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| **The use of ]s, or short verbal formulae | **The use of ]s, or short verbal formulae | ||
| **Strong focus on the guru, or teacher | **Strong focus on the guru, or teacher | ||
| **A highly-developed tradition of |
**A highly-developed tradition of ], including concentration techniques such as the visualization of ]s. | ||
| Practitioners are introduced to a collection of Vajrayana practices through a series of initiations. | Practitioners are introduced to a collection of Vajrayana practices through a series of initiations. | ||
Revision as of 10:21, 26 June 2002
'The Diamond Vehicle' or 'The Adamantine Vehicle', Vajrayana consists of a collection of techniques for the practice of Mahayana Buddhism, along with the texts that expound those techniques (the Buddhist Tantras).
Vajrayana is one name for the form of Buddhism currently associated with Tibet.
- The techniques are characterized by:
- The use of mantras, or short verbal formulae
- Strong focus on the guru, or teacher
- A highly-developed tradition of meditation, including concentration techniques such as the visualization of bodhisattvas.
Practitioners are introduced to a collection of Vajrayana practices through a series of initiations.
Vajrayana developed in Northern India from about 600CE (hard to say exactly when), based on the Madhyamika teachings of Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubhandu, Chandrakirti, and other, later masters and scholars.