History of “Tantric” Study

Two decades ago, I found some tantras.

I studied them. After some digging, I realized that they were at best useless translations from a world long gone. The context for their application was missing, and there was no evidence that anyone had achieved anything from their practice.

A decade ago, I found some new books about tantra. They seemed engaging and exciting, coming with bolder promises and bigger letters when compared with the tantras.

After enough attention, I realized that they were also useless. In fact, they were not only inspired by, but they claimed the majority of their authority from the tantras I had discarded the previous decade.

Now, I run across websites, videos and lectures on tantra. Seeing the animated faces and hearing the emotion rich voices of the lecturers make them extremely compelling. There is even some skin here and there… Yet, after sufficient scrutiny, I realize that they are entirely based on the books from the last decade.

But that’s not all… What’s worse is that the newest batch of teachers don’t even know of the tantras which the books are based upon!

This is the blind charing tours to lead the blind using a tour guide written by someone who confused a circuit board to be the map of an ancient city.

If in just twenty years, we have this level of confusion, I cannot even imagine the extent of the bedlam in our history. Sure, global increase literacy and ease of life conditions make writing much easier, and the internet makes publishing almost trivial. Yet, we are only talking about three decades!

Future generations in particular need to develop flawless discrimination. They need to learn the correct context about these things…

May the Supreme Swan grant us the wisdom to recognize truth and discard the junk.