Preparing for Tantra ─ Creating the Psychological Ground for Practice

The preliminary practices of Tantra aren't a hurdle to be gotten through in order to get somewhere else; they're an extraordinarily rich collection of practices which have much to offer as a means of cultivating and maturing the practitioner's psychological ground. They can enable experiences to unfold, and they can clear the way when there seem to be problems or hindrances practitioners are struggling with. In Preparing for Tantra, Preece draws on his experience as a Tantric Buddhist practitioner, meditation teacher, and psychotherapist to explain how to make the preliminary practices psychologically meaningful and spiritually transformative. He examines each of the practices with an eye to revealing how they may be used to heal and transform psychological trauma and offers practical suggestions for integrating them into daily life—as well as ensuring that practitioners are prepared psychologically, emotionally, and energetically to start out safely on the tantric path. Preparing for Tantra is an accessible guidebook for engaging in ngondro, the preliminary practices that are done before engaging in a long tantric retreat. These practices are also powerful tools for purifying negativities and alleviating guilt, healing difficult experiences, and enriching our minds with goodness so that we will be able to progress in our Dharma practice and gain realizations of the path.

Rob Preece has been practicing Tibetan Buddhism since 1973 and psychotherapy since 1988. He leads meditation retreats and gives workshops on comparative Jungian and Buddhist psychology. Author of The Courage to Feel and The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra, he lives in London.