Tantrism The Talmuds are the major sources of information about Jewish culture and religion in the period of late antiquity and the early medieval period Often its pages reveal even earlier stages of Jewish life and culture— perhaps preserving fragments of teachers and teachings of the period after the last writings of the Bible and before the completion of the New Testament The problem is that the Talmuds add layer upon layer of editing so that the original historical kernel cannot be identified with certainty Another problem with determining the historicity of the Talmud came from outsiders: Christians often censored or destroyed copies of the Talmud in various regions of Europe Often, in order to avoid destruction, Jews submitted the Talmud to censorship so that early rabbinic discussion of such topics as Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth or early Christianity was lost or scattered See also Jewish (heterodoxies) revolts; Judaism, early Further reading: Goldenberg, R “Talmud.” Encyclopedia of Religion Detroit, MI: MacMillan Reference USA, 2004; Hezser, Catherine The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in Roman Palestine Tübingen, Germany: Mohr [Siebeck], 1997 Neusner, Jacob, ed Judaism in Late Antiquity Part 1: Literary and Archaeological Sources Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1995; Safrai, S., ed The Literature of the Sages Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987 Mark F Whitters Tantrism Vajrayana Buddhism, or Tantrism, is a form of Buddhist thought that has flourished in northern India and particularly Tibet The term vajra is a Sanskrit word that can mean either “diamond” or “thunderbolt.” Vajrayana Buddhism provides enlightenment in a single lifetime, rather than as a result of numerous incarnations as posited by other forms of Buddhism These means, which are known as upaya, include meditation techniques, thought exercises, chanting, and sexual practices Like Mahayana Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism aims to recreate the experience of Gautama Buddha and to enable the individual to attain Buddhahood, rather than just to escape from the endless wheel of death and rebirth that is caused by attachment to the insubstantial things of the world, which is the goal of Theravada Buddhism Like the other forms of Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism also enjoins upon the follower to take such measures as proper behavior, abstinence from 453 intoxicants, and supporting the monkhood An alternative name for Vajrayana Buddhism is Mantrayana Buddhism, owing to the practice of reciting mantras to escape from the human desire to grasp illusory and impermanent sensory data as reality Vajrayana Buddhism developed from Mahayana (or Great Vehicle) Buddhism around the sixth–seventh centuries and was particularly influential until the 11th century Tibetan adherents claim that Sakyamuni Buddha taught the tantras as secret texts that were preserved in writing some time after the sutras A tantra is a continuum that flows from fundamental ignorance to enlightenment, as well as being the text in which this message is recorded Tantras include continua of the path, the ground, and the result Three inner tantras, in addition to six outer tantras, once mastered, offer the capability of entering the Buddhahood This is managed through sophisticated mental techniques that facilitate the resolution of states of mental dissonance into one of enlightening union The three inner tantras are the Mahayoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga, which are the generation stage, the perfection stage, and the Great Perfection (dzogchen) stage The Indian spiritual leaders Padmasambhaa, Vimalamitra, and Buddhaguhya (among others) introduced them Their works have been subsequently collected in multiple-volume canons, notably in Tibetan translation by Buton Rinchendrub (1290–1364) The different collections of works gave rise to different schools of Vajrayana thought Vajrayana adherents stress the importance of the teacher-student relationship and the esoteric transmission of knowledge and upayas through that relationship Not only is meditation involved but also ritual chanting, the drawing of mystical charts, and the practice of tantric sexual congress with female priests known as yoginis The most well known repetitive chant is Om mane padme hum (ah, the jewel is indeed in the lotus), which when repeated can help the mind overcome dissonance Sexual congress is important in the quest for enlightenment because it is part of the attempt to resolve and unite opposing principles In addition, as one of the Four Delights, it aims to unite bliss with emptiness, by means of liberating the body’s energy center to receive the pristine cognition of supreme delight In some cases tantric activities, including sexual yoga, became associated with occult activities and sacred drinking of alcohol Tantrism on the island of Java, for example, included drinking and fornication with yoginis that rather scandalized some visitors, unaware of the purpose of the rituals Kertanagara (r 1268–92), the last king of Singosari on Java, for example, was obliged to protect his people and demonstrate the legitimacy of