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Synopsis The term Tantra refers to a pan-Indian religious movements (also called Tantrism) that arose in about the 6 century AD within both Buddhism and Hinduism and to the texts (either Buddhist or Hindu) setting forth its practices and beliefs. The man emphasis of Tantrism is on the development of the devotee’s dormant psychophysical powers by means of special meditations and ritual teachniques. These are essentially esoteric and must be passed on personally from master to initiate. Stressing the coordination of body, speech, and mind, they include the use of symbolic gestures (mudras); the uttering of potent formulas (Mantras); the entering (through meditation) of sacred diagrams (mandalas) and yantras; the meditator’s creative visualization of and identification with specific divine forms; and the physical, iconographic, or mental use of sexual forces and symbols. In Buddhist tradition the word Tantra normally refers to a special class of the Buddha’s teachings and more specifically to the scriptures that embody it. But contrary to its normal usage, the word does not usually refer to the whole system of Tantric practice and theory. For the doctrinal system of Tantra, the terms Mantrayana ("Mantra Vehicle") and Vajrayana ("Vajra" or Adamantine Vehicle") are used instead. The text guides the reader towards a greater understanding of the secrets, explaining various important and key facets in language simple enough for a general reader to understand the mystery of Buddhist Tantras and clear enough for a student to provoke him to further research on the subject. This is probably the first and the only such Encyclopaedia available on Buddhist Tantra and will be welcomed by all classes of readers—general, researches, teachers, and students alike. It will particularly be interesting for the western readers as it provides him an opportunity to get important information on this branch of Buddhist philosophy at one place.