I invite you to watch the video where I describe the differences between Tantra and Neo-Tantra and I answer the question - what is Tantra?
Here is the transcription of the video about Tantra:
Hi!
Today, we will briefly talk about Tantra. To talk about Tantra, we must start by explaining the difference between traditional Tantra and Neo-Tantra.
Firstly, traditional Tantra has existed for several thousand years, while Neo-Tantra has been around for a few decades, making it quite new.
Another significant difference is that Neo-Tantra focuses primarily on relationships, working in pairs, better orgasms... Tantric massage also originates from Neo-Tantra.
Traditional Tantra focuses on working on oneself, internal work, personal and spiritual development. It includes various tools such as mantras, yantras, mandalas, sadhanas, which are rarely found in Neo-Tantra. In Neo-Tantra, energies are also worked with, both masculine and feminine - sexual energy in Tantra, which comes from traditional practices, but the way of visualization is very different. I think it's safe to say that in traditional Tantra, visualizations are very detailed, containing a lot of details, and are complex results of our deep thoughts discovered in our minds, which emerge as visualizations during meditation, but are very difficult to achieve or visualize. But that will be the topic of another video where I want to tell you more about it.
Generally, in today's world, there is a lot of confusion around Tantra, and very often what is described as Tantra is actually Neo-Tantra. True Tantra was kept secret for a very long time in the Himalayas, but with the Chinese invasion of Tibet, things changed. Despite the event being very negative and threatening to those people, Tibet decided to open up to the world and propagate its teachings, share Tantra and tantric teachings, and pass on the knowledge they had for thousands of years. That is why today we can meet lamas on every continent and learn the true path of Tantra from them. They all always emphasize that to enter the path of Tantra, one must first master the basics of the conventional Sutra path.
Tantric teachings and practices date back to the time of Buddha Shakyamuni, who spent the first 30 years of his life in luxury as the son of a king. He encountered suffering, death, illness, old age, and fled from the kingdom to find a way to end this suffering. He lived in asceticism for six years and realized that this too was not the right way, that it was unhealthy, and that no extreme leads to anything good. No extreme is healthy.
These experiences were really crucial for him as he found the middle way between luxury and renunciation of pleasures. These experiences led to him freeing himself from suffering and the causes of suffering as he was far from the causes of suffering. For the next several decades, he taught this middle way, and the teachings of Buddha are called Dharma, which includes both Sutra and Tantra teachings.
There are three paths: in Sutras, there are Hinayana and Mahayana, and in Tantras, there is the Vajrayana path. In Sutras, i.e., Hinayana and Mahayana, the focus is mainly on purifying the mind from flaws and limitations and developing love and wisdom through various types of meditation, concentration practices, and other mental practices, creating the causes for achieving the state of awakening. In Tantras, however, it is said that this is the shortest path to enlightenment, as it also creates causes, but unlike a Sutra practitioner... a tantric yogi takes the future result, i.e., achieving the state of awakening, as the starting point for personal and spiritual development.
Tantra is described as a path that can lead to enlightenment within one lifetime, without having to wait for reincarnation. In Tantra, it is not said that if I meditate, I will become enlightened... if I am a good person, I will become an awakened Buddha... no! According to Tantra, we should be enlightened now, but our thoughts prevent us from achieving this awakening. What thoughts are we talking about? Thoughts like "I can't do this... I don't have enough skills in this field... if I were born into a wealthy family, then only... men and women are different... I am like this and can't do that..." These thoughts are obstacles in our heads, and they prevent us from developing, being happy, and fulfilled.
In Tantra, we are the same... men and women... every man is a complete man, every woman is a complete woman, and every person, regardless of gender, has both feminine and masculine energy, meaning everyone is a combination of universal energy.
What you need, you already have! It's within you, you only need to discover it within yourself, get to know yourself, learn to recognize and use your energy. Everything is within you; you don't have to search outside. And this is the Tantra I believe in and which really helps in every aspect of life... without exceptions.
Returning to Neo-Tantra, it is the study of orgasms, prolonged ejaculation, or lack of ejaculation, full-body energetic orgasms... and although this is not the essence of traditional Tantra, these are also beautiful things. Developing and focusing on this sphere, i.e., the sphere of intimacy, sexual life, life with a partner, life with oneself from a sexual perspective, can make us very happy, so it is also worth taking care of that. But as I said, it is very good to know the difference between traditional Tantra and Neo-Tantra.
One more very important thing for me, concerning all Tantra teachers... in my opinion, anyone involved in Neo-Tantra should clearly define the differences between Tantra and Neo-Tantra and honestly name what is Neo-Tantra, Neo-Tantra, and not Tantra. Perhaps just because the word Tantra sounds better than Neo-Tantra.
One more thought is that because we work with energies, we should be honest and respect all the values and qualities flowing from traditional Tantra. It is important to regularly use the teachings of Lamas, tantric meditations, tantric mantras, tantric Sadhanas, to not distort the values of traditional Tantra, but always after initiation from a Lama. It is not allowed to practice tantric Sadhanas without initiation from Lamas. There are some that can be practiced, like the Vajrasattva Sadhana, but others are secret transmissions, and one must have an explanation from a Lama. It is very important to develop Bodhicitta within oneself and always keep in mind that in Tantra, one does not harm oneself or others. This is the foundation of Tantra. Bodhicitta... I will talk about this in another video. Thank you.
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