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Vajrayāna (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emphasizes esoteric practices and aimed at Sudden awakening. Emerging between the 5th and 7th centuries CE in medieval India, Vajrayāna incorporates a range of techniques, including the use of (sacred sounds), dhāraṇīs (mnemonic codes), mudrās (symbolic hand gestures), (spiritual diagrams), and the visualization of Buddhist deities and Buddhahood. These practices are designed to transform ordinary experiences into paths toward enlightenment, often by engaging with aspects of desire and Dvesha in a ritualized context.
A distinctive feature of Vajrayāna is its emphasis on esoteric transmission, where teachings are passed directly from teacher (guru or Vajracharya) to student through initiation ceremonies. Tradition asserts that these teachings have been passed down through an unbroken lineage going back to the The Buddha (), sometimes via other Buddhas or (e.g. Vajrapani). This lineage-based transmission ensures the preservation of the teachings' purity and effectiveness. Practitioners often engage in deity yoga, a meditative practice where one visualizes oneself as a deity embodying enlightened qualities to transform one's perception of reality. The tradition also acknowledges the role of feminine energy, venerating female Buddhas and Dakini (spiritual beings), and sometimes incorporates practices that challenge conventional norms to Nondualism.
Vajrayāna has given rise to various sub-traditions across Asia. In Tibet, it evolved into Tibetan Buddhism, which became the dominant spiritual tradition, integrating local beliefs and practices. In Japan, it influenced Shingon Buddhism, established by Kūkai, emphasizing the use of mantras and rituals. Chinese Esoteric Buddhism also emerged, blending Vajrayāna practices with existing Chinese Buddhism. Each of these traditions adapted Vajrayāna principles to its cultural context while maintaining core esoteric practices aimed at achieving enlightenment.
Central to Vajrayāna symbolism is the vajra, a ritual implement representing indestructibility and irresistible force, embodying the union of wisdom and compassion. Practitioners often use the vajra in conjunction with a Ghanta during rituals, symbolizing the integration of male and female principles. The tradition also employs rich visual imagery, including complex mandalas and depictions of wrathful deities that serve as meditation aids to help practitioners internalize spiritual concepts and confront inner obstacles on the path to enlightenment.
In Tibetan Buddhism practiced in the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, and Bhutan, Buddhist Tantra is most often termed Vajrayāna (Tib. རྡོ་རྗེ་ཐེག་པ་, dorje tekpa, Wyl. rdo rje theg pa) and Secret mantra (Skt. Guhyamantra, Tib. གསང་སྔགས་, sang ngak, Wyl. gsang sngags). The vajra is a mythical weapon associated with Indra that was said to be indestructible and unbreakable (like a diamond) and extremely powerful (like thunder). Thus, the term is variously translated as Diamond Vehicle, Thunderbolt Vehicle, Indestructible Vehicle and so on.
In Chinese Esoteric Buddhism it is generally known by terms such as Zhēnyán (Chinese language: 真言, literally "true word", referring to mantra), Tangmi or Hanmì (唐密 - 漢密, "Tang dynasty Esotericism" or "Han Chinese Esotericism") , Mìzōng (密宗, "Esoteric Sect"), or Mìjiao (Chinese: 密教; Esoteric Teaching). The Chinese term mì 密 ("secret, esoteric") is a translation of the Sanskrit term Guhya ("secret, hidden, profound, abstruse").
In Japan, Buddhist esotericism is known as or by the term Shingon Buddhism (a Japanese rendering of Zhēnyán), which also refers to a specific school of 3=Shingon-shū.
The term "Esoteric Buddhism" is first used by Western occultist writers, such as Helena Blavatsky and Alfred Percy Sinnett, to describe Theosophy doctrines passed down from "supposedly initiated Buddhist masters."
Since Tantra focuses on the transformation of poisons into wisdom, the yogic circles came together in ganachakra, often in sacred sites ( pitha) and places ( ksetra), which included dancing, singing, consort practices, and the ingestion of taboo substances like alcohol, urine, and meat. At least two of the mahasiddhas cited in the Buddhist literature are comparable with the Shaiva Nath saints (Gorakshanath and Matsyendranath) who practiced Hatha Yoga.
According to Schumann, a movement called Sahaja-siddhi developed in the 8th century in Bengal. It was dominated by long-haired, wandering mahasiddhas who openly challenged and ridiculed the Buddhist establishment. The mahasiddhas pursued siddhis, magical powers such as flight and extrasensory perception as well as spiritual liberation.
