INTRODUCTION TO TANTRA:
The Goals of Tantric Practice:
Tantric Teachings, which include the Generation and Completion stages of the Yogas that utilize visualization, as well as the Dzogchen (the Great Perfection) and MahaMudra (the Great Seal) teachings are known as the Path of the Result. What I have been talking about in this book, so far, is mostly Sutra teachings which are called the Path of the Cause. The sole reason for embarking on Tantric practices is to increase the speed with which we can progress through the stages to Buddhahood in order to, more quickly, understand suffering and its causes, master reality, and be able to be of benefit to other sentient beings
The Path of the Cause deals with accumulating the knowledge, understanding and insight and the positive tendencies of thought, speech, and action that are required to lead to Buddhahood. The Path of the Result is attempting to manifest Buddhahood in each moment. I have incorporated some Tantric Concepts into the discussions in this book because the modern, western mind seems to gravitate towards these ideas and accept more Tantric-like concepts and explanations.
However, without some of the basic understandings and accomplishments of these Sutrayana (Sutra Path) concepts, trying to accomplish the Path of the Result will lead to inconsistent and partial attainments and could lead to great harm for the practitioner or for those around them. This is also why it is very important to do Tantric Practices under the guidance of a Spiritual Master.
What follows is just a general introduction to what Tantric Practice involves and to what it is about. It is very important to have gone through the Sutrayana teachings to some degree before embarking on any Tantric practices. Hopefully by reading through and doing the exercises in this book, we can reach the point where, when we finally embark on these higher teachings, our attainments will be quick and profound because the groundwork will be well completed and firmly established in our minds and its tendencies.
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