Tantra

Theory and Practice with Professor Gavin Flood

By: Gavin Flood, Wise Studies

Narrated by: Gavin Flood

Length: 1 hr and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Over five lectures, Gavin Flood, professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion in the Theology and Religion Faculty at Campion Hall at Oxford University, gives an overview of the history, theory, and practice of Tantra. He explores aspects from the Śaiva Siddhānta tradition to the Non-Saiddhāntika, to Buddhist Tantra. He gives an overview of the many developments in thought, cosmologies, and the varied and fascinating practices that have emerged over the centuries.

• Session 1: Tantra in history, an overview
• Session 2: The Śaiva Siddhānta Tradition, rituals, cosmology, initiation and liberation
• Session 3: The Non-Saiddhāntika traditions including the path of purity and the path of power
• Session 4: Tantric Śaiva views of the self, the porous self & the gnostic self, Tantric meditation
• Session 5: Buddhist Tantra - Vajrayāna and the influence of Śaivism

Gavin Flood is a Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion in the Theology and Religion Faculty and academic director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Gavin read Religious Studies and Social Anthropology at Lancaster University and taught at the universities of Wales (Lampeter) and Stirling before coming to Oxford. He was elected to membership of the British Academy in 2014. His research interests are in medieval Hindu texts (especially from the traditions of Shiva), comparative religion, and phenomenology. Two recent books are The Importance of Religion: Meaning and Action in Our Strange World (Oxford: Blackwell, 2013) and The Truth Within: A History of Inwardness in Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism (Oxford University Press, 2014).

©2018 Wise Studies (P)2018 Wise Studies

A helpful and intriguing overview

Gavin floods discussion while short provides a helpful and concise overview of the various tantric traditions, mainly Shaiva-Shakta and Buddhist tantric tradition and positions them within the broader tantric tradition as a whole.

I learned some unique things about the Shaiva tradition I was unaware of through my other studies. Definitely worth a listen!

Short but overall a top resource on Tantra

This audiobook really impressed me with how much value, detail and precise information the author managed to pack into a little under 2 hours. I've read a variety of books on the topic of Tantra and most available are written without the history or theory or written without details that would actually help a reader truly understand contextually what Tantra is and where it comes from and why anyone would benefit from it. But, despite the fact that the book is limited in depth, it is certainly one of my personal top favorite resources on the topic.

If you want a deeper dive, there are other resources written by Lamas and Rinpoches and very practiced Buddhists who've pursued the Vajryana path but still this is a really great resource even if you do read from those other authors.