Yoga in other Cultures Yoga Basics
Zen Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhism|Yogacara Buddhism|Yoga and Tantra|Nirvana|Symbolism|Goal of Yoga

Yoga is intimately connected to the religious beliefs and practices of Buddhism and Hinduism.There are however variations in the usage of terminology in the two religions. In Hinduism, the term "Yoga" commonly refers to the eight limbs as defined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which were written some time after 100 BCE. In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism the term "Yoga" is used to refer to the six levels of teachings divided into Outer tantra (Kriyayoga, Charyayoga and Yogatantra) and Inner tantra (Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga). Hindu Yoga is claimed to have had an influence on Buddhism, which is notable for its austerities, spiritual exercises, and trance states.

Zen Buddhism
Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with Yoga. In the west, Zen is often set alongside Yoga, the two schools of meditation display obvious family resemblances. Zen Buddhism traces some of its roots to yogic practices. Certain essential elements of Yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular. 

Tibetan Buddhism
Yoga is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, practitioners progress to increasingly profound levels of yoga, starting with Maha yoga, continuing to Anu yoga and ultimately undertaking the highest practice, Ati yoga. In the Sarma traditions, the Anuttara yoga class is equivalent. Other tantra yoga practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. Timing in movement exercises is known as Trul khor or union of moon and sun (channel) prajna energies. The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang. 

Yogacara Buddhism
Yogacara, also spelled yogachara, is a school of philosophy and psychology that developed in India during the 4th to 5th centuries. Yogacara received the name as it provided a yoga, a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva. The Yogacara sect teaches yoga in order to reach enlightenment. 

Yoga and Tantra
Tantrism, is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of the individual practitioner of Tantrism to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality in which he or she lives. Through Tantric practice an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves liberation from it. This particular path to salvation among the several offered by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those practices of Indian religions, such as yoga, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal from social relationships and modes. During tantric practices and studies, the student is instructed further in meditation technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison with the way this kind of meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners and yogis elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Yoga for the purpose of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the "heart," for meditation and worship. 

Nirvana
The word nirvana (Pali: Nibbana) was first used in its technical sense in Buddhism, and cannot be found in any of the pre-Buddhist Upanishads. The use of the term in the Bhagavad Gita may be a sign of the strong Buddhist influence upon Hindu thought. 

Symbolism

Mudra: This is a symbolic hand-gesture expressing an emotion. Depictions of the Buddha are almost always depicted performing a mudra.

Dharma Chakra: The Dharma Chakra, which appears of the national flags of India and a few Buddhist countries (e.g. Thailand) is a Buddhist symbol that is used by members of both religions. The Buddha used it for his path.

Rudraraksh: These are beads which devotees, usually monks use for praying.

Tilak: Many Hindu devotees mark their heads with a tilak, which is interpreted as a third eye. The Buddha's too marked his forehead with a piece of hair.

Swastika: The swastika is a symbol to keep evil away. It can be either clockwise or counter-clockwise and both are seen in Hinduism and Buddhism. Many times the Buddha is depicted with a swastika on his chest.For Buddhists swastikas are used in every Buddhist country, including on the flags of a national Buddhist community.

 

Goal of Yoga
There are numerous opinions on what the goal of Yoga may be, although generally they involve some kind of union, either of a personal or a non-personal nature. Within the monist schools of Advaita Vedanta and Shaivism this perfection takes the form of Moksha, which is a liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death (Samsara) at which point there is a cessation of thought and an experience of blissful union with the Supreme Brahman. For the dualistic bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti itself is the ultimate goal of the yoga process, wherein perfection culminates in an eternal relationship with Vishnu or one of his associated avatars such as Krishna or Rama.