Tantric traditions make extensive use of tools and materials, yet consistently regard them as supports rather than the essence of the path. What is considered appropriate depends on the specific lineage and level of practice, but there is broad agreement about several main categories. A dedicated altar or sacred space is often prepared with a clean cloth, flowers, incense, lamps or candles, and vessels of pure water, creating an atmosphere conducive to focused ritual and meditation. Images or statues of deities, gurus, and mandalas—whether as mūrti, thangka, or painted diagrams—serve as powerful visual anchors for devotion and visualization. In this way, the outer environment is shaped to mirror and support the inner work of attention, reverence, and transformation.

For sound and mantra practice, malas of 108 beads are widely used to count repetitions, while bells, drums, and related implements such as vajra and phurba in certain traditions function as ritual instruments that embody and express subtle principles. Yantras and mandalas, whether drawn, painted, or engraved, offer geometric focal points that encode symbolic and cosmological meanings, guiding the mind into more refined states of awareness. Offerings of water, flowers, incense, light, and food are commonly employed, sometimes arranged in specific sets such as multiple offering bowls or ritual cakes, to cultivate generosity, purity, and a sense of sacred reciprocity. Substances like sandalwood paste, colored powders, sacred ash, oil or ghee for lamps, and particular foods or drinks in some lineages are used under guidance to mark the body, empower diagrams, or complete ritual sequences.

Alongside these more visible implements, there are also supports that bridge ritual and study. Sacred texts—root scriptures, sādhana manuals, and commentaries—provide the doctrinal and practical framework within which the use of all these materials becomes meaningful. Cushions or simple seats for meditation, clean garments, and sometimes specific colors of clothing are adopted to stabilize posture and align the practitioner with particular deities or energies. Guru-blessed or empowered objects may be treasured as tangible links to a living lineage, reinforcing faith and continuity. Yet throughout, authentic teachings stress that the indispensable “tools” are the body, breath, attention, and properly received instructions from a qualified teacher; external items are catalysts that can deepen practice, but the decisive work of Tantra unfolds in the subtle transformation of consciousness itself.