Vajrayāna Buddhists developed a large corpus of texts, the Buddhist Tantras, some of which can be traced to at least the 7th century CE but might be older. The dating of the tantras is "a difficult, indeed an impossible task", according to David Snellgrove.
Some of the earliest of these texts, Outer Tantras such as the Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa (), teach the use of mantras and dharanis for mostly worldly ends, including curing illness, controlling the weather and generating wealth.. The Tattvasaṃgraha Tantra ( Compendium of Principles), classed as a "Yoga tantra", is one of the first Buddhist tantras that focuses on liberation as opposed to worldly goals. In another early tantra, the Vajrasekhara (Vajra Peak), the influential schema of the five Buddha families is developed. Other early tantras include the Mahāvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi and the Guhyasamāja (Gathering of Secrets).
The Guhyasamāja is a Mahayoga class of Tantra, which features forms of ritual practice considered "left-hand" ( vamachara), such as use of taboo substances like alcohol, consort practices, and charnel ground practices that evoke wrathful deities. Ryujun Tajima divides the tantras into those that were "a development of Mahāyānist thought" and those "formed in a rather popular mould toward the end of the eighth century and declining into the esoterism of the left". This "left esoterism" mainly refers to the Yogini tantras and later works associated with wandering yogis. This practice survives in Tibetan Buddhism, but it is rare for this to be done with an actual person. It is more common for a yogi or yogini to use an imagined consort (a buddhist tantric deity, i.e. a yidam).
Later tantras such as the Hevajra Tantra and the Chakrasamvara are classed as "Yogini tantras" and represent the final form of development of Indian Buddhist tantras in the ninth and tenth centuries. The Kalachakra tantra developed in the 10th century. It is farthest removed from the earlier Buddhist traditions, and incorporates concepts of messianism and astrology not present elsewhere in Buddhist literature.
According to Ronald M. Davidson, the rise of Tantric Buddhism was a response to the feudal structure of Indian society in the early medieval period (ca. 500–1200 CE), which saw kings divinized as manifestations of gods. Likewise, tantric yogis reconfigured their practice through the metaphor of being consecrated ( Abhisheka) as the overlord ( rājādhirāja) of a mandala palace of divine vassals, an imperial metaphor symbolizing kingly fortresses and their political power.
According to Alexis Sanderson, various classes of Vajrayāna literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Shaivism. The relationship between the two systems can be seen in texts like the Mañjusrimulakalpa, which later came to be classified under Kriya tantra, and states that mantras taught in the Shaiva, Garuda, and Vaishnava tantras will be effective if applied by Buddhists since they were all taught originally by Manjushri.
Sanderson notes that the Vajrayāna Yogini tantras draw extensively from the material also present in Shaiva Bhairava tantras classified as Vidyapitha. Sanderson's comparison of them shows similarity in "ritual procedures, style of observance, deities, mantras, mandalas, ritual dress, Kapalika accouterments like skull bowls, specialized terminology, secret gestures, and secret jargons. There is even direct borrowing of passages from Shaiva texts." Sanderson gives numerous examples, such as the Guhyasiddhi of Padmavajra, a work associated with the Guhyasamaja tradition, which prescribes acting as a Shaivism guru and initiating members into Shaiva Siddhanta scriptures and mandalas. Sanderson says that the Samvara tantra texts adopted the pitha list from the Shaiva text Tantrasadbhāva, introducing a copying error where a deity was mistaken for a place.
Davidson argues that Sanderson's arguments for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" and "the available evidence suggests that received Saiva tantras come into evidence sometime in the ninth to tenth centuries with their affirmation by scholars like Abhinavagupta (c. 1000 c.e.)" Davidson also notes that the list of pithas or sacred places is "certainly not particularly Buddhist, nor are they uniquely Kapalika venues, despite their presence in lists employed by both traditions." He adds that, like the Buddhists, the Shaiva tradition was involved in the appropriation of Hindu and non-Hindu deities, texts, and traditions, an example being "village or tribal divinities like Tumburu".
Davidson adds that Buddhists and Kapalikas as well as other ascetics (possibly Pasupatas) mingled and discussed their paths at various pilgrimage places and that there were conversions between the different groups. Thus he concludes:
The Buddhist-Kapalika connection is more complex than a simple process of religious imitation and textual appropriation. There can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by Kapalika and other Saiva movements, but the influence was apparently mutual. Perhaps a more nuanced model would be that the various lines of transmission were locally flourishing and that in some areas they interacted, while in others they maintained concerted hostility. Thus the influence was both sustained and reciprocal, even in those places where Buddhist and Kapalika siddhas were in extreme antagonism.
