7. Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet

[Note from author: This is my article on Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet which I presented in Delhi Uiverstiy in 2018]

Buddhism is India‘s great gift to humanity and the world. The religion was born and flourished in India, subsequently spreading widely throughout the Asian regions, including to Southeast and East Asian countries. It went on to see a great decline and neglect in its country of birth for several centuries due to various reasons. Fortunately, Buddhism continued to prosper in the neighboring countries. Today, it is one of the oldest religions in the world, meticulously preserved and practiced by many people in North and Southeast Asian countries. In 1959, the exile of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to India, as well as the exodus of Tibetan masters from Tibet, sparked the revival of Buddhism in India, especially in the Himalayan regions. It once again caught the interest and imagination of Indians and Westerners alike. But in its contemporary flourishing, people are confused about the various schools of Buddhism. They are especially ignorant about Vajrayana Buddhism, often known as ―Lamaism‖ in the context of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrayana, which was popular in Tibet and in the regions along the Himalayan ranges, was construed a little differently from the Pali and Sanskrit traditions. This chapter attempts to explain the major classifications of Buddhism in general and the salient and distinctive features of Vajrayana Buddhism in particular.