the performance of one’s duties. Reprinted under the
title Fudochi shinmyoroku(Record of Marvelous Im-
movable Wisdom), Takuan’s treatise is frequently cited
by people who advocate a connection between Bud-
dhism, especially Zen, and Japanese martial arts.
See also:Chan School; Martial Arts; Zen, Popular Con-
ceptions of
WILLIAMM. BODIFORDTANTRA
Tantra in Western nomenclature has achieved forms
of signification independent from its Sanskritic use and
has become a somewhat promiscuous category applied
to various RITUALSotherwise not easily classified. In
general parlance, tantra indicates the pan-Indic reli-
gious system that became emulated in Buddhist,
Hindu, and Jain circles, and tantra is often understood
as having an erotic component. This entry will discuss
the idea of tantra in India and in Central and East Asia.
India and Nepal
The word tantrain India was much more widely ap-
plied than might be understood from the modern ex-
planation of its derivation from √tan—to weave. In
medieval Sanskrit, the term signifies many forms of
complex arrangement and may denote military de-
ployment, a loom, certain forms of ritual, a political
culture, a scriptural text emphasizing selected rituals,
the pan-Indic religious aesthetic, and so on. In Bud-
dhism, tantra is usually understood to include the use
of MANTRAs authorized by a preceptor on a disciple
during a complex initiation rite that confers the disci-
ple with the authority to engage in many different
kinds of ritual associated with a specific class of BUD-
DHAS, BODHISATTVAS, or Buddhist DIVINITIES. Included
in the rituals are the construction or visualization of
sacred circles (MANDALA), the use of hand gestures
(MUDRA), and the employment of fire sacrifice (homa),
all of which may be for the purpose of specific soteri-
ological or nonsoteriological goals. These latter are
usually the four ritual actions of the pacification of ob-
stacles, the increase of prosperity, the subjugation of
difficulties, and the destruction of enemies; they may
be performed for the practitioner’s own ends or on be-
half of a patron.
However, many of these elements had already en-
joyed a lengthy precedent in Buddhist ritual long be-
fore the coalescence of mature esoteric Buddhism—to
which tantra may properly be applied—in the late sev-
enth and early eighth centuries. It is historically mis-
leading to understand normative MAHAYANArituals as
tantric in any significant sense, despite the fact that
many of them make use of several of the elements even-
tually included in esoteric Buddhism. Moreover, many
of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhist divinities
that originated in the Mahayanist ritual environment
eventually made the easy transition to the esoteric mi-
lieu. The primary difference between normative Ma-
hayana and tantric Buddhism is that the latter
appropriates an overarching political metaphor of
overlordship in this very life, so that the INITIATIONis
performed in a manner derived from the coronation
rituals of medieval Hinduism. Tantric Buddhism may
be understood as a sacralization of the early medieval
political and military fragmentation of North India,
with its contentious rivalries between feudal clans.
Consequently, it expresses an emphasis on secrecy, loy-
alty, allegiance, and unbreakable trust; on the visual-
ization of self as a divine king (devataraja) controlling
complex spheres of dominion and power (mandala);
on new arrangements of vows; and on the use of any
means necessary to achieve stated goals or secret ends.
All of these items are generally absent from normative
Mahayanist rites.
Thus, replacing the self-sacrificial bodhisattva is the
ideal of all-powerful siddha or MAHASIDDHA, the per-
fected being to whom no standards of behavior can
apply. Siddhas also employed the methods of medieval
sorcerers (VIDYADHARA)—such as the tantric feast
(ganacakra) involving the sacramental employment of
ritualized group sex and the ingestion of illicit sub-
stances like meat and liquor—in their search for mag-
ical powers. In imitation of the behavior of S ́aiva and
other ascetics, some siddhas wore ornaments of hu-
man bone, carried staffs of distinctive shapes, and fre-
quented cremation grounds or forest areas. Their
interest in tribal peoples is a theme in much of the
later literature, and some siddhas were known to have
spent time among the forest tribes of Central or East-
ern India. From them, specific divinities appear to
have been appropriated, possibly including S ́amvara,
Heruka, and Jan ̇guli. Siddhas were also interested in
herbs and drugs, and their use of intoxicants like
datura is well attested. The tendency to group siddhas
into various numbering systems (84 being most com-
mon, but 20, 40, 50, 80, and other numbers are also
seen) occurred rather late and reflects Indian organi-
zational strategies.TANTRA