Davidson also argues for the influence of non-Brahmanical and outcaste tribal religions and their feminine deities (such as Paranasabari and Janguli).
Other accounts attribute the revelation of Buddhist tantras to Padmasambhava, saying that he was an emanation of Amitabha and Avalokiteshvara and that the Buddha predicted his arrival. Some accounts also maintain Padmasambhava is a direct reincarnation of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The importance of the theory of shunyata is central to the Tantric Buddhist view and practice. The Buddhist emptiness view sees the world as fluid, without an ontological foundation or inherent existence, but ultimately a fabric of constructions. Because of this, tantric practice such as self-visualization as the deity is seen as no less real than everyday reality, but a process of transforming reality itself, including the practitioner's identity as the deity. Stephan Beyer notes, "In a universe where all events dissolve ontologically into Emptiness, the touching of Emptiness in the ritual is the re-creation of the world in actuality".
The doctrine of Buddha-nature, as outlined in the Ratnagotravibhāga of Asanga, was also an important theory that became the basis for Tantric views. As explained by the Tantric commentator Lilavajra, this "intrinsic secret behind diverse manifestation" is Tantra's utmost secret and aim. According to Wayman, this "Buddha embryo" ( tathāgatagarbha) is a "non-dual, self-originated Wisdom (jnana), an effortless fount of good qualities" that resides in the mindstream but is "obscured by discursive thought". This doctrine is often associated with the idea of Luminous mind ( prakṛti-prabhāsvara-citta, T. ’od gsal gyi sems) or purity of the mind ( prakrti-parisuddha).
Another fundamental theory of Tantric practice is that of transformation. In Vajrayāna, negative mental factors such as desire, hatred, greed, and pride are used as part of the path. As French Indologist Madeleine Biardeau notes, the tantric doctrine is "an attempt to place kama, desire, in every meaning of the word, in the service of liberation.". This view is outlined in the following passage from the Hevajra tantra:
Those things by which evil men are bound, others turn into means and gain thereby release from the bonds of existence. By passion the world is bound, by passion too it is released, but by heretical Buddhists this practice of reversals is not known.
The Hevajra further states that "one knowing the nature of poison may dispel poison with poison." As Snellgrove notes, this idea is already present in Asanga's Mahayana-sutra-alamkara-karika and therefore it is possible that he was aware of Tantric techniques, including sexual yoga.
According to Buddhist Tantra, there is no strict separation of the profane or samsara and the sacred or nirvana; rather, they exist in a continuum. Everyone is seen as containing the seed of enlightenment, which is covered over by defilements. Douglas Duckworth notes that Vajrayana sees Buddhahood not as something outside or an event in the future, but as immanently present.
Indian Tantric Buddhist philosophers such as Buddhaguhya, Vimalamitra, Ratnākaraśānti, and Abhayakaragupta continued the tradition of Buddhist philosophy and adapted it to their commentaries on the major Tantras. Abhayakaragupta's Vajravali is a key source in the theory and practice of tantric rituals. After monks such as Vajrabodhi and Śubhakarasiṃha brought Tantra to Tang China (716 to 720), tantric philosophy continued to be developed in Chinese and Japanese by thinkers such as Yi Xing and Kūkai.
Likewise in Tibet, Sakya Pandita (1182–28 – 1251), as well as later thinkers like Longchenpa (1308–1364) expanded on these philosophies in their tantric commentaries and treatises. The status of the tantric view continued to be debated in medieval Tibet. Tibetan Buddhist Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo (1012–1088) held that the views of sutra such as Madhyamaka were inferior to that of tantra, which was based on basic purity of ultimate reality. Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), on the other hand, held that there is no difference between Vajrayāna and other forms of Mahayana in terms of prajnaparamita (perfection of insight) itself, only that Vajrayāna works faster.
The Paramitayana consists of the six or ten , of which the scriptures say that it takes three incalculable to lead one to Buddhahood. The tantra literature, on the other hand, says that Mantrayana leads one to Buddhahood in a single lifetime. According to the literature, the mantra is an easy path without the difficulties of Paramitayana. Mantrayana is sometimes portrayed as a method for those of inferior abilities, but the practitioner of mantra must still adhere to the Bodhisattva vow.
In the vehicle of Sutra Mahayana, the "path of the cause" is taken whereby a practitioner starts with his or her potential Buddha-nature and nurtures it to produce the fruit of Buddhahood. In Vajrayāna, the "path of the fruit" is taken whereby the practitioner takes his or her innate Buddha-nature as the means of practice. Experiencing ultimate truth is said to be the purpose of all the various tantric techniques practiced in Vajrayana.
