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by Tantric rituals. Many Hindu gods were incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon as represented in the two mandalas, the Garbhamandala and the Vajradhātumandala. The same process continued in the later period in which the anuttarayogatantra-s were composed.
I. 2 deals with the acceptance of evil in Tantrism. Many Tantric rituals stand in oppo. sition to ordinary ethics, which explains the hostile reaction to both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism in recent times. However, Tantrism does not blindly accept evil. Its presence in Tantrism is due, on the one hand, to the fact that Tantra yoga has as its goal union with the Absolute, and, on the other, to the fact that many ancient religious elements have been preserved in Tantrism. The opposition to ordinary ethics iš especially strong in anuttarayoga. In the Guhyasamāja, a representative text of the 'father' tantras of the anuttara yoga, the yoga system contains six members, omitting from the eight members of the system of the Yogasūtra 'prohibition' (yama) and ‘restraint' (niyama): In the sådhana-s of the anuttarayoga it is said that for the yogin in possession of 'wis. dom' (prajña) and ‘means' (upaya) evil does not exist. The anuttarayoga texts declare that ordinary rituals are useless for obtaining the highest siddhi. Most conspicuous is the opposition to ordinary ethics in the attitude to sexual acts. M. points to the relation between agricultural activities and procreation in agricultural communities. Quoting Eliade, M. states that for primitive peoples the sexual act was a sacrament expressing holy union. Physiological functions were thought to correspond to cosmic activities. In the fifth and fourth centuries B. C. non-Brahmanical religions such as Buddhism and Jainism developed in mercantile centres, where there was less use for the ancient agricultural magic. However, with the revival of Hinduism during the Gupta period, Hindu customs and old Indian magical practices were revived and adopted by Mahāyāna Buddhism, wherein they were transformed by mystical explanations, and by a process of symbolisation and puri. fication. The union (yuganaddha) of prajña and upaya symbolised the union of the masculine and feminine principles. In Hindu tantras the five makāras were taught (madya, mamsa, matsya, mudra and maithuna), but they were explained as representing the five elements. The practice of Tantric rituals was dangerous and could not be undertaken without correct preparation and the supervision of a teacher.
Tantric texts taught that it was sometimes even necessary to kill, and commentators such as Amoghavajra explain that one may kill those who want to destroy the doctrine and to harm living beings, and that one must abolish one's own bad thoughts. On the other hand, killing could be an act of mercy with the intention of thereby saving sinners and leading them to deliverance. The three kleśa-s, passion (rāga), hate (dveşa) and delusion (moha), which were called the three poisons, came to be valued in a positive
