Tradition, Tantra and the West
Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 1:59 pm
Transmission of teaching, and the authenticity of Tradition, have been a long-standing concern for me. But, after finding a spiritual refuge in such a young teaching us ours is, I have spent much thought on the vitality of spontanous spiritual forms, in contrast to unbroken traditional lineages.
In the Western World, unbroken lines of esoteric teaching are hard to find. Some say we used to have them, but not anymore. Arthur Versluis, however, says that Western esoteric traditions demonstrate ahistorical continuity: Their teachings are preserved in writing and in pictorial representations. These material media play a part in preserving esoteric lineages, that may slumber for centuries, and then suddenly a new disciple, or a new school will emerge, that places its teaching to that lineage.
This resonates with the Jungian notion, that religion cannot be destroyed, because it will emerge from inside of men again and again. But it also resonates with Tantrism. (As a side note, such authorative figure of an authentic Tantric Traditions as Lama Thubten Yeshen considers the Tantric to be the most suitable form of spirituality for Modern West).
There is also an idea of Tantric teaching being "asambradaya", that is a-sambradaya, or different from "sambradaya", which could be translated something like a traditional religious system that is formed by a succession of teachers and pupils. In contrary, Tantric teaching (not unlike Tantric realization) is sudden and spontaneous. One could say that it emerges fully armed, like the Virgin Goddess from the forehead of Zeus.
Now, in many ways I see SoA as a Tantric entity. I see in it a spiritual resemblance to the fermentating atmosphere of graveyard ascetism of India (culminating during the millenial centuries, that is, between 900 - 1100 AD), that produced such Nondual traditions like Tantric Buddhism and Kashmir Shaivism. But I also see SoA to be Tantric in the sense of it being sudden, spontaneous and quite unexpected.
There are many more parallels, for example, our elevation of Satan could be compared to how a minor ferocious charnel ground deity like Bhairava became a transcended absolute in Kashmir Shaivism, and a similar process of Herukas ("blood drinkers") and Dakinis (supernatural flesh-eating witches) in the case of Tantric Buddhism.
So I would say that in relation to the concept of Tradition and the question of Lineage, SoA represents ahistorical continuity that is typical of Western Esoteric Traditions; and SoA represents a sudden or spontaneous teaching, typical of Nondual Tantras.
EDIT: Made some essential additions and corrections.
In the Western World, unbroken lines of esoteric teaching are hard to find. Some say we used to have them, but not anymore. Arthur Versluis, however, says that Western esoteric traditions demonstrate ahistorical continuity: Their teachings are preserved in writing and in pictorial representations. These material media play a part in preserving esoteric lineages, that may slumber for centuries, and then suddenly a new disciple, or a new school will emerge, that places its teaching to that lineage.
This resonates with the Jungian notion, that religion cannot be destroyed, because it will emerge from inside of men again and again. But it also resonates with Tantrism. (As a side note, such authorative figure of an authentic Tantric Traditions as Lama Thubten Yeshen considers the Tantric to be the most suitable form of spirituality for Modern West).
There is also an idea of Tantric teaching being "asambradaya", that is a-sambradaya, or different from "sambradaya", which could be translated something like a traditional religious system that is formed by a succession of teachers and pupils. In contrary, Tantric teaching (not unlike Tantric realization) is sudden and spontaneous. One could say that it emerges fully armed, like the Virgin Goddess from the forehead of Zeus.
Now, in many ways I see SoA as a Tantric entity. I see in it a spiritual resemblance to the fermentating atmosphere of graveyard ascetism of India (culminating during the millenial centuries, that is, between 900 - 1100 AD), that produced such Nondual traditions like Tantric Buddhism and Kashmir Shaivism. But I also see SoA to be Tantric in the sense of it being sudden, spontaneous and quite unexpected.
There are many more parallels, for example, our elevation of Satan could be compared to how a minor ferocious charnel ground deity like Bhairava became a transcended absolute in Kashmir Shaivism, and a similar process of Herukas ("blood drinkers") and Dakinis (supernatural flesh-eating witches) in the case of Tantric Buddhism.
So I would say that in relation to the concept of Tradition and the question of Lineage, SoA represents ahistorical continuity that is typical of Western Esoteric Traditions; and SoA represents a sudden or spontaneous teaching, typical of Nondual Tantras.
EDIT: Made some essential additions and corrections.