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61-464: It is ascribed importance in the development and dissemination of Vajrayāna Buddhism . The region was also an important place for the practice of Śaivite Hinduism . It is seen as the homeland of the Mahārtha (aka Krama Kalikula ) lineage of Śaiva Tantra . The first Mahārtha Siddha, Jñānanetra Nātha (ज्ञाननेत्र नाथ), is said to have awakened and taught in this country. It was also called as “the paradise of

122-583: A Buddha footprint , a rock on which he dried his clothes, and a locale where he converted a nāga . It is said that two schools derived from the Sthavira nikāya, the Dharmaguptaka and Kāśyapīya , were established in this area. Both of these schools had proto- Mahayana doctrines. While the 6th to 8th century Kabul Ganesh offers a memorial inscription, to Turk Shahis king Khingala of Oddiyana. The following Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to

183-415: A liminal zone on the borders between fields and forests. Their rites involved the conjunction of sexual practices and Buddhist mandala visualization with ritual accoutrements made from parts of the human body, so that control may be exercised over the forces hindering the natural abilities of the siddha to manipulate the cosmos at will. At their most extreme, siddhas also represented a defensive position within

244-532: A mantra. Vajrayāna Buddhists developed a large corpus of texts called 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, Kriya tantras such as the Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa ( c.  6th century ), teach

305-511: A monk Jivaka Odiyanaka , being the earliest epigraphic reference to Uddiyana. It is certainly not in Orissa or Odivisa. The Vihära of Huviska to which Jivaka Odiyanaka made gift of a pillar was in the north-west. Xuanzang entered India from the north-west route and his biographer clearly locates Udyana's capital in North-West. Faxian, who also came from that pass clearly says that Udyana lay in

366-588: A mountainous Buddhist region. From Udyana, he travelled northeast for fifteen days and reached Chitral . Faxian stated that the food and clothing worn by those in Udyana were similar to those residing in the Indo-Gangetic Plain . The area is said to have supported some 500 viharas of the Sthavira nikāya , at which traveling monks were provided lodgings and food for three days. It was said to contain

427-594: 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. Ronald M. Davidson states that Buddhist siddhas demonstrated the appropriation of an older sociological form—the independent sage/magician, who lived in

488-407: Is "obscured by discursive thought". This doctrine is often associated with the idea of the inherent or natural luminosity ( Skt: 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, pride are used as part of

549-677: Is a Buddhist tradition of tantric practice that developed in Medieval India . Tantrism, which originated within Hinduism during the first millennium CE, significantly influenced South Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism, giving rise to distinct Buddhist tantric traditions. Emerging in the 7th century CE, these traditions spread across Southeast, East, and Central Asia, leading to distinct East Asian and Tibetan practices. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through

610-523: Is a method which works faster. Various classifications are possible when distinguishing Vajrayāna from the other Buddhist traditions. Vajrayāna can be seen as a third yana , next to Śrāvakayāna and Mahayana . Vajrayāna can be distinguished from the Sutrayana . The Sutrayana is the method of perfecting good qualities, where the Vajrayāna is the method of taking the intended outcome of Buddhahood as

671-615: Is a mythical weapon associated with Indra which 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. Chinese Esoteric Buddhism it is generally known by various terms such as Zhēnyán ( Chinese : 真言, literally "true word", referring to mantra), Tángmì or Hanmì (唐密 - 漢密, " Tang Esotericism" or " Han Esotericism") , Mìzōng (密宗, "Esoteric Sect") or Mìjiao (Chinese: 密教; Esoteric Teaching). The Chinese term mì 密 ("secret, esoteric")

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732-609: Is a translation of the Sanskrit term Guhya ("secret, hidden, profound, abstruse"). In Japan , Buddhist esotericism is known as Mikkyō ( 密教 , secret teachings) or by the term Shingon (a Japanese rendering of Zhēnyán ), which also refers to a specific school of Shingon-shū ( 真言宗 ) . The term "Esoteric Buddhism" is first used by Western occultist writers, such as Helena Blavatsky and Alfred Percy Sinnett , to describe theosophical doctrines passed down from "supposedly initiated Buddhist masters." Tantric Buddhism

793-553: Is associated with groups of wandering yogis called mahasiddhas in medieval India . According to Robert Thurman , these tantric figures thrived during the latter half of the first millennium CE. According to John Myrdhin Reynolds, the mahasiddhas date to the medieval period in North India and used methods that were radically different from those used in Buddhist monasteries, including practicing on charnel grounds . Since