The secrecy of teachings was often protected through the use of allusive, indirect, symbolic, and metaphorical language (twilight language) that required interpretation and guidance from a teacher. The teachings may also be considered "self-secret", meaning that even if they were to be told directly to a person, that person would not necessarily understand the teachings without proper context. In this way, the teachings are "secret" to the minds of those who are not following the path with more than simple curiosity.Morreale, Don (1998) The Complete Guide to Buddhist America p.215Trungpa, Chögyam and Chödzin, Sherab (1992) The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra p. 144.
Esler points out that while secrecy is presented as necessary to prevent the teachings from falling into the hands of unworthy recipients, it also serves to demarcate a kind of religious in-group. He observes that from an anthropological perspective, allowing reference to the secret to "remain close to the social surface" through veiled allusions plays a more important role in some ways than the secret content itself, as it mobilizes the secret as a kind of symbolic capital.Dylan Esler, Effortless Spontaneity: The Dzogchen Commentaries by Nubchen Sangye Yeshe, page 56, Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library, Volume 54, Brill 2023
The use of these substances is related to the non-dual ( advaya) nature of a Buddha's wisdom ( buddhajñana). Since the ultimate state is in some sense non-dual, a practitioner can approach that state by "transcending attachment to dual categories such as pure and impure, permitted and forbidden". As the Guhyasamaja Tantra states, "the wise man who does not discriminate achieves Buddhahood".
Vajrayāna rituals also include karmamudra, union with a physical consort as part of advanced practices. Some tantras go further: the Hevajra tantra states, "You should kill living beings, speak lying words, take what is not given, consort with the women of others". While some of these statements were taken literally as part of ritual practice, others, such as killing, were interpreted metaphorically. In the Hevajra, "killing" is defined as developing concentration by killing the life-breath of discursive thoughts. Likewise, while actual sexual union with a physical consort is practiced, it is also common to use a visualized consort.
Wayman points out that the symbolic meaning of tantric sexuality is ultimately rooted in bodhicitta and the bodhisattva's quest for enlightenment is likened to a lover seeking union with the mind of the Buddha. Judith Simmer-Brown notes the importance of the psycho-physical experiences arising in sexual yoga, termed "great bliss" ( mahasukha): "Bliss melts the conceptual mind, heightens sensory awareness, and opens the practitioner to the naked experience of the nature of mind." This tantric experience is not the same as ordinary self-gratifying sexual passion since it relies on tantric meditative methods using the illusory body and visualizations as well as the motivation for enlightenment. The Hevajra tantra says:
Feminine deities and forces are a major element of Vajrayāna. In the Yogini tantras in particular, women and female yoginis are given high status as the embodiment of female deities such as the wild and nude Vajrayogini.. The Candamaharosana Tantra ( viii:29–30) states:
In India, there is evidence that women participated in tantric practice alongside men and were also teachers, adepts, and authors of tantric texts.
A tantric guru, or teacher, is expected to keep his or her samaya vows in the same way as his students. Proper conduct is considered especially necessary for a qualified Vajrayana guru. For example, the Ornament for the Essence of Manjushrikirti states:
A central feature of tantric practice is the use of mantras and seed syllables ( bijas). Mantras are words, phrases, or a collection of syllables used for various meditative, magical, and ritual ends. Mantras are usually associated with Buddhist deities, and are seen as their manifestations in sonic form. They are traditionally believed to have spiritual power, which can lead to enlightenment as well as supramundane abilities ( ).
According to Indology Alex Wayman, Buddhist esotericism centers on what is known as "the three mysteries" or "secrets": the tantric adept affiliates his body, speech, and mind with the body, speech, and mind of a Buddha through mudra, mantras, and samadhi, respectively. Padmavajra () explains in his Tantrarthavatara Commentary, the secret Body, Speech, and Mind of the Buddhas are:
These elements are brought together in the practice of tantric deity yoga, which involves visualizing the deity's body and mandala, reciting the deity's mantra, and gaining insight into the nature of things based on this contemplation. Advanced tantric practices such as deity yoga are taught in the context of an initiation ceremony by tantric gurus or vajracharyas (vajra-masters) to the tantric initiate, who also takes on formal commitments or vows ( samaya). In Tibetan Buddhism, advanced practices like deity yoga are usually preceded by or coupled with "preliminary practices" called ngondro, consisting of five to seven accumulation practices and includes prostrations and recitations of the 100 syllable mantra.
