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Tantric Buddhism
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Tantric Buddhism is in general concerned with particular types of meditation and ritual that are seen as especially powerful and efficacious. The goals of these practices may be both worldly – alleviation of sickness, control of the weather – and soteriological. Tantric techniques are generally centered on the ritual evocation and worship of deities who are usually conceived of as awakened, enlightened. The key to this process is the use of mantras and methods of visualization; successful evocation of a deity would then give the practitioner power to achieve his or her desired goal. Access to tantric practice is restricted to those who have received initiation, a ritual which empowers the practitioner to evoke a particular deity. From research it is clear that tantric techniques were located within the context of Mahayana soteriological and ontological thinking; in the sphere of compassionate method or means rather than wisdom.
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Tantric Buddhism is the religion of Tibet. "The roof of the world," where clouds float on the ground, the land of Tibet is located in the Himalayas, a remote mountainous region of South Asia that includes Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. The rugged geography and relative isolation have shaped the economy, religion, and art of the Tibetan people. The art of Himalayan cultures is primarily religious, and the process of image making is considered an act of devotion.
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Tantric Buddhism probably began around 300 AD as an esoteric development among small circles of initiates, passed down from guru to pupil. It gathered momentum after 600 AD, and was espoused by the rulers of a kingdom known as Uddyana (possibly around Peshawar in modern Pakistan) and by the Pala dynasty in Bengal (750-1150). It was largely suppressed during the Moghul period.
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The roots of Tantric Buddhism are traced to the doctrines and practices of pre-Tantric expressions, namely, the H(')inayana and Mahayana. In its practices... the Tantra is both continuous with, and distinct from, its predecessors. Thus, such early Buddhist practices as mantras, Concentrations (samadhis) and Gestures (mudras) are taught in the tantras. However, the practices of Yoga (e.g., meditational manipulation of breathing) and of Tantric cults (e.g., ritual intercourse) are also counselled. In general, the 'offensive' practices of the Tantric cults are contemplated in Concentrations and thus become means for Enlightenment, the meditational state wherein all false dichotomies are dissolved.
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Tantric Buddhism, which is sometimes separated from the Mahayana as a distinct "Thunderbolt - Vehicle" (Vajrayana), became especially important in Tibet, where it was introduced starting in the 7th century. It was... the last phase of Buddhism in India, where the religion - partly by reabsorption into the Hindu tradition, partly by persecution by the Muslim invaders - ceased to exist by the 13th century.
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Vajrayāna Buddhism... known as Tantric Buddhism, Mantrayana, and Esoteric Buddhism, is often viewed as the third major school of Buddhism, alongside the Theravada and Mahayana schools. (Note that 'Yana' means 'vehicle' in Sanskrit.) The Vajrayana is actually a subset of Mahayana Buddhism. Vajrayana Buddhists themselves often classify their school as the final stage in the evolution of Indian Buddhist theory which they enumerate as: Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana (see dharma wheel).
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Tantric Buddhism