854-494: 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

915-530: 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 the use of taboo substances like alcohol, consort practices, and charnel ground practices which evoke wrathful deities . Ryujun Tajima divides

976-534: Is more common for a yogi or yogini to use an imagined consort (a buddhist tantric deity, i.e. a yidam). These 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

1037-444: 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

1098-496: Is no strict separation of the profane or samsara and the sacred or nirvana , rather they exist in a continuum. All individuals are seen as containing the seed of enlightenment within, 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

1159-672: Is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava . 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

1220-493: Is sometimes reported as being located north of Peshawar along the Swat River ; it was regarded as the furthest part of northern ancient India during the time of Faxian . The 8th century Korean monk Hye Cho wrote in his Memoir of the travel to the five Indian regions that after visiting Gandhara , he went directly north, entered the mountains and after travelling for three days, arrived in Udyana (locally called Oddiyana),

1281-522: Is the superiority of Tantric methods, which provide a faster vehicle to liberation and contain many more skillful means ( upaya ). The importance of the theory of emptiness is central to the Tantric Buddhist view and practice. The Buddhist emptiness view sees the world as being fluid, without an ontological foundation or inherent existence, but ultimately a fabric of constructions. Because of this, tantric practice such as self-visualization as

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1342-522: Is to become a Sammāsambuddha (fully awakened Buddha ); those on this path are termed Bodhisattvas . As with the Mahayana, motivation is a vital component of Vajrayāna practice. The Bodhisattva-path is an integral part of the Vajrayāna, which teaches that all practices are to be undertaken with the motivation to achieve Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. In the vehicle of Sutra Mahayana,

1403-463: The Hīnayāna ) and Mahāyāna (a.k.a. Pāramitāyāna ). There are several Buddhist tantric traditions that are currently practiced, including Tibetan Buddhism , Chinese Esoteric Buddhism , Shingon Buddhism and Newar Buddhism . Historically, there were also other esoteric Buddhist traditions, such as that of maritime Southeast Asia , which are no longer practiced today. In India, the initial term

1464-712: The Guhyasiddhi of Padmavajra, a work associated with the Guhyasamaja tradition , which prescribes acting as a Shaiva guru and initiating members into Saiva 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. Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's arguments for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of

1525-606: The Mantrayana leads one to Buddhahood in a single lifetime. According to the literature, the mantra is an easy path without the difficulties innate to the Paramitayana . Mantrayana is sometimes portrayed as a method for those of inferior abilities. However the practitioner of the mantra still has to adhere to the vows of the Bodhisattva . The goal of spiritual practice within the Mahayana and Vajrayāna traditions

1586-606: The Sādhanamālā , he further points out, Uḍḍiyāna is also spelt as Oḍrayāna while in the Kālikā Purāṇa , as indicated earlier, it is spelt either Uḍḍiyāna or Oḍra. There is also evidence, Sahu continues, that Indrabhūti is the king of Odisha rather than of the Swāt valley. The Caturāsiti-siddha-Pravṛtti , for example, mentions him as the king of Oḍiviśa while Cordier, in his Bṣtān-ḥgyur catalogue, gives sufficient indications of his being

1647-561: The Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" and that "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 "are certainly not particularly Buddhist, nor are they uniquely Kapalika venues, despite their presence in lists employed by both traditions." Davidson further adds that like

1708-679: The Ḍākinīs ”. Many Western scholars have identified it as the Swat Valley in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. Laurence Waddell , Sylvain Lévi , Giuseppe Tucci , and Prabodh Chandra Bagchi have shown that the Tibetan name Urgyan and the Chinese name Wutch'ang correspond to Uddiyana which is identical with the modern-day Swat Valley. Alexis Sanderson revisited the issue of

1769-488: 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 the Vajrayāna, the "path of the fruit" is taken whereby the practitioner takes his or her innate Buddha-nature as the means of practice. The premise is that since we innately have an enlightened mind, practicing seeing the world in terms of ultimate truth can help us to attain our full Buddha-nature. Experiencing ultimate truth

1830-944: The 'Seven Line Prayer' (of Padmasambhava ) revealed in Jigme Lingpa's terma of the Ngöndro of the Longchen Nyingthig and throughout the Longchen Nyingtig Ngondro, Oddiyana is rendered in the form Tibetan : ཨོ་རྒྱན , Wylie : o rgyan . Vajrayana New branches: Tantric techniques : Fourfold division: Twofold division: Thought forms and visualisation: Yoga : Vajrayāna ( Sanskrit : वज्रयान ; lit. ' vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Mantranāya ('path of mantra'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism , and Esoteric Buddhism ,

