The Tantric Multiverse

Shamanism and Buddhism in Tantric spiritual practice

When you say the word “Tantra,” many people think about it as a kind of sexual yoga. This is true mainly for European countries and the English-speaking world.

If you speak to people from the countries where Tantra has flourished - India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet for example - “Tantra” means something else. It is often associated with magic, sorcery, curses and cures.

I have recently been researching a type of folk religion from these regions called “shamanism.” Studying shamanic practices has led me to rethink the relationship between Buddhism and Tantrism. It seems to me that the shamanic folk religions have had a much greater influence on both Tantric and Buddhistic thought and practice than many people realise.

It turns out that appreciating the influence of shamanism is extremely helpful for untangling the web of medieval Asian religion and spirituality.

The geographical and historical intersections of these spiritual, philosophical and religious movements is fiendishly complex. The…