Misplaced Pages

Vajrayana: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 16:55, 4 June 2003 edit62.226.203.79 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit Revision as of 19:35, 4 June 2003 edit undoUsedbook (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,856 edits Cleaning up previous contributionNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
] ]


'The Diamond Vehicle' or 'The Adamantine Vehicle', '''Vajrayana''' (see ]) consists of a collection of techniques for the practice of ] ], along with the texts that expound those techniques (the Buddhist Tantras). It is also known to the west as ''Tantric Buddhism''. It is the tradition behind ], and is sometimes expounded as a third and separate major school of Buddhism, the others being ] and ] (also see ]). 'The Diamond Vehicle' or 'The Adamantine Vehicle', '''Vajrayana''' consists of a collection of techniques for the practice of ] ], along with the texts that expound those techniques (the Buddhist Tantras). It is also known to the west as ''Tantric Buddhism''. It is the tradition behind ], and is sometimes expounded as a third and separate major school of Buddhism, the others being ] and ].


There are four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism: ], ], ], and ]. All four schools identify themselves as belonging to the ] or "Great Vehicle" tradition, which also dominates in ], ], ], ] and ]. There are four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism: ], ], ], and ]. All four schools identify themselves as belonging to the ] or "Great Vehicle" tradition, which also dominates in ], ], ], ] and ].
Line 27: Line 27:




⚫ Vajrayana, which developed in Northern India circa ], has its main philosophical roots in ] of ], ] and ] (aka ]), ]) of ], and ]. The most famous teacher of Vajrayana is ] ].
Vajrayana developed in Northern India from about 600CE (hard to say exactly when).
⚫ Main philosophical schools relevant to Vajrayana are the ] of ], ] and ] (aka ], ]) of ], ].
The most famous teacher of Vajrayana is ] ].


See also: ] See also: ]

Revision as of 19:35, 4 June 2003


'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). It is also known to the west as Tantric Buddhism. It is the tradition behind Buddhism, and is sometimes expounded as a third and separate major school of Buddhism, the others being Mahayana and Theravada.

There are four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Geluk. All four schools identify themselves as belonging to the Mahayana or "Great Vehicle" tradition, which also dominates in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Bhutan.

  • 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.

These can be divided into six categories:

  • Three Outer Tantras:
    • Kriyayoga
    • Charyayoga
    • Yogatantra

The practice of Atiyoga is divided into three classes: Mental (SemDe), Spatial (LongDe), and Esoteric Instructional (MenNgagDe).


Vajrayana, which developed in Northern India circa 7th century, has its main philosophical roots in Madhyamika of Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti and Vijnanavada (aka Yogachara), Chittamatra) of Asanga, and Vasubhandu. The most famous teacher of Vajrayana is Guru Padmasambhava.

See also: Tibetan Buddhism