Tibetan Longevity Meditation
Asian Traditions of Meditation October 31, 2016 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.21313/hawaii/9780824855680.003.0008
Summary
Tantric practices in Tibetan Buddhism aim for enlightenment and also promote good health and longevity. These techniques involve visualizing a Tantric deity and mandala, mantra recitation, breathing techniques, and specific movements. They are believed to help individuals recover lost life-essence from the environment, restoring the body-mind connection. The practices reflect a shamanic worldview where external forces can impact one's life-essence.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | Tantric practices are used to connect body-mind and environment, aiding in the recovery of lost life-essence for better health. |
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Abstract
The central aim of Tantric practice in Tibetan Buddhism is enlightenment, but the same techniques are also used to attain good health and a long life. The image of the Tantric deity and the surrounding mandala enables the imaginative recreation of a universe in which body-mind and wider environment are connected. Along with mantra recitation, secret breathing techniques, sometimes sexualized visualizations, and various movements and postures, this is understood to help the person reabsorb various kinds of life-essence that have been lost to the environment. Technique and culture are intertwined, since the practices are based on a ‘shamanic’ world-view in which life-essence may be lost to external forces, and the body-mind complex restored to good health and functioning through their recovery.