Centre for Tantric Studies » Presentations

Second International Workshop on Early Tantra held in Pondicherry

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:50:57 +0000

In July 2009, more than forty scholars and graduate students gathered in Pondicherry, at the east coast of India, to attend the Second International Workshop on Early Tantra, which was hosted by the École française d’Extrême-Orient centre. In the morning, reading sessions took place in the EFEO library, while the afternoons were dedicated to presentations, each followed by various contributions and lively discussions.

In the first week (July 20-24), reading sessions focused on the following texts:
• The Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā (session headed by Prof. Alexis Sanderson)
• The Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa (session headed by Dr. Martin Delhey).
• A Sanskrit commentary on the Trisamayarājatantra, and the Kalyāṇakāmadhenu (session headed by Prof. Harunaga Isaacson).

The afternoons saw the following presentations (handouts made available by permission of the speakers):
• Dr. Dominic Goodall: On the tattvas in the Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā.
• Prof. Alexis Sanderson: How Buddhist is the Herukābhidhānatantra?.
• Dr. Diwakar Acharya: Glimpses of early Vaiṣṇavism in the Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā and the Svāyambhuvapāñcarātra
• Prof. Harunaga Isaacson: The Buddhist Kriyātantras and their exegesis: the Trisamayarājatantraṭīkā and the Kalyāṇakāmadhenu.
• Dr. Martin Delhey: Miscellaneous Remarks on the Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa.

Readings in the second week (July 27-31) concentrated on the Brahmayāmala, with additional sessions on the Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā and the Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa. In the afternoons, the following presentations were held:
• Dr. Csaba Kiss: The category of the sādhaka in the Brahmayāmalatantra.
• Dr. Judit Törszök: The alphabet goddess Mātṛkā in some early Śaiva tantras.
• Dr. Shaman Hatley: Clans of the goddesses: kulabheda in the Brahmayāmalatantra.
• Dr. Peter Bisschop: A 12th-century (?) Vārāṇasīmāhātmya and its account of a hypethral Yoginī temple.
• Diwakar Acharya: Fragments of Palm-leaves and Tidbits of Evidence: A report of some otherwise unknown Bhūta- and Gāruḍa-Tantras.
• Nirajan Kafle: The rewriting of the Niśvāsamukha to create part of the Śivadharmasaṅgraha.

Péter-Daniel Szántó on the Anāvilatantra

CTS — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:09:35 +0000

Mr. Péter-Daniel Szántó, a doctoral student at Oxford University, gave the following presentation:

A Sanskrit Manuscript of the Anāvilatantra —
Biography of a ‘Spurious’ Tantric Buddhist Scripture

Date: Wednesday, 24 June 2009, 6:15 pm

Venue: Room 123, Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg, Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1 (Ostflügel)

Shaman Hatley on Encounters with Goddesses and Women in the Bhairavatantras (4 Dec. 2008)

CTS — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:23:54 +0000

Dr. Shaman Hatley (visiting from Concordia University, Montreal) has given the following presentation:

Yoginīmelaka: Representations of encounters with goddesses and women in the early Bhairavatantras

Date: 4 December 2008, 4pm

Venue: Room 222, Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg, Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1 (Ostflügel)

Visionary, transactional encounters with the deities, particularly goddesses known as yoginīs, comprise one of the central concerns of the Vidyāpīṭha division of the Śaiva bhairavatantras. Indeed, the entire ediﬁce of ritual appears oriented at this level of the tradition toward bringing about power-bestowing “union” (melaka/melāpa) with the goddesses. This presentation examines representations of these encounters based on early sources such as the Brahmayāmala and Siddhayogeśvarīmata, exploring both the ritual context and doctrinal interpretation of melaka, the variety of its classifications, the transactions envisioned between sādhakas and yoginīs, and later transformations in conceptions of melaka. Depictions of melaka frequently blur the boundaries between yoginīs as goddesses and yoginīs as women, and one of the questions addressed concerns the manner in which representations of melaka afford insight into womens’ ritual roles.

1st International Workshop on Early Tantra concludes

CTS — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:56:45 +0000

The First International Workshop on Early Tantra was successfully held in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 15th to 26th September, 2008, bringing together over twenty-five participants from twelve countries.

The Workshop, consisting of readings in the morning sessions and presentations in the afternoons, was convened in connection with the Early Tantra project, which explores the interrelationships and ritual syntax of Śaiva, Buddhist, Vaiṣṇava and Saura tantric traditions in their formative period.

There were two public presentations, the first given by Prof. Alexis Sanderson (Oxford), summarising his work on ‘The Śaiva Age’, a study of Śaivism’s rise to prominence and its relationship with other religious currents during the early medieval period. The second public presentation, scheduled for the workshop’s closing session, was given by Péter-Dániel Szántó, and discussed various aspects of the Catuṣpīṭhatantra.

For further information on the Workshop, please see our brief report.

1st International Workshop on Early Tantra convenes

CTS — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:06:27 +0000

The First International Workshop on Early Tantra is scheduled to take place in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 15th to 26th September, 2008.

The Workshop, convened in connection with the Early Tantra project, explores the interrelationships and ritual syntax of Śaiva, Buddhist, Vaiṣṇava and Saura tantric traditions in their formative period.

In the morning sessions, participants read draft editions of the tantric works selected for the project, namely the Niśvāsa Guhyasūtra, Brahmayāmala, Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, and an anonymous commentary on the Trisamayarājatantra.

Report on ‘The Nāda Theory of Language’

admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:22:16 +0000

A summary of the presentation recently given by Prof. Francesco Sferra is now online:

The Nāda Theory of Language:
A Śaiva Perspective on Verbal Communication.

Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg, 30 April 2007.

Harunaga Isaacson on Yoginītantra (Oxford, 25 Apr. 2008)

CTS — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:29:33 +0000

The inaugural lecture for Trinity term in Oxford’s Numata Distinguished Guest Speaker Series was given by Prof. Harunaga Isaacson (visiting from the Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg):

Words of the Yoginīs:
Reflections on the Textual History of the Buddhist Yoginītantras

Date: Friday, 25th April 2008, 5 pm

Venue: Lecture Room 1 (LR1), Oriental Institute (Oxford University Faculty of Oriental Studies), Pusey Lane, Oxford, UK

Convenor: Dr. Robert Mayer, Oriental Institute, Oxford

Report on ‘Tāranātha: A Virtual Indian’

CTS — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:14:05 +0000

Our summary of the presentation recently given by David Templeman is now online:

Tāranātha: A ‘Virtual Indian’ in 16th–17th century Tibet.
Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg, 15 November 2007.

Report on ‘An Adhyardhaśatikā MS from Tibet’

CTS — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:08:39 +0000

A brief summary of a presentation given this week by Dr. Tōru Tomabechi, ‘An Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Manuscript from Tibet’, is available here.

The manuscript discussed in the presentation was first examined by the presenter as recently as a few weeks ago, and we thank Dr. Tomabechi for sharing his findings in this timely manner.