According to Abhinavagupta, a master of the Tantrik lineages, there are three skilful means to liberation, or Upāya, of which one is śāmbhava upāya. He first outlined this framework in Tantrāloka around 10 centuries ago. The first is the Embodied Means (ānava upāya), which focuses on practices that use the body, breath and imagination, focusing …
Upāya • The Skillful Means to Liberation
Recently, I immersed myself in more of Christopher Wallis’ amazing book Tantra Illuminated. He was discussing Upāya, the three skilful means to liberation. The first is Śāmbhava-upāya, which is the Divine Means. It is the most subtle way to interact with reality on the road to liberation and is engaged through the spirit and intuition. …
