A
mandala used in Vajrayana Buddhist practices.
'VajrayÄna Buddhism' (Also known as 'Tantric Buddhism', 'Tantrayana', 'Mantrayana', 'Mantranaya', 'Esoteric Buddhism', 'Diamond Vehicle', ', or 金剛乘 'Jingangcheng' in
Chinese) is an extension of
Mahayana Buddhism consisting of differences in the adoption of additional techniques (
upaya, or 'skillful means') rather than in philosophy. Thus, before terms such as VajrayÄna or TantrayÄna came into use, scholar-monks such as Buddhaguhya (fl. mid-8th CE) state that MahayÄna is subdivided into two categories: ''pÄramitÄ-yana'' (the "Perfection Method") and ''mantra-yana'' (the "Mantra Method"). Some of these ''upÄya'' are esoteric practices which must be initiated and transmitted only through a skilled spiritual teacher.
[1] The Vajrayana is often viewed as the third major 'vehicle' (
Yana) of
Buddhism, alongside the
Theravada and
Mahayana.
Subschools
Vajrayana exists today in the form of two major sub-schools:
★
Tibetan Buddhism, found in
Tibet,
Bhutan, northern
India,
Nepal, southwestern and northern
China,
Mongolia and various constituent
republics of
Russia that are adjacent to the area, such as:
Amur Oblast,
Buryatia,
Chita Oblast,
Tuva Republic, and
Khabarovsk Krai. There is also
Kalmykia, another constituent republic of Russia that is the only Buddhist region in Europe, located in the north
Caucasus. While Vajrayana Buddhism is a part of
Tibetan Buddhism (in that it forms a core part of every major Tibetan Buddhist school), it is not identical with it, as the Vajrayana is seen as additional part to the general
Mahayana teachings for somewhat advanced students. Vajrayana in
Tibetan Buddhism, properly speaking, refers to
tantra,
Dzogchen (mahasandhi), and Chagchen (
mahamudra).
★
Shingon Buddhism, found in
Japan, includes many esoteric practices which are similar in concept to those used in Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. However, the lineage for Shingon Buddhism is entirely different than that found in Tibetan Vajrayana, having emerged from India (via China) much earlier than the Tibetan lineage. As such Shingon shares common material such as the esoteric sutras and mandala, but the actual practices are not related. The primary text for Shingon is the
Mahavairocana Sutra. The founder of Shingon Buddhism is
Kukai a Japanese monk who studied in China during the
Tang Dynasty, and brought back Vajrayana scriptures, techniques and mandalas that were popular at the time. This lineage of esoteric Buddhism later died out in China during the end of the
Tang Dynasty, but was preserved and later flourished in Japan. Shingon is the one of the very few remaining branches of Buddhism in the world that continues to use the
siddham script of
Sanskrit language.
Etymology
The term "
vajra" originally refers to the thunderbolt, a legendary weapon that was made from an indestructible substance, and which could therefore pierce any obstacle. As a secondary meaning, "vajra" therefore also refers to this indestructible substance, and so is sometimes translated as "adamantine" or "diamond". So the vajrayana is sometimes called "The Adamantine Vehicle" or "The Diamond Vehicle".
A vajra is also a ritual object that is like a small sceptre. It usually takes the form of a bronze rod, like a mace; it has a sphere (and sometimes a
gankyil) at its centre, and some number of spokes (most commonly four) at either end, enfolding either end of the rod. The vajra is used in tantric rituals in combination with the traditional bell; symbolically, the vajra represents method and the bell stands for wisdom.
Distinguishing features of Vajrayana
Vajrayana Buddhism claims to provide an accelerated path to
enlightenment. This is achieved through use of
tantra techniques, which are practical aids to spiritual development, and esoteric transmission (explained below). Whereas earlier schools might provide ways to achieve
nirvana over the course of many lifetimes, Vajrayana techniques are said to make full enlightenment or
buddhahood possible in a shorter time, perhaps in a single lifetime. Vajrayana Buddhists do not claim that
Theravada or
Mahayana practices are invalid; in fact, the teachings from those traditions are said to lay an essential foundational practice on which the Vajrayana practices may be built. While the Mahayana and Theravada paths are said to be paths to enlightenment in their own right, the teachings from each of those vehicles must be heeded for the Vajrayana to work. The Vajrayana path is considered to be a path within the Mahayana which employs special means or practices to "accelerate" the process of awakening. It should also be noted that the goal of the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions is to become a Buddha by following the
bodhisattva path, whereas an alternative, and more common, goal for
Theravada practice is 'simply' liberation from the cycle of rebirth (
samsara) by achieving nirvana. In fact the distinction between these traditions is not always rigid: the tantra sections of editions of the
Kangyur sometimes include material not usually thought of as tantric outside the Tibetan tradition, such as the
Heart Sutra[2] and even versions of material found in the
Pali Canon.
[3]
Tantra techniques
Main articles: Tantra techniques (Vajrayana)
According to the Vajrayana tradition
[4], at certain times during sex, death, meditation and dreaming and at other
liminal [5] states, the
bodymind [6] is in a very subtle state which can be used by advanced practitioners to transform the
mindstream. According to the Vajrayana tradition it is possible to attain enlightenment in a single lifetime by practicing certain techniques.
'Guru yoga' (or 'teacher practice') is a practice where the practitioner focuses on their guru as deity during meditation. The Guru or spiritual teacher is essential as a guide during tantra practice, without his example, blessings and help, genuine progress is said to be impossible. Many tantric texts contain phrases like "Guru is Buddha, Guru is Dharma and Guru is Sangha" to reflect his importance for the disciple.
'Deity yoga' (or 'deity practice') is the fundamental practice in Tantra in which meditators visualize themselves as the deity. The purpose of Deity yoga is to bring the meditator to the realization that the deity and oneself are in essence the same. It allows the meditator to release themselves from worldly attachments and to practice compassion and wisdom simultaneously.
Together with images (statues, murals or thangkas) of the deities,
mandalas are often used as visualization aids in Deity yoga.
Mandalas are artwork that represent the deity and the deity’s palace. In the book, The World of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama describes them thus: “This is the celestial mansion, the pure residence of the deity.â€
'Death yoga' (or 'death practice') is another important aspect of Tantra techniques. Although it is called Death yoga, most of the practice actually happens during life. It is the accumulation of meditative practice that helps to prepare the practitioner for what they need to do at the time of death. At the time of death the mind is in a state (clear light) that can open the mind to enlightenment, when used very skillfully. It is said that masters like Lama
Tsong Khapa used these techniques to achieve enlightenment during the death process.
Actually, there are three stages at which it is possible to do this; at the end of the death process, during the
bardo (or 'inbetween period') and during the process of rebirth. During these stages, the mind is in a very subtle state, and an advanced practitioner can use these natural states to make significant progress on the spiritual path. The
Tibetan Book of the Dead is an important commentary for this kind of traditional practice.
This Death yoga should not be confused with normal meditation on death, which is a common practice within Buddhist traditions. In most non-tantra traditions it is done to reduce attachment and desire, and not to use the death process itself as a means to practice.
Levels of tantra
The
Sarma or New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism (
Gelug,
Sakya, and
Kagyu) divide the Tantras into four hierarchical categories, namely,
★
Kriyayoga
★
Charyayoga
★
Yogatantra
★
Anuttarayogatantra
★
★ further divided into "mother", "father" and "non-dual" tantras.
A different division is used by the
Nyingma or Ancient school:
★ Three
Outer Tantras:
★
★ Kriyayoga
★
★ Charyayoga
★
★ Yogatantra
★ Three
Inner Tantras, which correspond to the Anuttarayogatantra:
★
★
Mahayoga
★
★
Anuyoga
★
★
Atiyoga (Tib. ''
Dzogchen'')
★
★
★ The practice of Atiyoga is further divided into three classes: Mental
SemDe, Spatial
LongDe, and Esoteric Instructional
MenNgagDe.
Esoteric transmission (initiation) and samaya (vow)
''Main articles:
Esoteric transmission,
samaya''
The other conspicuous aspect of Vajrayana Buddhism is that it is
esoteric. In this context esoteric means that the transmission of certain accelerating factors only occurs directly from teacher to student during an initiation and cannot be simply learned from a book. Many techniques are also commonly said to be secret, but some Vajrayana teachers have responded that secrecy itself is not important and only a side-effect of the reality that the techniques have no validity outside the teacher-student lineage.
If these techniques are not practiced properly, practitioners may harm themselves physically and mentally. In order to avoid these dangers, the practice is kept "secret" outside the teacher/student relationship. Secrecy and the commitment of the student to the vajra guru are aspects of the
samaya (Tib. ''damtsig''), or "sacred bond", that protects both the practitioner and the integrity of the teachings.
[7]
The esoteric transmission framework can take varying forms. The
Nyingma school of
Tibetan Buddhism uses a method called
Dzogchen. The Tibetan
Kagyu school and the
Shingon school in Japan use an alternative method called
Mahamudra.
Relationship with Mahayana
While tantra and esoterism distinguish Vajrayana Buddhism, it is, from the Tibetan Buddhist point of view, nonetheless primarily a form of
Mahayana Buddhism.
Sutras important to Mahayana are generally important to Vajrayana, although Vajrayana adds some of its own (see
Buddhist texts,
List of sutras,
Tibetan Buddhist canon). The importance of
bodhisattvas and a pantheon of deities in Mahayana carries over to Vajrayana, as well as the perspective that Buddhism and Buddhist spiritual practice are not intended just for ordained monks, but for the laity too.
The Japanese Vajrayana teacher
KÅ«kai expressed a view contrary to this by making a clear distinction between Mahayana and Vajrayana. KÅ«kai characterises the Mahayana in its entirety as exoteric, and therefore provisional. From this point of view the esoteric Vajrayana is the only Buddhist teaching which is not a compromise with the limited nature of the audience to which it is directed, since the teachings are said to be the Dharmakaya (the principle of enlightenment) in the form of
Mahavairocana, engaging in a monologue with himself. From this view the Hinayana and Mahayana are provisional and compromised aspects of the Vajrayana - rather than seeing the Vajrayana as primarily a form of Mahayana Buddhism.
Some aspects of Vajrayana have also filtered back into Mahayana. In particular, the Vajrayana fondness for powerful symbols may be found in weakened form in Mahayana temples where
protector deities may be found glaring down at visitors.
The Vajrayana has a rich array of vows of conduct and behaviour which is based on the rules of the
Pratimoksha and the
Bodhisattva code of discipline. The ''Ornament for the Essence'' of Manjushrikirti states:
:Distance yourself from Vajra Masters who are not keeping the three vows
[8]
:who keep on with a root downfall, who are miserly with the Dharma,
:and who engage in actions that should be forsaken.
:Those who worship them go to hell and so on as a result.
[9]
This as well as other sources express the need to build the Vajrayana on the foundation of the
Pratimoksha and
Bodhisattva vows. Lay persons can follow the lay ordination. The Ngagpa Yogis from the Nyingma school keep a special lay ordination.
Besides this, there are also special tantric vows that need to be kept when practicing the highest levels of tantra, which can vary somewhat depending on the specific practice.
History of Vajrayana
India
There are differing views as to where Vajrayana began. Some believe it originated in
Bengal,
[10] now divided between the
Republic of India and
Bangladesh, with others claiming it began in
Uddiyana, located by some scholars in the modern day
Swat Valley in
Pakistan, or in
South India. In the Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that the historical Shakyamuni Buddha taught tantra, but as these are 'secret' teachings outside the teacher/disciple relationship, they were written down generally long after the Buddha's other teachings, known as
sutras.
The earliest texts appeared around the early
4th century.
Nalanda University in northern India became a center for the development of Vajrayana theory, although it is likely that the university followed, rather than led, the early Tantric movement. India would continue as the source of leading-edge Vajrayana practices up through the
11th century.
(Vajrayana) Buddhism had mostly died out in
India by the
13th century, its practices merging with Hinduism, and both tantric religions were experiencing pressure from invading Islamic armies. By that time, the vast majority of the practices were also made available in Tibet, where they were preserved until recently, although the Tibetan version of tantra differs from the original Indian form in many respects.
In the second half of the
20th century a sizable number of Tibetan exiles fled the oppressive, anti-religious rule of the
Communist Chinese to establish Tibetan Buddhist communities in northern India, particularly around
Dharamsala. They remain the primary practitioners of Tantric Buddhism in India and the entire world.
China
Vajrayana followed the same route into northern
China as
Buddhism itself, arriving from India via the
Silk Road some time during the first half of the
7th century. It arrived just as Buddhism was reaching its zenith in China, receiving sanction from the emperors of the
Tang Dynasty. The Tang capital at
Chang'an (modern-day
Xi'an) became an important center for Buddhist studies, and Vajrayana ideas no doubt received great attention as pilgrim monks returned from India with the latest texts and methods (see
Buddhism in China, ''
Journey to the West'').
Tibet and other Himalayan kingdoms
A Buddhist ceremony in
Ladakh.
In
747 the Indian master
Padmasambhava traveled from
Afghanistan to bring Vajrayana Buddhism to
Tibet and
Bhutan, at the request of the king of Tibet. This was the original transmission which anchors the lineage of the
Nyingma school. During the
11th century and early
12th century a second important transmission occurred with the lineages of
Atisa,
Marpa and
Brogmi, giving rise to the other schools of
Tibetan Buddhism, namely
Kadampa,
Kagyupa,
Sakyapa, and
Gelukpa (the school of the
Dalai Lama).
Japan
In
804,
Emperor Kammu sent the intrepid monk
KÅ«kai to the
Tang Dynasty capital at
Chang'an (present-day
Xi'an) to retrieve the latest Buddhist knowledge. KÅ«kai absorbed the Vajrayana thinking and synthesized a version which he took back with him to Japan, where he founded the
Shingon school of Buddhism, a school which continues to this day.
Malay Archipelago
In the late
8th century, Indian models of Vajrayana traveled directly to the island of
Java and
Sumatra in the Malay Archipelago where a huge temple complex at
Borobudur was soon built. The empire of
Srivijaya was a centre of Vajrayana learning and
Atisha studied there under
Serlingpa, an eminent Buddhist scholar and a prince of the Srivijayan ruling house. Vajrayana Buddhism survived in both islands as well as the
Malay Peninsula until eclipsed by
Islam in the late
13th century and early
14th century.
Mongolia
In the
13th century, long after the original wave of Vajrayana Buddhism had died out in China itself, two eminent Tibetan Sakyapa teachers,
Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen and
Chogyal Phagpa, visited the
Mongolian royal court.
Marco Polo was serving the royal court at about the same time. In a competition between
Christians,
Muslims, and Buddhists held before the royal court,
Prince Godan found
Tibetan Buddhism to be the most satisfactory and adopted it as his personal religion, although not requiring it of his subjects. As
Kublai Khan had just conquered China (establishing the
Yuan Dynasty), his adoption of Vajrayana led to the renewal of Tantric practices in China as the ruling class found it useful to emulate their leader.
Vajrayana would decline in China and Mongolia with the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, to be replaced by resurgent
Daoism,
Confucianism, and
Pure Land Buddhism. However, Mongolia would see yet another revival of Vajrayana in the
17th century, with the establishment of ties between the
Dalai Lama in Tibet and the remnants of the
Mongol Empire. This revived the historic pattern of the spiritual leaders of Tibet acting as priests to the rulers of the Mongol empire. Tibetan Buddhism is still practiced as a folk religion in Mongolia today despite more than 65 years of state-sponsored communism.
See also
★
Buddhism in Bhutan
★
Buddhism in Russia
★
Dzogchen
★
Mahamudra
★
Notes
1. Ray, Reginald A. ''Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet''. Shambhala Publications, Boston: 2001
2. Conze, ''The Prajnaparamita Literature''
3. Peter Skilling, ''Mahasutras'', volume I, 1994, Pali Text Society[1], Lancaster, page xxiv
4. ''Luminous Emptiness.'' 2001. Francesca Fremantle. Boston: Shambala Publications. ISBN: 1-57062-450-X
5. There are numberous liminal states discussed in the Bardo literature.
6. Arpaia, Joseph & D. Lobsang Rapgay (2004). ''Tibetan Wisdom for Modern Life''. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-1955-1.
7. [Ray, Reginald A. ''Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet''. Shambhala Publications, Boston: 2001]
8. this refers to the Pratimoksha, Bodhisattva and Vajrayana vows
9. Tantric Ethics: An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice by Tsongkhapa, ISBN 0-86171-290-0, page 46
10. Banerjee, S. C. ''Tantra in Bengal: A Study in Its Origin, Development and Influence''. Manohar. ISBN 8185425639.
Further reading
★ Tantric Ethics: An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice by Tson-Kha-Pa, ISBN 0-86171-290-0
★ Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows by Ngari Panchen, Dudjom Rinpoche, ISBN 0-86171-083-5
★ Buddhist Ethics (Treasury of Knowledge) by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, ISBN 1-55939-191-X
External links
★
The Berzin archive. Archive on texts and teachings of Vajrayana, Tibetan Buddhism, Islam and Bon
★
History of Tibetan Buddhism and the Vajrayana in Tibet (a Karma Kagyu web site)
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