Abstract

This paper explores the philosophical stakes of eighth–twelfth-century Sanskrit debates about tantric initiation ( abhiṣeka ). I propose that three models of tantric initiation emerged in this period, in part in response to the Dharmakīrtian model of the gradual development of yogic perception. According to one, the true glimpse view, initiation gives a glimpse of precisely the experience of buddhahood, which is then made firm in post-initiatory practice. According to another, the exemplary glimpse view, the initiatory glimpse is only exemplary of what buddhahood is like. Post-initiatory practice is necessary to transform the practitioner's attitude toward that glimpse, which eventually results in an experience of buddhahood itself. Finally, others advanced a no glimpse view: only the experience of reality itself in post-initiatory practice can result in an experience of buddhahood. I explore these three views through a close engagement with some representative texts from the period.