1891-447: The Buddhist tradition, adopted and sustained for the purpose of aggressive engagement with the medieval culture of public violence. They reinforced their reputations for personal sanctity with rumors of the magical manipulation of various flavors of demonic females ( dakini , yaksi , yogini ), cemetery ghouls ( vetala ), and other things that go bump in the night. Operating on the margins of both monasteries and polite society, some adopted

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1952-521: The Buddhists, the Shaiva tradition was also 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

2013-551: The Tibetans refer to Orissa as Odivisa which must be different from Urgyan or Wu-chang . Moreover, Orissa became a centre of Täntrika Buddhism after the 7th century A.D., while the Swat valley was a centre of Tantric Buddhism long before 700 A.D. In ancient Indian literature the extreme north-western region of the country, especially Uddiyana, Gandhara , Kapisa and Tukhara , find frequent mention. A Kushan inscription mentions

2074-519: The Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people of Oddiyana whose rulers were already known at the time of the Kushan Empire (3rd century CE) and are recorded as early as the 4th century BCE. An alternate theory places its location in what is now the modern Indian state of Odisha , through a case founded upon "literary, archeological and iconographic evidence". Scholars championing this location contend that

2135-600: 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

2196-435: The adherents and texts of Vajrayāna claim these teachings have been passed down by an unbroken lineage going back to the historical Buddha ( c.  the 5th century BCE ) or to other mythical Buddhas and bodhisattvas (e.g. Vajrapani ). According to Vajrayāna scriptures, the term Vajrayāna refers to one of three vehicles or routes to enlightenment , the other two being the Śrāvakayāna (also known pejoratively as

2257-523: The behaviors associated with ghosts ( preta , pisaca ), not only as a religious praxis but also as an extension of their implied threats. Tantrism originated within Hinduism and significantly influenced early South Asian Mahāyāna Buddhist practices, contributing to the emergence of unique Buddhist tantric traditions. These Buddhist tantric traditions, which developed in the 7th century CE, spread quickly across Southeast, East, and Central Asia, resulting in

2318-490: The deity is seen as being no less real than everyday reality, but a process of transforming reality itself, including the practitioner's identity as the deity. As 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 ,

2379-424: 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 being divinized as manifestations of gods. Likewise, tantric yogis reconfigured their practice through

2440-482: The first series connected with Indrabhūti, i.e., Oḍiyăna and Uḍḍiyāna, while the second series falls back on Oḍi and Oḍiviśa, i.e., Uḍra (Odisha) and has nothing to do with Indrabhūti. N.K. Sahu objects, however, and points out that these two sets of names are seldom distinguished in Buddhist Tantra literature, and opines that the words Oḍa, Oḍra, Uḍra, Oḍiviśa and Oḍiyāna are all used as variants of Uḍḍiyāna. In

2501-756: The formation of various distinct traditions in East Asia and Tibet. There are other Mahāyāna sutras which contain "proto-tantric" material such as the Gandavyuha and the Dasabhumika which might have served as a central source of visual imagery for Tantric texts. Later Mahāyāna texts like the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra ( c.  4th –5th century CE) expound the use of mantras such as Om mani padme hum , associated with vastly powerful beings like Avalokiteshvara . The popular Heart Sutra also includes

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2562-466: 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 Parnasabari and Janguli). According to several Buddhist tantras as well as traditional Tibetan Buddhist sources, the tantras and the Vajrayana

2623-436: The king of Orissa. Also, in his famous work Jñānasiddhi , king Indrabhūti opens it with an invocation to Lord Jagannātha , a deity intimately associated with Odisha and with no other area of India. One writer recently made a renewed attempt to identify Uddiyana with Orissa which he regards as "the cradle of Vajrayana Buddhism". But this is improbable; the Chinese sources refer to Orissa as Wu-T'u or Ota or Wu-cha , while

2684-645: The location of Oddiyana. While professor Lokesh Chandra has argued that Oddiyana was located further in South India . Tibetan Buddhist traditions see Oḍḍiyāna as a source of many of their tantric teachings. It is seen as having been a land where Buddhist tantra flourished. Many lineages of Tibetan Buddhism are traced to this region, including Dzogchen (which began with the great siddha Garab Dorje ). A number of Vajrayana and tantric practitioners are said to have stayed and practiced there. The first Vajrayana teachings were supposedly given there by Gautama Buddha at

