RatnākaraśāntiRatnākaraśānti (also known as Ratnākara, Śāntipa, and Śānti) (late-10th century to mid-11th century) was an influential Buddhist philosopher and vajrayana tantric adept and scholar. He was the "gate scholar" of Vikramaśilā university's eastern gate (modern-day Bihar in India), a key post in the university's leadership. Ratnākara was known by the title kalikālasarvajña ("the Omniscient One of the Degenerate Age") and is depicted as one of the eighty-four mahāsiddhas (great yogic masters).
AryadevaĀryadeva ou Kānadeva est un philosophe indien bouddhiste de l'école madhyamika des IIe/ siècles. Disciple de Nāgārjuna et successeur de celui-ci (vers 250), il est le Quinzième patriarche de la lignée indienne du Chan. Il serait né d'une lignée royale du Sri Lanka, et, aurait été assassiné par des ennemis du bouddhisme. L'auteur du Skhalitapramathanayuktāhetusiddhi ne peut être identifié avec certitude avec l'auteur du , et ne doit pas être confondu l'autre Āryadeva, l'auteur tantrique qui appartenait à l'école Ārya de la tradition Guhyasamāja et qui a écrit d'importants ouvrages tantriques, comme le Cittaviśuddhiprakaraṇa et le Caryāmelāpakapradīpa.
KamalashilaKamalashila (sanskrit : Kamalaśīla) (floruit 713-763) est un philosophe indien bouddhiste. Originaire de la célèbre université indienne de Nâlandâ, il est le disciple de Shantarakshita et de Padmasambhava, qui introduisit au Tibet l'enseignement Madhyamaka. Il accompagne Shantarakshita (725–788) au Tibet à la demande de Trisong Detsen.
GanachakraA ganacakra (गणचक्र "gathering circle"; ) is also known as tsok, ganapuja, cakrapuja or ganacakrapuja. It is a generic term for various tantric assemblies or feasts, in which practitioners meet to chant mantra, enact mudra, make votive offerings and practice various tantric rituals as part of a sādhanā, or spiritual practice. The ganachakra often comprises a sacramental meal and festivities such as dancing, spirit possession, and trance; the feast generally consisting of materials that were considered forbidden or taboo in medieval India like meat, fish, and wine.
KarmamudrāKarmamudrā (Sanskrit; "action seal," Tibetan: las-kyi phyag-rgya; commonly misspelled as: kāmamudrā or "desire seal") is a Vajrayana Buddhist technique which makes use of sexual union with a physical or visualized consort as well as the practice of inner heat (tummo) to achieve a non-dual state of bliss and insight into emptiness. In Tibetan Buddhism, proficiency in tummo yoga is generally seen as a prerequisite to the practice of karmamudrā. Karmamudrā also specifically refers to the female yogini who engages in such a practice.
NigumaNiguma is considered one of the most important and influential yoginis and Vajrayana teachers of the 10th or 11th century in India. She was a dakini, and one of the two female founders of the Shangpa Kagyu school of Vajrayana Buddhism, along with dakini Sukhasiddhi. Her birth name was Shrijnana (or Palgyi Yéshé in Tibetan). Like many of the mahasiddhas and Tantric practitioners of the time, Niguma was known by several names both during her lifetime and afterwards.
SahajaSahaja (সহজ सहज ) means spontaneous enlightenment in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist spirituality. Sahaja practices first arose in Bengal during the 8th century among yogis called Sahajiya siddhas. Ananda Coomaraswamy describes its significance as "the last achievement of all thought", and "a recognition of the identity of spirit and matter, subject and object", continuing "There is then no sacred or profane, spiritual or sensual, but everything that lives is pure and void.
