to be particularly popular in the Liao dynasty, which contended with the Song for control of northern China. Due to the highly eclectic nature of Chinese Buddhism where sectarian denominations were not strictly drawn between the various Buddhist schools (even during the Tang dynasty), and where most Buddhist masters mixed practices from the different traditions, Chinese Esoteric Buddhist practices were absorbed by lineages from the other Buddhist traditions such as Chan and Tiantai. For example, the Northern School of Chan even became known for its esoteric practices of dhāraṇīs and mantras. During the Yuan and Ming dynasty periods, certain esoteric elements from Tibetan Buddhism were also adapted and incorporated into general Chinese Buddhist practices and rituals. In modern Chinese Buddhism, the esoteric traditions continue to be passed on and practiced through numerous tantric rituals such as the Liberation Rite of Water and Land and the Universal Crossing (普渡 Pǔdù) rites for Hungry Ghosts which involve practices like deity yoga and mandala offerings, as well as the recitation of tantric mantras such as the Cundī Dhāraṇī, the Hundred Syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva, the Mahācakravidyārāja Dhāraṇī and the Shurangama Mantra. Esoteric practices also spread to Korea and to Japan, where it exists as an independent tradition called Shingon. Other religions The Hindu and Buddhist Tantric traditions significantly influenced many other religions such Jainism, Sikhism, the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism, Shintō, Sufi Islam, and the Western "New Age" movement. In the Sikh literature, the ideas related to Shakti and goddess reverence attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, particularly in the Dasam Granth, are related to tantra ideas found in Buddhism and Hinduism. The Jain worship methods, states Ellen Gough, were likely influenced by Shaktism ideas, and this is attested by the tantric diagrams of the Rishi-mandala where the Tirthankaras are portrayed. The Tantric traditions within Jainism use verbal spells or mantra, and rituals that are believed to accrue merit for rebirth realms. Practices One of the main elements of the Tantric literature is ritual Rather than one coherent system, Tantra is an accumulation of practices and ideas from different sources. As Samuel writes, the tantric traditions are "a confluence of a variety of different factors and components." These elements include: mandalas, mantras, internal sexual yogic practices, fierce male and female deities, cremation ground symbolism, as well as concepts from Indian Philosophy. André Padoux notes that there is no consensus among scholars as to which