Vajrayana is a system of tantric lineages, and thus only those who receive an empowerment or initiation ( abhiseka) may practice the more advanced esoteric methods. In tantric deity yoga, mantras, or bijas are used during the ritual evocation of deities that are said to arise out of the uttered and visualized mantric syllables. After the deity's image and mandala has been established, heart mantras are visualized as part of the contemplation in different points of the deity's body.
Most Tantric Buddhists believe nirvana is achievable in a single lifetime with "vigorous study and meditation". (1989). 9780002153218, Collins. ISBN 9780002153218
In the Unsurpassed Yoga Tantras, the most widespread tantric form in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, this method is divided into two stages, generation ( utpatti-krama) and completion ( nispanna-krama). In the generation stage, one dissolves one's reality into emptiness and meditates on the deity-mandala, resulting in identification with this divine reality. During deity visualization, the deity is to be imagined as not solid or tangible, as "empty yet apparent", with the character of a mirage or a rainbow.
This visualization is to be combined with "divine pride", which is "the thought that one is oneself the deity being visualized." Divine pride is different from common pride because it is based on compassion for others and an understanding of emptiness. The divine image along with the illusory body is then dissolved into Luminous mind sunyata. This dissolution into emptiness is then followed by the visualization of the deity and the yogi's re-emergence as the deity. This practice is repeated over a number of daily sessions. The practitioner proceeds to the completion state after completing a requisite number of mantra repetitions, either defined in the text or given by the empowering lama.
The Tibetologist David Germano outlines two main types of completion practice: a formless and image-less contemplation on the ultimate empty nature of the mind and various yogas that make use of the illusory body to produce energetic sensations of bliss and warmth. The illusory body yogas systems like the Six Dharmas of Naropa and the Kalachakra make use of energetic schemas of human psycho-physiology composed of "energy channels" (Skt. nadi, Tib. rtsa), "winds" or currents (Skt. vayu, Tib. rlung), "drops" or charged particles (Skt. bindu, Tib. thig le), and ("wheels"). These subtle energies are seen as "mounts" for consciousness, the physical component of awareness. They are engaged by various means such as pranayama (breath control) to produce blissful experiences that are then applied to the realization of ultimate reality.
Other methods associated with the completion stage in Tibetan Buddhism include dream yoga (which relies on ), practices associated with the bardo (the interim state between death and rebirth), transference of consciousness ( phowa), and Chöd, in which the yogi ceremonially offers their body to be eaten by tantric deities in a ritual feast.
Another distinctive feature of Tantric Buddhism is its unique and often elaborate . They include pujas (worship rituals), prayer festivals, protection rituals, death rituals, tantric feasts ( ganachakra), tantric initiations ( abhiseka) and the goma fire ritual (common in East Asian Esotericism).
An important element in some of these rituals (particularly initiations and tantric feasts) seems to have been the practice of Sexual ritual or sexual yoga ( karmamudra, "desire seal", also called "consort observance", vidyavrata, and euphemistically as " puja"), as well as the sacramental ingestion of "power substances" such as the mingled sexual fluids and uterine blood (often performed by licking these substances off the vulva, a practice termed yonipuja).
The practice of ingestion of sexual fluids is mentioned by numerous tantric commentators, sometimes euphemistically referring to the penis as the "vajra" and the vagina as the "lotus". The Cakrasamvara Tantra commentator Kambala, writing about this practice, states:
The seats are well-known on earth to be spots within the lotus mandala; by abiding within it there is great bliss, the royal nature of nondual joy. Therefore the lotus seat is supreme: filled with a mixture of semen and uterine blood, one should especially kiss it, and lolling with the tongue take it up. Unite the vajra and lotus, with the rapture of drinking this liquor.
According to David Gray, these sexual practices probably originated in a non-monastic context and were later adopted by monastic establishments (such as Nalanda and Vikramashila). He notes that the anxiety of figures like Atisa about these practices, and the stories of Virupa and Maitripada being expelled from their monasteries for performing them, shows that supposedly celibate monastics were undertaking these sexual rites.
Because of its adoption by the monastic tradition, sexual yoga slowly became either done with an imaginary consort visualized by the yogi instead of an actual person, or reserved to a small group of the "highest" or elite practitioners. Likewise, the drinking of sexual fluids was also reinterpreted by later commentators to refer to illusory body anatomy of the perfection stage practices.
A vajra is also a scepter-like ritual object ( dorje), which has a sphere (and sometimes a gankyil) at its centre, and a variable number of spokes, 3, 5 or 9 at each end (depending on the sadhana), enfolding either end of the rod. The vajra is often traditionally employed in tantric rituals in combination with the bell or ghanta; symbolically, the vajra may represent upaya as well as great bliss and the bell stands for wisdom, specifically the wisdom realizing emptiness. The union of the two sets of spokes at the center of the wheel is said to symbolize the unity of wisdom (prajña) and compassion (karuna) as well as the sexual union of male and female deities.
Mandalas are also , sacred architecture that house and contain the uncontainable essence of a central deity or yidam and their retinue. In the book The World of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama describes mandalas thus: "This is the celestial mansion, the pure residence of the deity." The Five Tathagatas or 'Five Buddhas', along with the figure of the Adi-Buddha, are central to many Vajrayana mandalas as they represent the "five wisdoms", which are the five primary aspects of primordial wisdom or Buddha-nature.
All ritual in Vajrayana practice can be seen as aiding in this process of visualization and identification. The practitioner can use various hand implements such as a vajra, bell, hand-drum ( damaru) or a ritual dagger ( phurba), but also ritual hand gestures ( mudras) can be made, special chanting techniques can be used, and in elaborate offering rituals or initiations, many more ritual implements and tools are used, each with an elaborate symbolic meaning to create a special environment for practice. Vajrayana has thus become a major inspiration in traditional Tibetan art.
Though we do not know precisely at present just how many Indian tantric Buddhist texts survive today in the language in which they were written, their number is certainly over one thousand five hundred; I suspect indeed over two thousand. A large part of this body of texts has also been translated into Tibetan, and a smaller part into Chinese. Aside from these, there are perhaps another two thousand or more works that are known today only from such translations. We can be certain as well that many others are lost to us forever, in whatever form. Of the texts that survive a very small proportion has been published; an almost insignificant percentage has been edited or translated reliably.
Vajrayāna texts exhibit a wide range of literary characteristics—usually a mix of verse and prose, almost always in a Sanskrit that "transgresses frequently against classical norms of grammar and usage," although also occasionally in various Middle Indic dialects or elegant classical Sanskrit.
In Chinese Mantrayana ( Zhenyan), and Japanese Shingon Buddhism, the most influential esoteric texts are the Mahavairocana Tantra and the Vajraśekhara Sūtra.Griffin, David Ray (1990), Sacred Interconnections: Postmodern Spirituality, Political Economy, and Art, SUNY Press, p. 199.
In Tibetan Buddhism, a large number of tantric works are widely studied and different schools focus on the study and practice of different cycles of texts. According to Geoffrey Samuel,
Other traditions like contemporary Chinese Buddhism, Japanese Zen, Korean Buddhism, and Vietnamese Buddhism also make use of esoteric (Chinese: mijiao, Japanese: mikkyo) or mantrayana methods to a lesser extent. In many Asian Mahayana Buddhist traditions, esoteric methods are used as a complement, not as the central practice. This mainly involves the recitation of mantras (like the ten small mantras) and various popular . However, certain revival movements have attempted to establish new esoteric schools in mainland East Asia such as Mantra School Bright Lineage (in China) and the South Korean Jingak Order.
There was strong connection between the Pala Empire in Bengal, Srivijaya Empire in Nusantara, and the kingdoms in East Asia through the sea route. Medieval monks were a prime factor in the spread of esoteric Buddhism.
The distinction between mantrayana traditions is not always rigid. For example, the tantra sections of the Kangyur sometimes include material not usually thought of as tantric outside the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, such as the widely recited Heart Sutra and even versions of some material found in the Pali Canon.
