What do you think?
Rate this book
A Guide to the Deities of the Tantra
A Guide to the Deities of the Tantra is a fascinating insight into a subject that has captivated the imagination of many but remains mysterious and exotic to all but a few.
Tantric deities? Who are they and what do they do?
This volume focuses on the deities whose mantra recitation and colorful visualizations lie at the heart of the Tantra. We meet goddesses of wisdom, the prince of purity, the lotus-born guru Padmasambhava, and dakinis— wild-haired women who dance in the flames of freedom. All, the peaceful and the wrathful alike, urge the reader to break through to wisdom, pointing out the true nature of reality with uncompromising vigor.
Devoid of pop culture misperceptions, this guide is a window into the sometimes mysterious world of Buddhist Tantra. Vessantara explores the key characteristics of the Tantra in this magical fusion of the practical and the imaginative—giving us a direct insight in into the poetry and the power of the Tantra.
A much-published and well-respected Buddhist author, meditator, and teacher, Vessantara is a senior member of the Western Buddhist Order. He holds a particular love for Tibetan Buddhism and is well-known as an effective storyteller. This is one of three volumes looking at Buddha figures in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Tantric deities? Who are they and what do they do?
This volume focuses on the deities whose mantra recitation and colorful visualizations lie at the heart of the Tantra. We meet goddesses of wisdom, the prince of purity, the lotus-born guru Padmasambhava, and dakinis— wild-haired women who dance in the flames of freedom. All, the peaceful and the wrathful alike, urge the reader to break through to wisdom, pointing out the true nature of reality with uncompromising vigor.
Devoid of pop culture misperceptions, this guide is a window into the sometimes mysterious world of Buddhist Tantra. Vessantara explores the key characteristics of the Tantra in this magical fusion of the practical and the imaginative—giving us a direct insight in into the poetry and the power of the Tantra.
A much-published and well-respected Buddhist author, meditator, and teacher, Vessantara is a senior member of the Western Buddhist Order. He holds a particular love for Tibetan Buddhism and is well-known as an effective storyteller. This is one of three volumes looking at Buddha figures in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
- GenresBuddhism
176 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2008
7 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 16, 2022
I took up reading this book because I was always fascinated by the wrathful imagery of Vajrayana Buddhism (Tibetan Buddhism) and wanted to know why a God would appear like a demon and be such wrathful that strikes fear the moment you look at the deity.
The language is very lucid.
The concepts of tantra broken down to be able to be related to our daily lives.
The way the Vajrayana deities have been introduced and talked about is a pleasure to read. One can almost 'see' the compassionate and gentle Avalokiteshvara transforming into the wrathful Mahakala. The story telling is very engaging and also sheds lights on the three turnings of the wheel of dharma. For anyone interested in knowing about the wrathful forms of Vajrayana, this is an excellent place to start and maybe follow it up with HH The Dalai Lama's book on Tibetan Buddhism (available on Amazon).
Also, having read this book, I have now started reading the two others written by Vessantara, from the same series, titled, Meeting the Buddhas.
The language is very lucid.
The concepts of tantra broken down to be able to be related to our daily lives.
The way the Vajrayana deities have been introduced and talked about is a pleasure to read. One can almost 'see' the compassionate and gentle Avalokiteshvara transforming into the wrathful Mahakala. The story telling is very engaging and also sheds lights on the three turnings of the wheel of dharma. For anyone interested in knowing about the wrathful forms of Vajrayana, this is an excellent place to start and maybe follow it up with HH The Dalai Lama's book on Tibetan Buddhism (available on Amazon).
Also, having read this book, I have now started reading the two others written by Vessantara, from the same series, titled, Meeting the Buddhas.
May 6, 2021
This is more of a guide to the Tibetan tantric deities as it’s main focus is Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. But a thoroughly enjoyable book nevertheless.
I would assume western audiences would struggle (a lot!) with the symbolisms depicted in the book and they are definitely not for the faint hearted. It would be highly recommended that readers should go through the first two books in the series by Vessantara which “warms you up” to this final edition of the trilogy.
Coming from the east however, this book makes perfect sense as it links various Tibetan schools and their deities and their ‘yiddam’ or central spiritual focus. Readers are advised to keep this in mind as they go through the various Tantric deities scary or otherwise… they ALL point towards enlightenment.
I would assume western audiences would struggle (a lot!) with the symbolisms depicted in the book and they are definitely not for the faint hearted. It would be highly recommended that readers should go through the first two books in the series by Vessantara which “warms you up” to this final edition of the trilogy.
Coming from the east however, this book makes perfect sense as it links various Tibetan schools and their deities and their ‘yiddam’ or central spiritual focus. Readers are advised to keep this in mind as they go through the various Tantric deities scary or otherwise… they ALL point towards enlightenment.
August 10, 2016
Probably my favorite of the three volumes in Vessantara's "Meet the Buddhas" series as it goes into detail about the Tantric deities and visualizations, explains the sadhanas without going into things that break Tantric vows, explaining the art work and the various roles played by the figures as well as the categorical meanings. It also makes comparisons between the four main schools (the recently official Jonangpa having been re-introduced into mainline Tibetan buddhist thought, there are some things that Vessantara did not seem to know about Kalachakra for example) and explains the differences fairly well.
This is from the FWBO/The Triratna Buddhist Community perspective and is going to be inclusive, although I was a little sad Vessantara didn't incorporate more from Shingon and Tendai (although he does mention Tiantai's syncretic tendencies to justify Triratna's approach) into his descriptions. He had mentioned them more in his work about the dhyani Buddhas and the relationship to Sakyamuni. This is a very minor complaint with the book.
This is from the FWBO/The Triratna Buddhist Community perspective and is going to be inclusive, although I was a little sad Vessantara didn't incorporate more from Shingon and Tendai (although he does mention Tiantai's syncretic tendencies to justify Triratna's approach) into his descriptions. He had mentioned them more in his work about the dhyani Buddhas and the relationship to Sakyamuni. This is a very minor complaint with the book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews