Ganachakra

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A Ganachakra (Sanskrit gana (gathering); chakra (circle); Tib. tshogs kyi 'khor lo), alternately known as a gana puja or ganachakrapuja, is a generic term for a variety of Tantric assemblies or feasts in which practitioners meet to chant mantra, and enact mudra and practice various Tantric rituals, and make votive offerings as part of a sadhana. The Ganachakra as a tantric rite often comprises a sacramental meal or eucharistic feast which consist of materials that were considered forbidden according to ancient Indian culture, namely meat, alcohol, and sometimes sexual intercourse. These substances typically undergo a ritual transignification or transubstantiation and are considered a sacrament comparable though not akin to the Christian Eucharist. The ganachakra is common to both Hindu and Buddhist Tantra.

[edit] In Hindu tantra

In Hindu tantra, a ganachakra typically consists of five elements known as panchamakara or the "five Ms": madya (wine), mamsa (meat), matsya (fish), mudra (rice or grain), and maithuna (Sanskrit for "union' and coition or yab-yum) a form of tantra.

[edit] In Buddhist tantra

In Vajrayana, it is traditional to offer a tsog to Padmasambhava or other deities, usually gurus on the tenth lunar day and to a form of Dakini such as Yeshe Tsogyal, Mandarava or Vajrayogini on the twenty-fifth lunar day. Generally, participants are required by their samaya (vow) to partake of meat and alcohol which has been dissolved into emptiness and therefore, there is no distinction of pure and impure.