Part-1-03.htm Victor & Victoria Trimondi, ''The Shadow of the Dalai Lama''], "THE TANTRIC FEMALE SACRIFICE"</ref>}}

==References==
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[[Category:Buddhism]]
[[Category:Eastern religions]]
[[Category:Hinduism]]
[[Category:Paedophilia]]
[[Category:Rape]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Woo]]

Categories: Buddhism, Eastern religions, Hinduism, Paedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Woo