Deity yoga is the meditative practice of imagining oneself as an ideal being fully endowed with compassion, wisdom, and their resultant altruistic activities. The idea is that by imagining being a Buddha, one gets closer to actually achieving Buddhahood. Tantric Techniques will give the reader a dynamic sense of the potential of the human mind for self-transformation through step-by-step use of the imagination.

The book offers a complete system of Tantric meditation, comparing the views of three seminal Tibetan authors on deity yoga, and on issues such as how to safeguard against psychological inflation and how to use negative emotions on the path.

Tantric Techniques, Jeffrey Hopkins, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 421 Pages, $32.95

Jeffrey Hopkins is Professor of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia. Former Chief English Interpreter to the Dalai Lama, he is the author of numerous articles and twenty-seven books, including "Meditation on Emptiness "(1983) and "Emptiness Yoga "(1985), and is translator/editor for the Dalai Lama's "How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life "(2002) and "Advice on Dying: And on Living a Better Life "(2002).

	Technical Notes		6
	Introduction		7
Part 1	The Procedure of Deity Yoga		11
	1.	The Subartra Mode of Meditation	13
	2.	The Tantric Model of Meditation	45
	3.	Jung's Warnings Against Inflation	65
	4.	The Path in Action Tantra: Divine Body	83
	5.	Mantra Repetition	117
	6.	Concentration Without Repetition	145
	7.	The Practice	165
Part 2	The Difference Between S&ubar;tra and Mantra		203
	8.	Bu-t�et;n Rin-chen-drup's Stimulating Catalogue	205
	9.	Long-chen-rap-jam's Dramatic Evocation	243
	10.	Tsong-kha-pa's Reasoned Analysis of Path-Structure	263
	11.	Controversy over Deity Yoga in Action Tantra	303
Part 3	The Difference Between the Four Tantras		319
	12.	Bu-t�et;n and Tsong-kha-pa: The Four Tantra Sets	321
Appendix	The First Pan-chen Lama's Reformulation of Tsong-kha-pa's Presentation of the Vehicles translated by Donald S. Lopez		359
	List of Abbreviations		387
	Bibliography		389
	Index		413