What is Vajrayana School of Buddhism?

Posted on July 28, 2007 in Sects of Buddhism

Tibetan tradition claim that Vajrayana, or Tantric Buddhism, was the original teaching of the Buddha. But since these are the esoteric teachings outside the teacher/disciple relationship, they are believed to have been written down only after the Buddha's other teachings were compiled.

It is generally accepted that Vajrayana Buddhism stemmed out from Mahayana Buddhism in northwest India around 500 AD, though some sources claim that it began in southern India. It is then believed to have gathered momentum after 600 AD, reaching its zenith under the Palas between the 8th – 12th centuries.

Vajrayana Buddhism derives its term from Vajra which originated in Hindu mythology; it was the diamond hard thunderbolt used as a weapon by the gods. Vajrayana is thus translated as The Diamond Vehicle. Though it has its foundation on Mahayanism, it was nevertheless impelled by a spirit of critique on the existing Buddhist philosophies. Therefore, it is often described as the 'completed Dharma' because it incorporated the doctrines of both Theravada and Mahayana alone with Tantra.

Vajrayana Buddhism which incorporated Tantric approaches to Buddhism emerged outside the powerful Buddhist monasteries, initially as a protest movement against ecclesiastical privilege and sought to forge a religious approach that was more widely accessible and socially inclusive. Vajrayana philosophy was built on the belief that self-mastery is to be tested amidst social life.

The earliest Vajrayana texts which were developed in Nalanda University in northern India appeared around the early 4th century. Vajrayana Buddhism blends the physical and spiritual aspects of the world and engages both.

Some Characteristics of Vajrayana Buddhism Involve:

• esoteric visualizations, symbols, and complicated rituals that can only be learned by study with a master.
• emphasis on mantras (incantations), mudras (hand gestures) and mandalas (diagrams of the deities and cosmic forces), as well as on magic and a multiplicity of deities.

Secrecy which is a cornerstone of Tantra was incorporated into Vajrayana. Though the other sects claim that Vajrayana approaches are against Buddhism's tenets, it however does not reject the basic teachings of the Buddha.

Often considered as the third major 'vehicle' (Yana) of Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism is practiced mostly in Tibet (origin dates back to the 8th century CE), Mongolia and Japan.

Vajrayana exists today in the form of two major sub-schools:

• Tibetan Buddhism: Practiced in Tibet, Bhutan, northern India, Nepal, southwestern and northern China, Mongolia, and in some parts of constituent republics of Russia.
• Shingon Buddhism of Japan

Vajrayana form of Buddhism therefore exists in pockets in many countries; however, the erotic form of Tantric Buddhism is limited. Today, Tibetans remain the primary practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism

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