Zhenyan was also brought to Japan as Shingon during this period. This tradition focused on tantras like the Mahavairocana tantra, and unlike Tibetan Buddhism, it does not employ the antinomian and radical tantrism of the Anuttarayoga Tantras. The prestige of this tradition eventually influenced other schools of Chinese Buddhism such as Chan Buddhism and Tiantai to adopt various esoteric practices over time, leading to a merging of teachings between the various schools.Orzech, Charles D. (general editor) (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia, Brill, Page 296.Faure, Bernard (1997) The Will to Orthodoxy: A Critical Genealogy of Northern Chan Buddhism: p. 85 During the Yuan dynasty, the Mongol emperors made Tibetan Buddhism the official religion of China, and Tibetan lamas were given patronage at the court.Nan Huaijin. Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 1997. p. 99. Imperial support of Tibetan Vajrayana continued into the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Today, esoteric traditions are deeply embedded in mainstream Chinese Buddhism and expressed through various rituals which make use of tantric mantra and dhāraṇī and the veneration of certain tantric deities like Cundi and Acala. One example of esoteric teachings still practiced in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries is the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and the dhāraṇī revealed within it, the Śūraṅgama Mantra, which are especially influential in the Chinese Chan tradition.Shi, Hsüan Hua (1977). The Shurangama Sutra, pp. 68–71 Sino-American Buddhist Association, Buddhist Text Translation Society. . Another example is the popular tantric Yujia Yankou ritual, where monastics take on the role of a Vajracharya and performs deity yoga through the usage of Mantra, Mudra and Mandala offerings in order to help facilitate the nourishment and ultimate liberation of all sentient beings. In particular, the usage of Mantra, Mudra and Mandala in the ritual correspond directly to the concept of the "Three Mysteries" (Chinese: 三密; pinyin: Sānmì) in tantric Buddhism: the "secrets" of body, speech and mind. (2025). 9789004204010, Brill. ISBN 9789004204010 This ritual is commonly performed during or at the end of regular religious temple events such as repentance rites, Nianfo retreats, the dedication of a new monastic complex or gatherings for the transmission of monastic vows. It is also widely performed as a post-mortem rite within Chinese society during funerals and other related occasions such as the Ghost Festival. A related ritual that also involves esoteric practices is the extensive Shuilu Fahui ceremony, which involves setting up Mandala of esoteric deities such as the Ten Wisdom Kings as well as the invocation of those deities to the ritual space via Mantra, Mudra and visualization.
A recent development is known as the "tantric revival movement" (mijiao fuxing yundong 密教復興運動) which involved the revival of Chinese Esoteric schools by Chinese students of Japanese Shingon. Some important figures of this revival include Wang Hongyuan 王弘願 (1876–1937), and Guru Wuguang (悟光上師 (1918–2000), both trained in Shingon and went on to spread Shingon teachings in the Chinese speaking world.Bahir, Cody R. Replanting the Bodhi Tree: Buddhist Sectarianism and Zhenyan Revivalism. Pacific World: Third Series Number 20 (2018): 95-129. These revivalist lineages exist in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. Though they draw mainly from Shingon teachings, they have also adopted some Tibetan Buddhism elements.Bahir, Cody R. (2018) Reformulating the Appropriated and Relinking the Chain: Challenges of Lineage and Legitimacy in Zhenyan Revivalism
Another form of esoteric Buddhism in China is the related but unique tradition of Azhaliism, which is practiced among the Bai people of China and venerates Mahakala as a major deity. p. 441
The primary texts of Shingon Buddhism are the Mahavairocana Sutra and Vajrasekhara Sutra. The founder of Shingon Buddhism was Kukai, a Japanese monk who studied in China in the 9th century during the Tang dynasty and brought back Vajrayana scriptures, techniques and mandalas then popular in China. The school was merged into other schools in China towards the end of the Tang dynasty but was sectarian in Japan. Shingon is one of the few remaining branches of Buddhism in the world that continues to use the siddham script of the Sanskrit language.
During the Joseon dynasty, Esoteric Buddhist schools were forced to merge with the Seon and Kyo schools, becoming the ritual specialists. With the decline of Buddhism in Korea, Esoteric Buddhism mostly died out, save for a few traces in the rituals of the Jogye Order and Taego Order.
There are five esoteric Buddhist schools in modern day South Korea: Jingak Order, Jineon Order, Chongji Order, Jisong Order, and Cheonhwa Buddhism. According to Henrik H. Sørensen, the Jineon and Jingak Orders, "have absolutely no historical link with the Korean Buddhist tradition per se but are late constructs based in large measures on Japanese Shingon Buddhism."
The first Vietnamese monk we know of who studied Vajrayana was Master Van Ky () who received initiation in the kingdom of Srivijaya from a certain Jñanabhadra (Tri Hien) as reported by Yijing.Upendra Thakur (1986), Some Aspects of Asian History and Culture, p. 174. Abhinav Publications. By the 12th century (under the Lý dynasty), esoteric Buddhism was widespread in Vietnam, and was especially favored by the Wu Yantong school as well as by the Vinitaruci school. One famous esoteric master of this period was Từ Đạo Hạnh. He brought back various texts and practices from Burma. He became famous as a powerful magician.Thiện Đỗ (2003), Vietnamese supernaturalism: views from the southern region, p. 245. He was fond of the Mahākaruṇika Dhāraṇī. He also spread esoteric teachings throughout Vietnam and liberalized their practice, making them less dependent on reincarnation lineages (similar to Tibetan ). Another promoter of esoteric Buddhism during this period was Sùng Phạm (1004-1078) of Phap Van pagoda who studied in India for nine years before returning to Vietnam and was the teacher of the influential esoteric master Tri Bat. Phap Loa (1284-1330), a leader of the Truc Lam school, was another very influential Vietnamese esoteric master. He is known for establishing esoteric abhiseka (initiation) ceremonies as well as Huayan ( Hoa Nghiêm) assemblies. He also wrote various texts on esoteric topics.
