Tantra (Sanskrit: "weave"), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. It exists in Hindu, Bönpo, Buddhist, and Jain forms. Tantra in its various forms has existed throughout Asian history. Tantric practioners have lived in India, China, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia. David Gordon White, while cautioning us about attempting a rigorous definition of what for centuries has defied such attempts, offers the following working definition:
"Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy, within the human microcosm, in creative and emancipatory ways."White (2000), p. 9
In its Hindu forms, tantra can be summarized as a family of voluntary rituals modeled on those of the Vedas, together with their attendant texts and lineages. These rituals typically involve the visualization of a deity, offerings (real or visualized), and the chanting of his or her mantra. These practices are usually said to require permission from a qualified teacher or guru who belongs to a legitimate guruparampara or teacher-student lineage. Thus tantra shares some similarities with yoga.
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