Saturday 23 May 2020

Vajrayāna Tantric Buddhism or Esoteric Buddhism











VajrayānaMantrayānaTantrayānaTibetan Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism are terms referring to the various Buddhist traditions of Tantra   and "Secret Mantra”. 
The Vajra –
Vajrayāna is usually translated as Diamond Vehicle or Thunderbolt Vehicle, referring to the Vajra, a mythical weapon of Indra, the Hindu God, which is also used as a ritual implement.
The Sanskrit term "Vajra" denoted to a Thunderbolt, a legendary weapon and divine attribute that was made from an adamantine (not to be broken) and which can destroy anything if used against it. 
It is the weapon of Indra, the King of Hindu Devas
As a secondary meaning, "Vajra" symbolizes the ultimate nature of things which is described in the tantras as translucent, pure and radiant, but also indestructible and indivisible. It is also symbolic of the power of tantric methods to achieve its goals.
A Vajra is also a scepter-like ritual object which has a sphere at its centre, and a variable number of spokes, 3, 5 or 9 at each end (depending on the Sadhana), enfolding either end of the rod. 
The Vajra is often traditionally employed in tantric rituals in combination with the Bell or Ghanta, symbolically, the Vajra may represent method as well as great bliss and the bell stands for wisdom, specifically the wisdom realising emptiness. 
The union of the two sets of spokes at the center of the wheel is said to symbolize the unity of wisdom (prajña) and compassion (karuna) as well as the sexual union of male and female deities.
Founded by medieval Indian Mahasiddhas, Vajrayāna subscribes to the literature known as the Buddhist Tantra. 
It includes practices that make use of Mantras, Dharanas, Mudras, Mandalas and the visualization of Deities and Buddha. According to Vajrayāna scriptures, the term Vajrayāna refers to one of three vehicles or routes to Enlightment. 
The other two are Hinayana and Mahayana. 
Vajrayāna was developed in Medieval India  and spread to Tibet, Bhutan and Eastern Asia. In Tibet, Buddhist Tantra is termed Vajrayāna, while in China it is generally known as Tangmi Hanmi 漢密 (唐密, "Chinese Esotericism") or Mìzōng (密宗, "Esoteric Sect"). In Pali it is known as Pyitsayãna and in Japanese it is known as Mikkyo  (密教, "secret teachings").
Vajrayana Buddhism was established in Tibet in the 8th century when Santaraksita  was brought to Tibet from India at the instigation of the Dharma King Trisong Detsen, sometime before 767
Tibetan Buddhism reflects the later stages of Indian tantric Buddhist developments, including the Yogini tantras, translated into the Tibetan language. 
It also includes native Tibetan developments, such as the tulku system, new sadhana texts, Tibetan scholastic works, Dzogchen literature and Terma literature.
Tibet was converted to Buddhism in (7th to 11th century). 
That time the most dynamic form of Buddhism in India was Vajrayana. 
It was this tradition that became established in Tibet. 
Little is known about the early stages of the conversion (7th to 9th century) and the role of Vajrayana in the conversion before the 11th century, when several identifiable schools emerged, remains unclear.
Abhayākaragupta was a Buddhist monk, scholar and tantric master (vajracarya) and the abbot of Vikramasila. 

He was born in the city of Gaur, West Bengal, in Eastern India, and is thought to have flourished in the late 11th-early 12th century CE, and died in 1125.

One of the last Sanskrit works to have been written in Central Asia was the Kalachakra-tantra (“Wheel of Time”), which probably entered India in 966 AD. 

It taught that the Adi-Buddha—primeval Buddha hood—manifested itself as a continuum of time (kala) and space (chakra).

Tantric Theravada or "Esoteric Southern Buddhism" is a term for esoteric forms of Buddhism from Southeast Asia, where Theravada Buddhism is dominant. 

The monks of the Sri Lankan, Abhayagiri vihara once practiced forms of tantra which were popular in the island.

The religious culture of the Tantras is essentially Hindu, and Buddhist Tantric material can be shown to have been derived from Hindu sources. 

And although Hindu and Buddhist Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions.

Today, the four major Buddhist branches are Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana and Zen Buddhism.

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