Vajrayāna, Mantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Tibetan
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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