Tantra
[tuhn-truh, tan-]
- (italics) Hinduism. any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti; Agama.
- Also called Tan·trism [tuhn-triz-uh m, tan-] /ˈtʌn trɪz əm, ˈtæn-/. the philosophy or doctrine of these books, regarding the changing, visible world as the creative dance or play of the Divine Mother and regarding enlightenment as the realization of the essential oneness of one's self and of the visible world with Shiva-Shakti, the Godhead: influential in some schools of Mahayana Buddhism, especially in Tibet.
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Origin of Tantra
From Sanskrit
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tantra
Contemporary Examples
The musician Sting, a longtime yogi and advocate of Tantra, once claimed he and his wife had “seven hours of sex every night”.
In Tantra, like in the movie, spiritual union isn't just between man and woman.
In Tantra, the goddess Shakti is the primordial deity, her name coming from the Sanskrit word shak, meaning "power."
One of the key ingredients of Tantra is the discovery of atman, or true self.
In Tantra, the seventh chakra is the crown chakra, the sahasrara chakra, located at the top of the head.
Historical Examples
The original meaning of Tantra as applied to literary compositions is a simplified manual.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)Charles Eliot
As already indicated European usage makes the words Tantra, Tantrism and tantric refer to the worship of goddesses.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)Charles Eliot
See for some notices of these works A. Avalon's various publications about Tantra.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)Charles Eliot
Alberuni seems not to have known of this literature and a Tantra for him is merely a minor treatise on astronomy.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)Charles Eliot
As this was to travel into Japan and be hailed as purest Buddhism, let us note how this tenth century Tantra system grew up.
The Religions of JapanWilliam Elliot Griffis
Tantra
- Hinduism Buddhism the sacred books of Tantrism, written between the 7th and 17th centuries ad, mainly in the form of a dialogue between Siva and his wife
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Word Origin
C18: from Sanskrit: warp, hence underlying principle, from tanoti he weaves
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for tantra
n.
type of Hindu religious book, 1799, from Sanskrit tantram, literally "loom, warp," hence "groundwork, system, doctrine," from tan "to stretch, extend," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch, extend" (see tenet).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper