Vajrayana

Buddhism
Basic terms
Three Jewels Four Noble Truths Dukkha Suffering Samudaya Cause of Suffering Nirodha Cessation of Suffering Magga Noble Eight Fold Path Buddhahood Enlightenment Nirvana
People
Gautama Buddha Dalai Lama Bodhisattva Sangha
Schools
Theravada Mahayana Zen Vajrayana Nyingma Kagyu Sakya Gelug
Practices
Dharma study Noble Eightfold Path Meditation Chanting Metta

Vajrayana (Sanskrit: lit. The Adamantine Vehicle) is a school of Buddhism first practiced in India. From India it spread to Tibet, Mongolia and Bhutan. Since the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1959, the Tibetan form of Vajrayana has spread to many Western countries and has gained great popularity.

Vajrayana is also known in the West as Tantric Buddhism. It is a third and separate major school of Buddhism, the other two being Theravada and Mahayana.

Vajrayana was developed in Northern India circa 7th century. It has its main philosophical roots in Madhyamika of Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti and Vijnanavada (also known as Yogachara), Chittamatra of Asanga, and Vasubhandu. The most famous teacher of Vajrayana was Guru Padmasambhava, who founded the first school of Tibetan Buddhism called the Nyingma school.

Features of Vajrayana

The main features of Vajrayana are:

• The use of mantras, a form of chanting
• Strong focus on the guru, or teacher
• The importance of meditation, including concentration techniques such as the visualization of bodhisattvas.

Followers are introduced to these practices through initiation which is also called empowerment.

Tibetan Vajrayana

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 is the most popular form of Buddhism in China, Korea and Japan.

Levels of practice

In the ancient or Nyingma school, the teachings are divided into six levels:

• Outer Tantras
  • Kriyayoga
  • Charyayoga
  • Yogatantra
• Inner Tantras (Anuttarayogatantra)
  • Mahayoga
  • Anuyoga
  • Atiyoga (also known as Dzogchen)

The new schools (Sakya, Kagyu, and Geluk) divide the teachings into only four levels. The first three are the same as in the Nyingma school. The last level is simply called Anuttarayogatantra ("Highest Yoga Tantra"). These Highest Yoga Tantras are divided into "mother", "father" and "non-dual" tantras. The new schools use a practice called Mahamudra in place of Dzogchen.

Other websites

• The Berzin archive, Archive on texts and teachings of Vajrayana, Tibetan Buddhism, Islam and Bon
• Himalayan Art Resources], an online educational resource with over 30,000 images of Vajrayana art and ritual implements