2745-405: The location, taking note of the various far-flung locations that have been identified with Oddiyana at different times and by different sources. He came to the conclusion, drawn from his careful examination of a variety of old textual citations, that it was located near Kashmir , accepting the modern-day Swat as the probable epicentre of a historical Oddiyana. Udyāna ( Sanskrit "garden, orchard")

2806-413: The metaphor of being consecrated ( abhiśeka ) as the overlord ( rājādhirāja ) of a mandala palace of divine vassals, an imperial metaphor symbolizing kingly fortresses and their political power. The question of the origins of early Vajrayāna has been taken up by various scholars. David Seyfort Ruegg has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a “pan-Indian religious substrate” which

2867-774: The name Oḍḍiyāna derives from the Dravidian Oṭṭiyan , denoting a native or indigenous person of Oḍra ("Odisha") or from Oṭṭiyam , Telugu for Oḍra . Oḍḍiyāna is also the Middle Indic form of Udyāna "garden," the name by which Xuanzang knew the region around Odisha. Confusion about the identity of Oddiyana is conflated with confusion about the identity of Indrabhuti as Donaldson (2001: p. 11) observes: In his argument, P. C. Bagchi states that there are two distinct series of names in Tibetan: (1) O-rgyān, U-rgyān, O-ḍi-yā-na, and (2) O-ḍi-vi-śā, with

2928-530: The north on the Swat river . John Reynolds suggests that "perhaps Uddiyana is actually a name of a much wider geographical area than the Swat Valley alone, one embracing parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and even Western Tibet (Zhang Zhung)." Along the same line of thinking, Herbert V. Guenther suggests the region of Sogdiana , today corresponding to regions of Tajikistan , Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan , as

2989-453: The path. As noted by French Indologist Madeleine Biardeau, 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 quote 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

3050-471: The path. Vajrayāna can also be distinguished from the paramitayana. According to this schema, Indian Mahayana revealed two vehicles ( yana ) or methods for attaining enlightenment: the method of the perfections ( Paramitayana ) and the method of mantra ( Mantrayana ). The Paramitayana consists of the six or ten paramitas , of which the scriptures say that it takes three incalculable aeons to lead one to Buddhahood. The tantra literature, however, says that

3111-569: The practice of Tantra focuses on the transformation of poisons into wisdom, the yogic circles came together in tantric feasts , 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,

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3172-541: The request of the king. According to Dudjom Rinpoche , the Mahayoga and Anuyoga tantras were first revealed in Oḍḍiyāna. In Tibetan Buddhist literature, Oḍḍiyāna is described as being ruled by several kings each of whom were named Indrabhūti . Oḍḍiyāna is also often conflated or identified with Shambhala , a magical hidden land ( beyul ) land inhabited by ḍākinī s and inaccessible to or by ordinary mortals. In

3233-650: The revelation of Buddhist tantras to Padmasambhava , saying that he was an emanation of Amitabha and Avaloketishvara and that his arrival was predicted by the Buddha. Some accounts also maintain Padmasambhava is a direct reincarnation of Buddha Shakyamuni. According to Alex Wayman , the philosophical view of the Vajrayana is based on Mahayana Buddhist philosophy , mainly the Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools. The major difference seen by Vajrayana thinkers

3294-532: The tantras into those which 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

3355-455: 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

3416-422: The teachings of lineage holders. Others might generally refer to these texts as the Buddhist Tantras . It includes practices that make use of mantras , dharanis , mudras , mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. According to contemporary historical scholarship, Vajrayāna practice originated in the tantric era of medieval India ( c.  the 5th century CE onwards ). However, traditionally,

3477-651: 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

3538-482: 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 which focuses on liberation as opposed to worldly goals. In another early tantra, the Vajrasekhara (Vajra Peak), the influential schema of the five Buddha families

3599-480: Was Mantranāya (Path of Mantras), and Mantrayāna (Mantra Vehicle). Later, other terms were adopted, like Vajrayāna. 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

3660-457: Was also an important theory which became the basis for Tantric views. As explained by the Tantric commentator Lilavajra, this "intrinsic secret (behind) diverse manifestation" is the utmost secret and aim of Tantra. 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

3721-545: Was taught by the Buddha Shakyamuni , but only to some individuals. There are several stories and versions of how the tantras were disseminated. The Jñana Tilaka Tantra , for example, has the Buddha state that the tantras will be explained by the bodhisattva Vajrapani . One of the most famous legends is that of king Indrabhuti (also known as King Ja) of Oddiyana (a figure related to Vajrapani, in some cases said to be an emanation of him). Other accounts attribute

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