The Importance of Lineage in Tantra

Have you ever wondered about the importance of lineage in Tantra? At IATE we make a big deal about our methods being lineage-based and Lama-approved, but why is that important in the realm of Tantra? 

Tantra is a spiritual science originally developed in Northern India several thousand years ago. Today there are many different branches, traditions, and lineages of authentic tantric practice. Even though there are a wide variety of tantric traditions to choose from, the one thing that all authentic tantric traditions share is lineage.

Lineage means – the tantric instructions being offered were originally transmitted by a human that had achieved a degree of SPIRITUAL accomplishment that is and/or was recognized and validated by other realized Masters of that tradition. 

“Unbroken lineage” means that these teachings have ALWAYS and continuously been transmitted ONLY by those who have achieved this same or similar level of spiritual realization.

The Tibetan 5 Element Teachings, which make up the core of the trademarked Authentic Tantra® healing modality, stem from a 1200-year-old UNBROKEN lineage.

In today’s world, it’s easy to get confused about what true tantric accomplishment looks like. Our society tends to mistake good branding and crafty marketing for substance and depth.

True tantric accomplishment is not measured by how glossy, sparkly, and cute your branding is or how many followers you have on your Instagram page.

True tantric accomplishment can be measured by some of the following signposts: 

1. How long can you rest comfortably in the silent vastness of your own non-conceptual awareness?

2. How much peace resides in your heart and how much of that inner peace do you instill in others?

3. Has your compassion for the suffering of others increased?

4. Has compassion for yourself increased?

5. How well are you able to identify, pacify, and purify the 5 root poisons of your own mind?

6. And in our tradition of practice, the Shangpa Kagyu lineage of practice, (also known as “The Secret Lineage”), we measure accomplishment by all of the above AND, how many hours you have spent in practice –  i.e. sitting meditation with mantra recitation and visualization.

To give you an idea, I myself (Devi Ward Erickson) have counted over 50,000 hours of sitting meditation practice over the last 2 decades. Our Root Lama, Lama Tashi, probably has 10x’s that amount, easily.

This is significant because the most transformational action one can take is to sit and REST in the voidness of their own ultimate nature- that part of ALL of us that is clear, pure, vast, untainted, open, and entirely LIBERATED from all forms of suffering.

Diligently and intentionally accessing the infinite wisdom of your own ultimate nature is the MOST profound practice you can ever engage in. And THAT is what lineage-based Tantra allows you to do.

Lineage-based tantra offers you the keys to the kingdom of your own ultimate nature by offering you methods and tools which have been cultivated FOR MILLENIA to do exactly that. Lineage-based Tantra ONLY offers those methods that have demonstrated supreme efficacy for this degree of realization. In short, lineage-based Tantra WORKS, which is why it has been and continues to be cultivated, practiced, and transmitted for thousands of years.

These are not methods that someone made up in their “Mastermind” workshop or that were crafted by a slick marketing team to sell you a product.

These are methods that have led to ENLIGHTENMENT for countless other humans for THOUSANDS of years! 

And the benefit of lineage-based Tantra is that you are quite literally aligning YOUR consciousness with the consciousness of ALL the Masters, students, practitioners, and teachers, who have been cultivating the very same methods for thousands of years!

And over those thousands of years, these methods have shown themselves to be supremely effective at producing the desired results of:

• Physical, mental, and emotional BLISS 
• Mental and emotional equanimity (aka emotional stability! No more rollercoaster relationships!) 
• Openness of heart and PEACE of mind 
• JOY – inherent, embodied, and unbridled JOY
• And CLARITY of thought, speech, and action.

And two thousand+ years later, here we are practicing these SAME methods that have led to thousands of other people experiencing these same results!

THIS IS LINEAGE. It is like a network of LOVE-based ENLIGHTENED consciousness that you get to tap into every time you practice! 

And Tantra – true, authentic, TANTRA is a lineage-based practice.

The Masters who created and developed Tantra from its roots defined it and declared it to be transmitted via lineage.

One simply can NOT claim to “teach” something that is DEFINED by lineage if/when said person does not in fact HAVE a lineage. It’s just not possible. 

These days folks will try to sell you “Tantra” which consists of nothing more than an erotic massage, “speed dating” events, or “pink pussy parties”. But don’t let these people fool you.

The Masters of all the authentic Tantric traditions will tell you the very same thing – No Teacher, No Lineage, No Tantra. 

Join us on September 15th for an authentic Tantric teaching and lineage empowerment from an authentic Lama of an authentic lineage in an authentic Tantric tradition.

The event will be hosted at… you guessed it…The Institute of AUTHENTIC Tantra Education.

Looking forward to seeing you there!