Chinese Buddhist esotericism also influenced Vietnamese esotericism during the medieval period, especially the Huayan Esotericism of Daoshen's Xianmi yuantong chengfo xinyao ji (顯密圓通成佛心要集 Collection of Essentials for the Attainment of Buddhahood by Total Inter-Penetration of the Esoteric and the Exoteric, T1955).
Some modern teachers and organizations focus specifically on Vietnamese esoteric Buddhism. Thích Viên Đức (1932-1980) was one important modern promoter of Esoteric Buddhism. He is known for translating a collection of Esoteric Buddhist texts, contributing to the dissemination of Esoteric Buddhism in Vietnam. Thích Viên Đức promoted esoteric Buddhist teachings as the fastest path to enlightenment. He established numerous communities in southern Vietnam and was also known as a healer. He also met with Tibetan lamas and Japanese Buddhists. Hoà thượng Thích Viên Đức (1932-1980), https://quangduc.com
This tradition practices and studies a set of tantric texts and commentaries associated with the more "left hand" ( vamachara) tantras, which are not part of East Asian Esoteric Buddhism. These tantras (sometimes termed 'Anuttarayoga tantras' include many transgressive elements, such as sexual and mortuary symbolism that is not shared by the earlier tantras that are studied in East Asian Buddhism. These texts were translated into Classical Tibetan during the "New translation period" (10th–12th centuries). Tibetan Buddhism also includes numerous native Tibetan developments, such as the tulku system, new sadhana texts, Tibetan scholastic works, Dzogchen literature and Terma literature. There are four major traditions or schools: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug.
In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Empire Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, which ruled China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia. In the Modern history it has spread outside of Asia due to the efforts of the Tibetan diaspora (1959 onwards).
The Tibetan Buddhist tradition is today 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, Zabaykalsky Krai, the Tuva Republic and Khabarovsk Krai. Tibetan Buddhism is also the main religion in Kalmykia. It has also spread to Western countries and there are now international networks of Tibetan Buddhist temples and meditation centers in the Western world from all four schools.
Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism may have also reached the Philippines, possibly establishing the first form of Buddhism in the Philippines. The few Buddhist artifacts that have been found in the islands reflect the iconography of Srivijaya's Vajrayana.Laszlo Legeza, "Tantric Elements in Pre-Hispanic Gold Art," Arts of Asia, 1988, 4:129-133.
In 1613 during the Edo period, the Tokugawa Shogunate issued a regulation obliging Shugendō temples to belong to either Shingon or Tendai temples. During the Meiji Restoration, when Shinto was declared an independent state religion separate from Buddhism, Shugendō was banned as a superstition not fit for a new, enlightened Japan. Some Shugendō temples converted themselves into various officially approved Shintō denominations. In modern times, Shugendō is practiced mainly by Tendai and Shingon sects, retaining an influence on modern Japanese religion and culture.
Southern Esoteric Buddhism is a unique Southeast Asian development based on Theravada Abhidhamma and Pali language sources. As such, it has no direct connection to the Indian "Vajrayana" of the Buddhist tantras, the Indian mahasiddhas and the Nalanda-Vikramashila traditions.
Southern Esoteric Buddhism declined after the rise of Southeast Asian Buddhist modernism. However, esoteric Buddhist practices remain in some contemporary South East Asian traditions, including the Thai Dhammakaya tradition, the Burmese Weizza and in rural Cambodian Buddhism.
Buddhist tantric practice is categorized as secret practice; this is to avoid misinformed people from harmfully misusing the practices. A method to keep this secrecy is that tantric initiation is required from a master before any instructions can be received about the actual practice. During the initiation procedure in the highest class of tantra (such as the Kalachakra), students must take the tantric vows which commit them to such secrecy. "Explaining general tantra theory in a scholarly manner, not sufficient for practice, is likewise not a root downfall. Nevertheless, it weakens the effectiveness of our tantric practice."
The term Tantric Buddhism was not one originally used by those who practiced it. As scholar Isabelle Onians explains:
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